{"id":67494,"date":"2026-07-18T18:29:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T23:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/?p=67494"},"modified":"2026-07-18T18:49:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T23:49:36","slug":"kingmans-reef-guano-dr-strangelove-and-national-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/?p=67494","title":{"rendered":"Kingman’s Reef, Guano, Dr. Strangelove, and National Security"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A junior Elder recently brought a topic before the WLBOTT Security Counsel<\/strong>: Guano.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She reminded us of the Guano Islands Act of 1856<\/strong>. Back in the 19th century, bird poop (guano) was the world’s premier fertilizer and a vital ingredient for gunpowder. The US government passed a law allowing American citizens to claim any unclaimed, uninhabited island in the world if it had guano on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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[ed. note: Kingman’s Reef, made famous by the Guano Islands Act of 1856<\/strong>, is such a rich and fertile topic that it deserves its own BLOTT.]<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Guano – a Brief Introduction<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Guano (Spanish from Quechua: wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertiliser due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Demand for guano rapidly declined after 1910 with the development of the Haber\u2013Bosch process for extracting nitrogen from the atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guano mining continues in Chile with the annual guano production in Chile ranging from 2,091 to 4,601 metric tons per year in the 2014\u20132023 period.<\/p>\nWikipedia<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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The Guano Age (1802\u20131884)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The Guano era refers to a period of stability and prosperity in Peru during the mid-19th century. It was sustained on the substantial revenues generated by the export of guano and the strong leadership of president Ram\u00f3n Castilla<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

During this time the economy was experiencing a boom due to guano being sold to European markets. This allowed the government to repay its external debt, earning it international economic prestige.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Although not historically documented (because we just made it up<\/em>) some suggest that The Guano Age<\/strong> was so important to Peru that President Castilla<\/strong> considered changing the flag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Before you poo-poo<\/strong><\/em> the concept of guano, keep in mind that the process to commercially generate ammonia (the primary component of nitrogen fertilizer) wasn’t discovered until 1909, by German chemists Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch. The procedure is called the Haber Process, and is still used today. We’re not sure why Bosch got left out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a huge deal. The world would be a much different place without the Haber Process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Today, it is estimated that synthetic fertilizers generated by the Haber process sustain roughly 40% to 50% of the global population. Without it, agricultural yields would be strictly limited by the amount of natural nitrogen available in the soil, manure, and remaining guano or nitrate deposits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Numbers: Instead of the roughly 8 billion people alive today, Earth’s sustainable carrying capacity using traditional farming methods would likely have capped the global population somewhere between 3.5<\/strong> and 4.5 billion<\/strong> people.<\/p>\nGemini<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Guano and natural nitrate deposits would be the most valuable resources on the planet. Instead of our current forever wars over oil, we’d be fighting forever wars over guano.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without synthetic fertilizer, farmers would rely on crop rotations, using legumes like peas, beans, and clover (yes, clover is a legume!) to enhance the fertility of the soil. About half their fields would be tied up in the rotation process. They could still harvest the legumes, but they are much less calorie dense that wheat or corn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But synthetic ammonia comes at a price:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Traditional ammonia production requires vast amounts of fossil fuels and is responsible for about 1.8% of global carbon dioxide emissions<\/strong>. To solve this, industries are shifting to “green ammonia,” which uses renewable energy to pull hydrogen from water instead of natural gas.<\/p>\n – Gemini<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Science Direct<\/a><\/strong> gives a more in-depth look at ammonia demand and green alternatives for its production. It’s all about extracting the hydrogen. Conventional means (non-green) extract hydrogen from methane (CH4<\/sub>); green methods extract H2<\/sub> from water (H2<\/sub>O).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We have our own soil fertility team. Go Waggies!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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WLBOTT Ag Extension<\/strong> Soil Fertility Expert Dr. Flora Till-Mann and her staff: Dr. Sandy Loam, Rhizobia “Rhiz” Banks, and Dr. Ceres Green-Grove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We asked Sister Magdalena<\/strong> to bless the guano to ensure a good harvest. She was a bit ambivalent. I believe I heard her mutter something about “job description.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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To cover all our bases, we contacted Rent-a-Roman\u2122 and hired a Ceres[1]<\/sup> impersonator. To our chagrin, they sent us an Elvis\/Ceres impersonator, and it detracted from the solemnity of the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We returned to the Rent-a-Roman\u2122 web site and reviewed their selection of Ceres. They provided a free replacement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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[1]<\/sup> For you non-pagans out there\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ceres<\/strong> is the ancient Roman goddess of agriculture, grain crops, fertility, and maternal relationships. Revered as the nurturer of mankind, she is credited with teaching humans how to cultivate, harvest, and prepare grain.
– Gemini<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Dr. Strangelove<\/strong>, the 1964 classic by Stanley Kubrick, seamlessly ties together the themes of guano and national security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Col. ‘Bat’ Guano, played by Keenan Wynn.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And although not directly guano-related, we’d like to tip our hat to Dimitri Kissov<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In Dr. Strangelove<\/strong>, the Soviet Premier is named Dimitri Kissov<\/strong>. He is an unseen, off-screen character who communicates via the “hotline” with U.S. President Merkin Muffley to discuss the impending nuclear attack. <\/p>\n– Gemini<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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The Russian ambassador explains that Premier Dimitri Kissov<\/strong> is unavailable for a phone call because he is “a man of the people, but he is also a man, if you follow my meaning”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(image by Elder G<\/strong>, colorized by Perch Periwinkle<\/strong>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Anyhow…<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Guano Stamps<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Stamp Community<\/a><\/strong> notes the nefarious and underhanded nature of some unscrupulous philatelists who try to capitalize on the popularity of guano stamps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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However, Peru did issue stamps to honor the importance of guano.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We asked our artist-in-residence, Perch Periwinkle<\/strong> (of the La Mesa Periwinkles<\/strong>) to apply her talents to a more contemporary stamp issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Collect them all!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Guano Tourism<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Guano is for Lovers.<\/strong>
It’s Number One for Number Two.<\/strong>
Where History Really Hit the Fan.<\/strong>
Fall in Love. Watch Your Step.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The WLBOTT Div. of Shareholder Value<\/strong> is convinced that there is gold in guano – not as a fertilizer, but in tourism. We commissioned some travel magazine advertisements…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2026.before settling on the theme “Guano is for Lovers”<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Casting Call for Tour Guides<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Our next order of business is hiring tour guides. We put out an open casting call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A junior Elder recently brought a topic before the WLBOTT Security Counsel: Guano. She reminded us of the Guano Islands Act of 1856. Back in the 19th century, bird poop (guano) was the world’s premier fertilizer and a vital ingredient for gunpowder. The US government passed a law allowing American citizens to claim any unclaimed, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[18,20,45,98,174],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-animal-kingdom","category-exonumia-is-not-contagious","category-late-stage-capitalism","category-peru","category-south-seas"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=67494"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67494\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67532,"href":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67494\/revisions\/67532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=67494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=67494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=67494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}