How mushrooms clean up the planet (and other fungi powers)

They are mostly invisible, essential for life on earth and could be the building blocks of our future. Here's how fungi can clean up our soils from the mess we created - and even house us.
Reporter: Tim Schauenberg
Video editor: Cem Adam Springer
Supervising editor: Joanna Gottschalk
We're destroying our environment at an alarming rate. But it doesn't need to be this way. Our new channel Planet A explores the shift towards an eco-friendly world - and challenges our ideas about what dealing with climate change means. We look at the big and the small: What we can do and how the system needs to change. Every Friday we'll take a truly global look at how to get us out of this mess.
#PlanetA #Mushroom #Fungi
Read more:
Short overview what fungi are used for today:
www.researchgate.net/publicat...
All you want to know about fungi:
kew.iro.bl.uk/concern/file_se...
50 ways we can exploit fungi industrially:
link.springer.com/article/10....
Very good overview about mushrooms capacities:
library.uniteddiversity.coop/...
How fungi remediate heavy metals:
dormaj.org/index.php/jett/art...
Special thanks for providing timelapses and video material goes to the channels  amazingfungi ( / amazingfungi ) and Another Perspective (kzbin.info/door/IZp....
0:00 Intro
0:56 The degraders of the world
3:22 Cleaning up organic pollutants 
5:38 Combating metals and radioactive matter
8:01 Building with fungi
11:39 Conclusion

[@DWPlanetA]

Do you think we can use fungi to clean up the planet?

[@blackboy707]

We need Biden to make magic mushrooms legal again. Reconnect with nature! #FREE MOM!!!!

[@bamdix]

Yes, a lots of possibilities

[@jouberyan8155]

I hink mushrooms are our number 1 ally at helping save the planet. One of my goals with my life is to travel and help mushrooms grow to help break down harsh chemicals from pesticides and herbicides in our ecosystem.

[@magdycomics]

If the results are like 70% yes, then we are so close to a revolutionary eco friendly solution for this trumbling planet

[@mumbairay]

#ChornobylNOTChernobyl

[@spools.i1311]

Mushrooms are mostly underrated: imagine something between an animal and a plant, decompose dead organisms like a natural crime scene cleaner, sweep up chemicals that would destroy the environment, and be edible?! They rock!

[@thesilentone4024]

I want the 8 meter tall mushrooms

[@procatist8624]

@@thesilentone4024 I have one..

[@thesilentone4024]

@@procatist8624 living and growing?

[@procatist8624]

@@thesilentone4024 it stopped growing when I was 18

[@thesilentone4024]

@@procatist8624 oh I see i hear if you eat the same food over and over again for a week it can taste like what you have been eating according to lots of women i taked to lol.

[@joshuakwee7969]

This reminds me of Nausica of the valley of the wind. She discovers that the fungi forests actually purify the earth from the pollution of war that made most of the land uninhabitable.

[@vorkarb2825]

I loved that movie and yeah its too far from the truth

[@expensivenes2645]

Yes! I thought about that too!

[@michaeltrobridge9755]

Yes yes yes! I was hoping to see a mention of Nausicäa in this vid…

[@ulforcemegamon3094]

Considering that there are fungi that can eat up radiation fungi forest cleaning up after-war disasters makes sense tbh

[@Nahoko_Satomi]

@@expensivenes2645 me too!

[@fal_pal_]

Fungi are the most underutilized resource I can think of with how prolific they are, and we need to work with them to survive

[@austinbevis4266]

Make a mushroom car

[@skinnyskelly]

Surely it will be delightful to work with the fun-guy

[@Dnxl03]

@@austinbevis4266 convertible mushroom

[@muhammadisaac07]

Indeed

[@BorisKOUKA]

actually they are not really rich in energy for you body.

[@ffedor245]

Slime molds are not classified together with fungi, but they were shown in the introduction as fungi. Nevertheless, slime molds can be potentially just as useful. They can solve mazes, optimize pathways, and that branching yellow blob is just one cell.

[@austinbevis4266]

That is pretty amazing

[@OneAndAHalfMan1]

Thank you!

[@yahiaaymen7876]

so they are classified as what?

[@ffedor245]

@@yahiaaymen7876 They are protists, myxomycetes - single-celled eukaryotes. They can look alike but be related to different classes of organisms

[@James-pb8xu]

@@ffedor245 they must be some of the largest single celled organisms, because that's insane.

[@Deckzwabber]

Funghi have existed without us for literally millions of years. And they will be here long after we're gone. Interesting to see how we could use them to prolong our own existence.

[@HiddenLemur]

Great to see this topic being covered. It's the next generation of understanding the planet.

[@NeedSpeed39]

And also understanding life. Civilization's neglect towards fungi mirrors its fear of death/destruction. Every cycle must come to an end.

[@kwiiin_]

I've always wondered why there are so many funghi growing in Metro, a dystopian book and video game series. Since the world there is shredded because of nuclear wars, nothing grows there, the surface is frozen- but for a few mutants and funghi. Now I understand why. Thank you!

[@MTTT1234]

Because Funghi don't need UV lights like plants to grow. Funghi only need moisture and organic material to grow. So they can grow in dim lights or total darkness.

[@klaytonseavey436]

Metro is an amazing game trilogy. Even more amazing with mushrooms. Lol

[@yeah-gor8813]

Off-topic comment, how tf do ya disable spiders in metro exodus?

[@kwiiin_]

@@yeah-gor8813 You can't. :/ You can burn them off with Artyom's lighter (simply light it and walk towards a web). The big spiders hate light- look at them until they screech and fall on their backs, then shoot them. Most of the time I just passed them, screaming.

[@mamajojoful]

Unfortunately, there is an error in the serially repeated images of slime moulds growing because they are not classified as fungi. I love them both anyway!

[@DWPlanetA]

Hi Jo, you are right, the pictures shown at 0:05, 0:38, 0:57, and 8:01 are slime moulds - which used to be considered fungi, but now are classified to be part of the Kingdom Protista. We apologize for the mistake and thanks for noticing :)!

[@keonckiser872]

I literally was about to start righting my persuasive speech about how we should use fungi as a source of packing and other uses. And conveniently this video was released on the same day. Perfect timing!

[@PointmanOps]

Writing it out it's a good start

[@Xamy-]

It’s already being done by multiple companies 😉

[@Dr.Kay_R]

Note:- Before fungi evolved to break lignin, the lignin from plants accumulated for millions of years. *Now it is coal.*

[@superymariowest2403]

I think the best thing about fungi is that they grow from death and waste, enriching the soil they grow in for ecosystems on plants to grow in.

[@jacobrafaat1516]

Fungi are like a Pandora’s box full of utilities and solutions, and we still have so much more to learn about them! I love to see them covered on your channel🍄💚

[@garywillow6578]

How eloquently put.

[@elithebeast3820]

I could finally realize my dream of living in a mushroom house.

[@johannageisel5390]

You can already! Plant a mushroom on podzol or mycelium and bonemeal it.

[@Shvetsario]

Minecraft be like

[@alexbroere2669]

Great video. Fungi are indeed so underrated. There is also an extensive documentary on Netflix " fantastic Fungi".

[@anshikarao2655]

This channel has become my favorite now. I gain so much knowledge with solid live examples. This channel gives me so much hope 🌿

[@DorianneSchwarz]

This is genius! I'm looking forward to seeing these amazing discoveries being implemented throughout our daily lives. Thanks for the info 🙏.

[@kevinkay1718]

DW never cease to give some of the best documentaries today. Thanks from the Solomon Islands.

[@rahul8454]

FUNGI , we humans have crush on you. DW planet A , This channel is a gem. I wish the officials and politicians participating in COP26 watch DW PLANET A, then only they can save the earth from climate change. All the best team, i wish i could work with DW planet A but unfortunately , i can't.

[@indicusinsight2610]

Indeed , this channel is having solutions all climate change problems and i wish politicians watch this 😊

[@rummage3972]

Lmao how can you love fungi 🤢

[@DWPlanetA]

Thank you very much, we appreciate it! But tell us why you can not work with us :)

[@rahul8454]

@@DWPlanetA i can work with you 😘

[@ChadMagiera]

Great use of visualizations and excellent pacing for the editing of this piece... Thanks for taking the time to highlight important ecological solutions and not just doom and gloom. Optimism and a path forward is going to get more people on board. Cheers

[@tanmaypatra]

i just completed going thru all the videos in the channel.. Awesome content .. Why only Fridays, please make more n more n more n more ... this planet needs more awareness now then ever required ..

[@extraincomesuz]

Yes I do. I wish there was a channel dedicated to teaching how to make things like these mushroom bricks.

[@theinhtikezaw428]

Really coincidence now I am reading mycelium running, planet A poses about 🍄. Love it 🥰

[@santiagodemarco547]

Champignon are delicius to make a dish.

[@McChrister]

I have been reading up on Psilocybin for medical use for Mental Health....I live in Canada and although still in the experimental phase it is already available. I am on SSRI’s and weaning off them to try the mushroom instead of a synthetic pill. Hope it will benefit me and perhaps thousands of other people...God Bless our planet🙏🏼🍀🍄👋🏼🇨🇦

[@fk2926]

Have fun on your trip

[@oliverbarnes6951]

Keep going Bro! I've been where you've been you''ll get through it - TRUST ME, be brave. Love, Oliver

[@microska2656]

Fungi can also be used to bury the dead! From mushroom coffins to mycelium suits, the body can decompose much quicker and without polluting the soil with heavy metals and other pollutans (existing in ordinary coffins). This method can be useful in countries like Greece, where cemeteries are running out of space. A faster decomposition means graves are emptying faster making more space for the new dead.

[@davidkomakech9769]

Victims of suspicious deaths may not appreciate that...what if a judge wants the body exhumed?

[@microska2656]

@@davidkomakech9769 too late, the fungus has already started to eat the body

[@davidkomakech9769]

@@microska2656 And the secret murderer quietly rejoices, for now we will never know.

[@microska2656]

@@davidkomakech9769 wait though, the murdered body doesn't gets examined by the medical examiner?

[@davidkomakech9769]

@@microska2656 Murderer may have buried the body himself so the examiner never got the chance until after exhumation. Or new evidence came to light...

[@MortySmith]

Magic mushrooms are the best they bring you so much energy when you're at lowest They are just the best dru- plant

[@Alpha_Rigel_Cassiopeia]

Amazing and informative ad which I've seen lately

[@BrokenDharmaForge]

See there is a lot in this world I hate. But this. This is not among it. Nature is so... honestly I dont even have the word that really encompasses the feeling. I love it. Its just so dang amazing!

[@iangordon9869]

I'm going to make my first house out of mushrooms now. And I'm serious. If it takes 10 years, I care. Im going to contribute to the survival of this planet. My first real house will be mushrooms based and eco friendly.

[@sn31t33]

Dafuq build it out of wood, cannabis as isolation or sheep wool. You can nearly build a modern house with eco friendly resources. But most don't want to pay 1,5 times the price. And you wouldn't too.

[@majermike]

wood is more eco-friendly than mushrooms, currently, and probably forever

[@TwilightMysts]

My goal is to build an earthship style house using rammed earth walls for structure and mycelium infused straw as insulation.

[@jaystackz3425]

yeah yeah yeah stop the cap

[@GEMINDIGO]

@@TwilightMysts Don't forget hemp!!

[@heidioid]

This is so cool. I learned some fascinating stuff about fungi! Thanks!!

[@evekinglehman84]

Hooray! Excellent documentary. I'll be watching this direction in discovery. Thanks

[@devvratdevbharti11]

love you DW you are always rises very relevant topics❣

[@Khan0156]

Thank you! Your work is very precious at this time

[@madhur2k9]

Thanks so much for making this video!! Really appreciate your work!!!!!

[@DWPlanetA]

Hey there! Glad you liked our video 😀 If you want to see more videos like these, subscribe to our channel, we post new videos every Friday ✨

[@elconejitopandrosito4971]

I never expect to watch a 1:30 hour documentary on fungi and then fall in love with them

[@Sk1tz092]

What do you mean? This video is 13 minutes and you say 1 hour 30 minutes?

[@elconejitopandrosito4971]

@@Sk1tz092 oh my bad, there’s a documentary of 1:30:00 minutes in Netflix about fungi, highly recommended

[@muhammadisaac07]

Thank you so much DW Planet A

[@DadsCigaretteRun]

Great video, I love how you show the good and bad of your solutions. Mushrooms for life ❤️

[@syster9700]

This is a great video, thank you!

[@paolazo-l4790]

Very interesting video, thank you all for bringing hope and common sense so needed I beleive there's not A solution that we need to find, but a complex confound of local procedures that will help us out of this. We will find the way, I hope and Im confident

[@dipendragahamagar2386]

Informative video as always ❤

[@allen3784]

I love this concept. I’ve seen people use mycelium bricks on a cabin tv show and when one of them got wet a mushroom emerges from the brick lol.

[@allen3784]

@Elina Roberts What does that have to do with mycelium bricks?

[@muthukumaranl]

Another excellently executed piece!

[@nikhitakumar]

Amazing video, love you guys at DW 😍😍😍

[@adinahbarlow7089]

Amazing. I feel so inspired by the possibilities here!

[@XCmanCraig]

Fungi are awesome, but they require the most specific moisture and low light conditions to encourage growth for them. Otherwise they would have taken over the Earth! So using them is a novel idea. It's impractical implement in most environmental disaster situations.

[@Alorio-Gori]

Thank you for this video ❤️

[@dia444]

This video helped a lot in my project and it also helped to expand my view on the powers fungi posses Thanks a ton

[@sanketdatta9874]

Best channel. Love it

[@JoseOrtiz-cy9ie]

keep doing this type of videos, good job.

[@DWPlanetA]

Hey there! Happy to hear that ✨ We publish new videos every week. Subscribe to us to not miss any ✨

[@vikassirohi280]

Beautifully explained and yes your voice and exent is understandable 👍

[@hollish196]

Fabulous information! Shared on FB. I love the idea of housing with fungi bricks. A good cob covering would be ideal!

[@sreehariedathil4868]

Great job DW planet A

[@rebeccaerb9935]

Fascinating and Excellent Idea! I'm for it!!

[@jamesp8459]

Awesome, very interesting video!

[@lenam2114]

That was super interesting! Thank you

[@markonefly]

Great thanks to DW, please keep up the good job.

[@reginaargentin2864]

this was informative and well done thank you and yes I think fungi should be utilized

[@okeoi]

Fungi can help us experience a new perspective on life as well as improve our future. They deserve our respect.

[@JuicyLife3]

I really want to try lsd, or magic mushrooms but i don't know where or how to get them, I can't find a source any recommendations??

[@greatestofalltime4125]

I could remember the first time i tripped it was so thrilling I felt like I was deep into the sea

[@alpha-tj6jt]

I have enjoyed lot's of trips from ket, lsd but i have never tried magic mushrooms before hope 2grams isn't bad for a starter

[@collinsparker6627]

/Malachi_tripp/ got psychedelics

[@alpha-tj6jt]

@@collinsparker6627 is he on Instagram or what?

[@collinsparker6627]

@@alpha-tj6jt Yeah, he's got magic mushrooms, chocolate bars, lsd and other psych's

[@demris15]

I would love to see more about this and how they could be integrated (or help evolve) modern HVAC systems/randiant heat systems.

[@fredmeyers4076]

I recommend you hit up this legit plug they're very reliable ship to any location they've got Adderall shrooms ketamine dmt,lsd,spores,microdose and other psychedelic stuffs!

[@fredmeyers4076]

trippy_psyche1 ????

[@fredmeyers4076]

ON INSTAGRAM

[@jorgemoramuoz8067]

Beautiful channel, indeed.

Great content thanks

[@virgisvick278]

this is very informative about the climet and the world

[@engineeredarmy1152]

This video as well as mushrooms are very underrated.

[@rahul8454]

yeah , kira said that long ago haha

[@stevedolesch9241]

Thank you DW.

[@teneoaristocrata3270]

Very interesting. Thank you!

[@cry6ix]

Thanks to the name above ⬆️ ⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️ I got mine from them they sell Mushrooms lsd Dmt and chocolate bar 🍫 and other stuffs

[@HaileeandKendra]

Great video!!

[@BigDaddyWolf]

Thx for sharing :)

[@alimohammadi9779]

Very nice channel. Thanks to DW

[@alexdiaz1791]

👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼 very interesting information

[@woofy2000]

Fun fact: most of our planet's oil and coal comes from a time when fungi didn't know how to degrade wood so instead the world was covered in layers and layers of organic material, the pressure over thousands of year creating what we today are burning in seconds.

[@vikaspatil3418]

Fungi like trichoderma also found use in agriculture, it can be used to protect plant against infections

[@ultrasomber9833]

I didnt know mushrooms were so important to the environment. thanks for making this video!

[@IberianCraftsman]

yeah, that's why its good to pick some dirt from a healthy forest, strain it to get rid of bugs and stones and once back home mix it around the garden, that way we release good microorganisms and spores around.

[@m0narck]

THIS IS SO AWESOME

[@savageshorts1559]

This channel is soo underrated 👏

[@woodviewi6921]

Interesting good point of view

[@asifuzzaman21]

Thanks for featuring mushroom. As a mushroom farmer, we want more people to know about mushrooms.

[@Airr-r]

"Magic Mushrooms", the actual topic was not exactly what I was thinking going into this video but I'm certainly glad I learned somethin extremely interesting lmao

[@olgierdogden4742]

Yes I do agree that you can use Fungi to clean up the planet and a whole lot of other things to. We do to much pondering on many different things and really it’s about time to look at solving the future’s problems with any other alternative and sensible solutions such as the use’s of Fungi.

[@dramaqueen4640]

Really interesting and full of potential

[@Julian_Wang-pai]

Intriguing news - lots of potential to be realised asap 🙂

[@soulonsoul8035]

Very cool!

[@testperson878]

Wow. This was so well done. I was just reading about fungi too. How do you get all those video clips? Adobe? Subscription service? Im floored you only have 130k subs. Keep at it!

[@DWPlanetA]

Thanks :)! This time we got permission to use some footage from amazingfungi (kzbin.info) and Another Perspective (kzbin.info/door/IZpKZH73Xr8udmjGmzp_IA)! Usually we use a lot of archival footage, get in contact with scientists/companies as well as film our own as often as possible.

[@rahul8454]

@@DWPlanetA i can make some cool stock fottage for you guys 😉

[@lgr6709]

Mushrooms are amazing in every way. Excellent video, succinct and accurate. * The good if brief twice good * - Baltasar Gracián

[@elinamclean1877]

Absolutely BRILLIANTTTTT I WILL SHARE THIS AS FAR AND WIDE AS POSSIBLE LETS PROPAGATE YOUR GLORIOUS IDEAS AND BRING THEM TO FRUITION GLOBALLY !!!!!!!! AWESOME OUTSTANING WORK!!!!!!!!!

[@ninamartin1084]

Love this narrator!

[@carmensaezcuesta4580]

Thanks for the video. Fungi housing is an increadible project with great potential and attraction! Please share more information or active projects. Thanks in advance.

[@DWPlanetA]

We will! Don't forget to check our page every Friday at 16:00 as we release new videos weekly. Thank you for your support, Carmen :)

[@annawolff5837]

Amazing! The past and the future.

[@chiragchandan9135]

good video

[@danielhanawalt4998]

Very interesting. Most people, myself included, think of mushrooms as food. And some exotic spiritual use. Some are not for either I've heard as some are deadly. I can see large mushroom farms in the future. Maybe vertical farms. Enjoyed your video. Thanks.

[@TheNoiseySpectator]

Had you thought about splicing into them genes from anaerobic extremophiles, so they would absorb inorganic toxins out of the soil, such as Mercury, Arsenic, or lead left over from paint & contaminated drinking water?

[@jennab8649]

7:50 this is really vital

[@microska2656]

Slime molds are protozoans

[@shaimaraad7996]

This is so interesting

[@azurebrown3756]

I am glad to see the recent interest in the Fungal Kingdom, I think they are our missing link in proper understanding of using and trading of resources among the other 4 Kingdoms.

[@hearttouchingnews3896]

Nice video

[@meinkanal3507]

the bricks rot after usage? then how do they sustain while usage? great video, knowledge of the fungi to the world🫂

[@Gabensrightnut]

THANK YOU as an Oregonian I’m so happy that you said it right even other Americans don’t say it properly

[@mpandunky]

I like that the video doesn't just sell a pipe dream. Instead, it highlights the flaws of 'fungi engineering' and paints a realistic picture.

[@majermike]

agreed, I love fungi but wood makes more sense from all aspects as a construction material

[@quadrimahmoud1028]

Excellent

[@DWPlanetA]

Hey there! Glad you liked our video 🍄 If you want to see more videos like these, subscribe to our channel. We post new videos every Friday ✨