What is also coming down the road are other mechanisms from public & private companies like the carbon foot print / sustainability Index labeling pricing that will soon be lead by Walmart, (as goes Walmart so goes the world) and Virgin’s Carbon War Room’s focus on Biochar / Biofuel systems, facilitating public & private efforts for Carbon soil sequestration.

To me, in the long run, the final arbiter / accountancy / measure of sustainability will be
soil carbon content. Once this royal road is constructed, traffic cops ( Carbon Board ) in place, the truth of Biochar systems will be self-evident.(The Ag Soil Carbon Standard is in final review by the AMS- ARC branch at USDA.)

As I read the agronomic history of civilization, only the Kayopo Amazon Indians and the Egyptians
(Nile floods, which they now have forsaken) have maintained fertility for the long haul, millennium scales.

We are also in De-nile about our own soil carbon loss over time due to technical mitigations like NPK and the green revolution. (See Complete Paper: http://jeq.scijournals.org/cgi/content/full/38/6/2295 )

The true “Gold” standard is soil carbon, measurable soon by earth sensing satellites, available for all to see their good (or bad) works.

The clarity and lack of complexity in this simple perspective has focused my efforts to this goal.

I am also doing field trials in Virgina with the Biochar research group at Rodale Institute , in conjunction with their people doing regular soil carbon research involved in this Ag Carbon Standards process..

Biochar systems for Biofuels and soil carbon sequestration are so basically conservative in nature it is a shame that republicans have not seized it as a central environmental policy plank as the conservatives in Australia have; “Carbon sequestration without Taxes”

All political persuasions agree, building soil carbon is GOOD.
To Hard bitten Farmers, wary of carbon regulations that only increase their costs, Building soil carbon is a savory bone, to do well while doing good.

Biochar provides the tool powerful enough to cover Farming’s carbon foot print while lowering cost simultaneously.

Agriculture allowed our cultural accent and Agriculture will now prevent our descent.
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.

Biochar, the modern version of an ancient Amazonian agricultural practice called Terra Preta (black earth, TP), is gaining widespread credibility as a way to address world hunger, climate change, rural poverty, deforestation, and energy shortages… SIMULTANEOUSLY!

Every 1 ton of Biomass yields 1/3 ton Charcoal for soil Sequestration (= to 1 Ton CO2e) + Bio-Gas & Bio-oil fuels = to 1MWh exported electricity, 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.
Microbes like to sit down when they eat.
By setting this table we expand husbandry to whole new orders & Kingdoms of life.

This is what I try to get across to Farmers, as to how I feel about the act of returning carbon to the soil. An act of penitence and thankfulness for the civilization we have created. Farmers are the Soil Sink Bankers, once carbon has a price, they will be laughing all the way to it.
Unlike CCS which only reduces emissions, biochar systems draw down CO2 every energy cycle, closing a circle back to support the soil food web. The photosynthetic “capture” collectors are up and running, the “storage” sink is in operation just under our feet. Pyrolysis conversion plants are the only infrastructure we need to build out.

Carbon to the Soil, the only ubiquitous and economic place to put it.
Cheers,
Erich

Aerosol / Counter intuitive Feedback study;

This recent research on aerosols by Lina Mercado of the UK’s Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, presents a double-bind, in that , as aerosols are reduced, less diffusion of light reduces photosynthesis, drawing down 20% less CO2 into biomass. Only a carbon negative energy system like biochar soil carbon sequestration can address this added CO2 burden caused by this double-bind of clean air.
http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/38777

A dream I’ve had for years ( see Paraphrased speech below ) to base the coming carbon economy firmly on the foundation of top soils. My read of the agronomic history of civilization shows that the Kayopo Amazon indians and the Egytians were the only ones to maintain fertility for the long haul, millennium scales. Egypt has now forsaken their geologic advantage by building the Aswan dam, and are stuck, with the rest of us, in the soil C mining, NPK rat race to the bottom.

The Ag Soil Carbon Standard is in the second phase of review by the AMS / ARC branch at USDA.
After initial review, approval is expected in this month. Contact Gary Delong . http://www.novecta.com 515-334-7305 office
Read over the work so far;
http://www.novecta.com/documents/Carbon-Standard.pdf

Soil Carbon Dream

I have a dream that one day we live in a nation where progress will not be judged by the production yields of our fields, but by the color of their soils and by the Carbon content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, a suite of earth sensing satellites will level the playing field, giving every farmer a full account of carbon he sequesters. That Soil Carbon is given as the final arbiter, the common currency, accountant and Judge of Stewardship on our lands.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made forest, the rough soils will be made fertile, and the crooked Carbon Marketeers will be made straight, and the glory of Soil Sequestration shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see a Mutually assured Sustainability.

This is our hope.

My apologies to Dr. King, but I think he would understand my passion
Erich

Wise Land management; Organic farming and afforestation can build back our soil carbon,

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.

We all know we are carbon-centered life, we seldom think about the complex web of recycled bio-carbon which is the true center of life. A cradle to cradle, mutually co-evolved biosphere reaching into every crack and crevice on Earth.

It’s hard for most to revere microbes and fungus, but from our toes to our gums (onward), their balanced ecology is our health. The greater earth and soils are just as dependent, at much longer time scales.

Al Gore is now focused on Building Soil Carbon. Now I stand square behind him!

All political persuasions agree, building soil carbon is GOOD.
To Hard bitten Farmers, wary of carbon regulations that only increase their costs, Building soil carbon is a savory bone, to do well while doing good.

Biochar soils and carbon Land management provide the tools powerful enough to cover Farming’s carbon foot print while lowering cost simultaneously.

Biochar is 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.
Microbes like to sit down when they eat.
By setting this table we expand husbandry to whole new orders & Kingdoms of life.

This is what I try to get across to Farmers, as to how I feel about the act of returning carbon to the soil. An act of penitence and thankfulness for the civilization we have created.
Farmers are the Soil Sink Bankers, once carbon has a price, they will be laughing all the way to it.

Unlike CCS which only reduces emissions, biochar systems draw down CO2 every energy cycle, closing a circle back to support the soil food web. The photosynthetic “capture” collectors are up and running, the “storage” sink is in operation just under our feet. Pyrolysis conversion plants are the only infrastructure we need to build out.

The Biochar Fund :
Exceptional results from biochar experiment in Cameroon
The broad smiles of 1500 subsistence farmers say it all ( that , and the size of the Biochar corn root balls )
http://biocharfund.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55&Itemid=75

All political persuasions agree, building soil carbon is GOOD.
To Hard bitten Farmers, wary of carbon regulations that only increase their costs, Building soil carbon is a savory bone, to do well while doing good.

Biochar provides the tool powerful enough to cover Farming’s carbon foot print while lowering cost simultaneously.

Profitable solutions self-replicate. Like viruses, they creep from one farm to the next, eventually exploding in exponential growth. They scale up.

Another significant aspect of bichar is removal of BC aerosols by low cost ($3) Biomass cook stoves that produce char but no respiratory disease emissions. At Scale, replacing “Three Stone” stoves the health benefits would equal eradication of Malaria.
://terrapretapot.org/
The Congo Basin Forest Fund (CBFF).recently funded The Biochar Fund $300K for these systems citing these priorities;
(1) Hunger amongst the world’s poorest people, the subsistence farmers of Sub-Saharan Africa,
(2) Deforestation resulting from a reliance on slash-and-burn farming,
(3) Energy poverty and a lack of access to clean, renewable energy, and
(4) Climate change.

The Biochar Fund :
Exceptional results from biochar experiment in Cameroon

The broad smiles of 1500 subsistence farmers say it all ( that , and the size of the Biochar corn root balls )
://biocharfund.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55&Itemid=75

Mark my words; Given the potential for Laurens Rademaker’s programs to grow exponentially, only a short time lies between This man’s nomination for a Noble Prize.

This authoritative PNAS article should cause the recent Royal Society Report to rethink their criticism of Biochar systems of Soil carbon sequestration;

Reducing abrupt climate change risk using
the Montreal Protocol and other regulatory
actions to complement cuts in CO2 emissions
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2009/10/09/0902568106.full.pdf+html

There are dozens soil researchers on the subject now at USDA-ARS.
and many studies at The up coming ASA-CSSA-SSSA joint meeting;
://a-c-s.confex.com/crops/2009am/webprogram/Session5675.html

The Clean Energy Partnerships Act of 2009
The bill is designed to ensure that any US domestic cap-and-trade bill provides maximum incentives and opportunities for the US agricultural and forestry sectors to provide high-quality offsets and GHG emissions reductions for credit or financial incentives. Carbon offsets play a critical role in keeping the costs of a cap-and-trade program low for society as well as for capped sectors and entities, while providing valuable emissions reductions and income generation opportunities for the agricultural sector. The bill specifically identifies biochar production and use as eligible for offset credits, and identifies biochar as a high priority for USDA R&D, with funding authorized by the bill.

Senator Baucus is co-sponsoring a bill along with Senator Tester (D-MT) called WE CHAR. Water Efficiency via Carbon Harvesting and Restoration Act! It focuses on promoting biochar technology to address invasive species and forest biomass. It includes grants and loans for biochar market research and development, biochar characterization and environmental analyses. It directs USDI and USDA to provide loan guarantees for biochar technologies and on-the-ground production with an emphasis on biomass from public lands. And the USGS is to do biomas availability assessments.
WashingtonWatch.com – S. 1713, The Water Efficiency via Carbon Harvesting and Restoration (WECHAR) Act of 2009

Al Gore got the CO2 absorption thing wrong, ( at NABC Vilsack did same), but his focus on Soil Carbon is right on;
://www.newsweek.com/id/220552/page/3

Research:
The future of biochar – Project Rainbow Bee Eater
://www.sciencealert.com.au/features/20090211-20142.html

Japan Biochar Association ;
://www.geocities.jp/yasizato/pioneer.htm

UK Biochar Research Centre
://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/sccs/biochar/

Carbon to the Soil, the only ubiquitous and economic place to put it.
Cheers,
Erich

(I had ti cut http off my links)

Ms Blume let me know there is another link : http://kathrynblume.com/LysProj.htm

Happy reading and if you’re there, go see her

Here’s an interesting blog, I’ve been following: http://www.thechevronpit.blogspot.com

1. The LuciaStove Reduces Deforestation. The LuciaStove was specifically designed to be
incapable of using large wood. To help reduce the demand for wood or charcoal (major sources of
deforestation (Kammen and Lew, 2005)) the LuciaStove can only use fuel too small to be burnt in
a standard stove. Most often these small fuels (rice husks, karitè shells, peanut shells to name a few)
are viewed as a waste product, and are disposed of by burning them in large open fires contributing
to air pollution (Gustaffson, et al. 2009) in areas where fuel is desperately scarce (Gaye, A.
2007/2008).

2. LuciaStoves Reduce the Demand For Fuel. In a direct comparison with a standard charcoal
grill of similar configuration, the LuciaGrill, ready in 3 minutes after ignition, cooked the same
amount of food as a standard charcoal grill which required about 20 minutes to reach operative
temperatures. The LuciaGrill (which functions with the same components of the LuciaStove) used
a total of 300 grams of wood pellets vs the 1 kilogram of charcoal used by the charcoal grill. Please
bear in mind that in Madagascar it takes and average of 5 to 7 kg of wood to produce 1 kg of
charcoal. (FAO, Forestry Products, 1994.)
This means that by using a fully pyrolytic stove such as the LuciaStove, rather than using 1 kg of
charcoal which comes from 5kg to 7kg of trees, the same amount of cooking can be done with 300
grams of grasses, leaves, rice hulls or nutshells. In addition, the 300 grams of fuel, after being used
for cooking, heating, and boiling water will have produced approximately 60 grams of biochar of
which about 80% is pure carbon (please see our web page for spectrographic analysis of char
produced with the LuciaStove process .
The virtue of the LuciaStove is that it pyrolyzes the fuel and then burns the gases produced. Gasses
burn more efficiently than do solids such as wood.
There are cultural advantages to be considered as well. Because LuciaStoves burn the gases it
produces this permits developing nations essentially to cook on a gas flame as do many “modern”
kitchens. This is perceived by many of the people who use them, as a more modern alternative to
propane or coal, one that allows them to maintain their cooking traditions and customs without the
environmental or economic consequences that propane or coal have.
The dramatic reduction of fuel needs permitted by the LuciaStove, combined with the fact that it
can utilise fuel previously considered too small to use, also increases personal safety in that women
and children need to travel less to gather the fuel needed to cook.

3. The LuciaStove Helps Promote Better Living Conditions. Each time a LuciaStove is used to
produce a meal for a family of five, it can produce sufficient charcoal to filter 10 litres of water.
This dramatically reduces the fuel needed to provide safe drinking water. Furthermore, because the
pyrolytic zone in a LuciaStove is the open air fuel container, the LuciaStove uses the char it
produces as a filter during the combustion of the gasses produced, providing cleaner indoor air. The
World Health Organization has recognized that indoor air pollution from open fire cooking and
traditional biomass stoves, causes 1.6 million premature deaths a year, mostly in women and
children (WHO, 2007).

4. The WorldStove Programs Create Local Economic and Ecological Opportunities.
WorldStove designs stoves and small energy systems for developing nations. We then work with
local communities to teach them how to make their own stoves, creating local jobs and creating
small, locally owned shops that produce stoves that are specifically altered to use local waste and
tuned to respect local cooking traditions. The char produced by the stoves is used to help restore
carbon in depleted local soils and help reduce seeding dieout rates in local aforestation programs

5. Biochar Helps Restore Soils. Biochar is one of many tools that can be used to help combat
climate issues. We see biochar, when created and applied responsibly, as a solution for some issues
that could not be resolved by any other method. Current agriculture practice removes nutrients
(Mengel and Kirkby 2001) and carbon (Davidson and Ackerman, 1993) from the ground, increasing
desertification, impoverishing the soil and increasing the need for chemical fertilizers. Burying
biochar, even after it has been used to filter water, helps restore soil nutrients and carbon. This
facilitates restoration of soil biodiversity, rather than continuing the unsustainable practice of
simply taking from Mother Earth.

At Scale, replacing “Three Stone” stoves the health benefits would equal eradication of Malaria.
http://terrapretapot.org/
The Congo Basin Forest Fund (CBFF).recently funded The Biochar Fund $300K for these systems citing these priorities;
(1) Hunger amongst the world’s poorest people, the subsistence farmers of Sub-Saharan Africa,
(2) Deforestation resulting from a reliance on slash-and-burn farming,
(3) Energy poverty and a lack of access to clean, renewable energy, and
(4) Climate change.

The Biochar Fund :
Exceptional results from biochar experiment in Cameroon
http://scitizen.com/screens/blogPage/viewBlog/sw_viewBlog.php?idTheme=14&idContribution=3011

The broad smiles of 1500 subsistence farmers say it all ( that , and the size of the Biochar corn root balls )
http://biocharfund.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55&Itemid=75

Mark my words;
Given the potential for Laurens Rademaker’s programs to grow exponentially, only a short time lies between This man’s nomination for a Noble Prize.

Monkey needs to read this Business friendly solution;

http://www.economist.com/sciencetechnology/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14302001