Comments on Biochar

• Biochar Soil Technology.....Husbandry of Soils

  Biochar Soil Technology.....Husbandry of whole new orders of life
  
  Biotic Carbon, the carbon transformed by life, should never be combusted, oxidized and destroyed. It deserves more respect, reverence even, and understanding to use it back to the soil where 2/3 of excess atmospheric carbon originally came from.
  Our farming for over 10,000 years has been responsible for 2/3rds of our excess greenhouse gases. This soil carbon, converted to carbon dioxide, Methane & Nitrous oxide began a slow stable warming that now accelerates with burning of fossil fuel.
  
  Wise Land management; Organic farming and afforestation can build back our soil carbon,
  
  Biochar allows the soil food web to build much more recalcitrant organic carbon, ( living biomass & Glomalins) in addition to the carbon in the biochar.
  
  Modern Pyrolysis of biomass is a process for Carbon Negative Bio fuels, massive Carbon sequestration,10X Lower Methane & N2O soil emissions, and 3X Fertility Too.
  Every 1 ton of Biomass yields 1/3 ton Charcoal for soil Sequestration, Bio-Gas & Bio-oil fuels, so is a totally virtuous, carbon negative energy cycle.
  
  Biochar viewed as soil Infrastructure; The old saw;
  "Feed the Soil Not the Plants" becomes;
  "Feed, Cloth and House the Soil, utilities included !".
  Free Carbon Condominiums with carboxyl group fats in the pantry and hydroxyl alcohol in the mini bar.
  Build it and the Wee-Beasties will come.
  As one microbiologist said on the Biochar list; "Microbes like to sit down when they eat".
  By setting this table we expand husbandry to whole new orders of life.
  
  One aspect of Biochar systems are Cheap, clean biomass stoves that produce biochar and no respiratory disease. At scale, the health benefits are greater than ending Malaria.
  The biochar Fund is also doing amazing work in the developing world;
  terrapretapot.org…
  
  The Biochar Fund
  biocharfund.org…
  and to explain their program;
  biocharfund.org…index.php
  
  Biochar data base; TP-REPP
  terrapreta.bioenergy…
  
  NASA's Dr. James Hansen Global warming solutions paper and letter to the G-8 conference, placing Biochar / Land management the central technology for carbon negative energy systems.
  arxiv.org…0804.1126.pdf
  
  Soil Carbon Sequestration Standards Committee. Hosted by Monsanto, this group of diverse interests has been hammering out issues of definition, validation and protocol. The past week, this group have been pressing soil sequestration's roll for climate legislation to congress.
  www.novecta.com…Carbon-Standard.pdf
  
  Along these lines internationally, the work of the IBI fostering the application by 13 countries for UN recognition of soil carbon as a sink with biochar as a clean development mechanism will open the door for programs across the globe.
  www.biochar-internat…biocharpolicy.html.
  
  Reports:
  This new Congressional Research Service report (by analyst Kelsi Bracmort) is the best short summary I have seen so far - both technical and policy oriented.
  assets.opencrs.com…R40186_20090203.pdf .
  
  This is the single most comprehensive report to date, covering more of the Asian and Australian work;
  www.csiro.au…poei.pdf
  
  Carbon to the Soil, the only ubiquitous and economic place to put it.
  Cheers,
  Erich
  The first North American Biochar Conference, in Boulder Aug 12-15, 
  Keynote speaker Secretary Tom Vilsack & Dr. Susan Solomon (NOAA's head atmospheric scientist) at.
  www.regonline.com…Default.aspx

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• 2
  erichjJun 14, 2009 3:51 AMMcGaheysville, United States

  Asian Biochar conference

  There is real magic coming out of the Asian Biochar conference.
  15 ear per stalk corn with 250% yield increase,
  Sacred Trees and chickens raised from near death
  Multiple confirmations of 80% - 90% reduction of soil GHG emissions
  
  The abstracts of the conference are at
  www.anzbiochar.org…20BioChar%20Confer...

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