John Todd

We are fortunate to have John Todd as a resident in Vermont. I live in South Burlington and I did not know that my waste was being treated by Mr. Todds living machines. I had heard of the tilapia farms at the magic hat brewery and I thought it was a great idea. I had also heard of the project at the power plant on the intervale it was supposed to take the heat that was escaping through the stacks and pump the steam into underground pipes to warm greenhouses and supply fresh produce to the area. Unfortunately it died in some bureacratic mess.

Biomimicry seems to be the way to go in waste water treatment. You can take waste treat it, make it clean, and make money. It is a win win situation. It can be applied in countless ways in countless regions around the world. History will think fondly of Mr. Todd. Why the system is called living machines because it is a process which accelerates the natural process of water purification. He mimics natures three step process of a pond, stream and marshes.

Mr. Todd was the first winner of the Buckminster Fuller award in 2008 for his revolutionary views on how to clean up rural West Virginia. The Appalachia Mts have been leveled to get to the coal veins. This area in W. Virgingia is one the biggest ecological disasters in the world and it is not in some third world nation. The next time you hear the words clean coal think of these unfortunate peaple. The federal clean air and water act does not apply to these people. Our need for energy outweighs their need for clean air and water. There are trillions of gallons of toxic coal slurry and very little of the local habitat left to even begin to treat this sesspool. So Mr. Todd has put a plan together to treat the slurry with eco machines and begin to reforest the region for biomass fuel and add windmills. Ironically to make the area energy self sufficient. The project is called Comprehensive Design for a Carbon Neutral World: The Challenge of Appalachia.

He also co-founded Living Technologies Inc. a design, engineering and construction firm in Burlington. He has authored several books. He has a non profit Ocean Arks International. He founded the New Alchemy Institute.

He considers himself a Comprehensive Anticipatory Design Scientist.