Michaelangelica Posted June 19, 2007 Report Share Posted June 19, 2007 The Net has gone nuts on TP.Here are a few links . Google for more.DIY Terra Preta Soils Double As Carbon Sink Charcoal agriculture: not ready for prime time | Gristmill: The environmental news blog | Grist Terra Preta: Sequestering Carbon in Soil | Green Energy News Dynamotive in Iowa Biochar Test to Boost Corn Yields, Water Quality and Sequester Carbon http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/06/11/farmwaste_pla.html?category=earth&guid=20070611100030&dcitc=w19-502-ak-0000 TheStar.com - columnists - Biochar turns a negative positive Tracking Dangerous Climate Change This Week By Bill Henderson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelangelica Posted July 12, 2007 Report Share Posted July 12, 2007 Killers of renowned anthropologist sentenced in Brazil The men charged with the 2005 killing of University of Vermont anthropology professor James Petersen in the Amazon rainforest were sentenced Tuesday to nearly 30 years in prison, close to the maximum under Brazilian law. Petersen, who had been doing pioneering research on advanced civilizations in the Amazon rainforest and had become a popular figure in the region, was shot and killed on August 13, 2005 during a robbery of a restaurant near Iranduba, a small town in the Brazilian Amazon. The two gunmen were apprehended within 24 hours, while their two accomplices were captured after a three week-manhunt through the rainforest. Peterson's Work in the Amazon Peterson gained fame for his archeological work in the Central Amazon. Together with a handful of other researchers, Peterson collected evidence of sophisticated societies in the Amazon rainforest. These civilizations built extensive road networks, practiced large-scale agriculture, and produced elaborate pottery, but left little trace after they were wiped out by European disease in the sixteenth century. JAMES PETERSEN (1954 - 2005)One of the few remnants left behind by these populations, is their nutrient-rich soil, known locally as terra preta. and some other sad newsResearch and advocacy can be dangerous Dorothy Stang, 1931 - 2005 Dorothy Stang fought for social equity in the Amazon. Dorothy Stang, an American nun who spent more than 30 years fighting for land rights for poor settlers in the Amazon, was murdered by a contract killer in February 2005 in the Brazilian state of Para. Stang, 73, was shot six times with a revolver as she read from the Bible. Stang's confessed killer said he was hired by Amair Feijoli da Cunha, a rancher. He and a partner were offered 50,000 reais (around $25,000) to kill Stang. Stang, a member of the Order of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, was working with the Pastoral Land Commission, a Catholic Church group that lobbies for land reform in Brazil and fights for land rights for the poor, when she was gunned down. Dorothy Stang fought for social equity in the Amazon (Read what her brother has to say here) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erich Posted August 19, 2007 Report Share Posted August 19, 2007 Hi All..... GREAT NEWS.........Kingsford has licensed Dr. Antal's Plasma Carbonization process! On 17-Aug-07, at 1:21 PM, Tom Miles wrote: The Honolulu Advertiser: “The nation's leading manufacturer of charcoal has licensed a University of Hawai'i process for turning green waste into barbecue briquets.” See: Ranking of colleges rankles some - The Honolulu Advertiser Also, be sure to spend 2 minutes watching the video webcast on the Advertiser website that contains a really good look at the commercial scale equipment they are using and an overview of its operation. Also see the HNEI website: Hawaii Natural Energy Institute Michael Antal writes: “I am increasingly optimistic about the future for charcoal.” Tom Miles _______________________________________________ Terrapreta mailing list [email protected] Terrapreta Info Page Terra Preta | Intentional use of charcoal in soil BioEnergy Discussion Lists Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelangelica Posted September 21, 2007 Report Share Posted September 21, 2007 This , I am told is, a good book to have a look at MA Terra preta de índio, Global Climate ChangeBy Rudolph RyserAn example of lost knowledge that could benefit human kind now is given the modern name of terra preta-the dark soil of the upper Amazon created by ancient occupants of the River. Terra preta is rich soil that, according to Mann, ...Fourth World Eye - Fourth World Eye de preta índio, Climate Terra Global ChangeBy john(john)Charles Mann's well written lexicon entitled 1491 (2005, 2006 Vintage Books) reveals the pre-European settlement recital of complex and rich civilizations that mostly figured out how to manage the environment past destroying the ...Environment news - Environment news ALSO Stephen Joseph, the founder of the Oz BEST Industries, was on the ABC (Australian BC) science show "Catalyst" last night.You may be able to watch it on lineMeet taiko drumming environmental scientist, Stephen JosephProducer: Ingrid ArnottResearcher: Ingrid ArnottCamera: Dennis BrennanSound: Richard McDermottEditor: Sasha Madon TranscriptRelated Info 20 September 2007 Professor Stephen Joseph has two passions in his life, one is his science and the other is playing the taiko drums and, according to Stephen, they both give him “the same spiritual experience.” As a renewable energy engineer Stephen has travelled the world working with people in third world countries to improve their living and working conditions. This work inspired Stephen to start up a renewable energy business. Today, Stephen is visiting professor at UNSW Materials Science and Engineering. He is concentrating his research efforts on bio-char, an organic charcoal that can be used to improve soil health, crop yields, and could be one solution to climate changeCatalyst: Meet taiko drumming environmental scientist, Stephen Joseph - ABC TV Science Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelangelica Posted October 8, 2007 Report Share Posted October 8, 2007 Could you pls. tell me how relevant this is. My WWW connection is not fast enough to view itSoil: The Secret Solution to Global Warming - World QuantumShift.tv - Soil: The Secret Solution to Global Warming - World video There are different versions. A world version, a Canadian version and a US version.ALSODid I post this already?The Carbon Farmers - Features - The Lab - Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Gateway to ScienceAlso a couple of good links at the bottom of the page. Things seem to be speeding up TP wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeztar Posted October 8, 2007 Report Share Posted October 8, 2007 Could you pls. tell me how relevant this is. My WWW connection is not fast enough to view it Too bad you can't watch it, it's a pretty good film.It is all about organic farming with no mention of TP. They state that their research has shown that organic farming methods have reduced soil CO2 emissions by over 20%. They explain that when soil is heavily tilled, as in conventional farming, it exposes the organic material and C to more O2 that causes more CO2 to be emitted by the soil. The practice of winter cover crops and no-till or little-till practices ensure that more C is locked in the soil year after year. These findings coupled with TP offer growers an even better edge for battling CO2. :) I haven't searched through the site, but it was the Rodale Institute that did all the research.The Rodale Institute Michaelangelica 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erich Posted October 9, 2007 Report Share Posted October 9, 2007 Hi Michael, The film has Dr. Hepperly (Rodale) and Flanagan talking of Organic methods cutting CO2 20%, no mention of char :) When Dr. Hepperly wrote that article on TP a year or more ago , I sent him my TP post and called twice, but have received no replies. Erich Michaelangelica 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scalbers Posted November 23, 2007 Report Share Posted November 23, 2007 Today on the radio/TV show "Democracy Now" there was broadcast an hour long address by Tim Flannery recently given in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He mentioned pyrolysis and char as an important component of solving global warming. In a few hours this will be available as an on-demand video from the Democracy Now website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelangelica Posted December 17, 2007 Report Share Posted December 17, 2007 New Zealand Herald Search Results Roles focus on charcoal's benefitsSunday, December 16, 2007Two professorships at Massey University have won Government funding forwide-ranging research of "biochar". Studies overseas have ... Govt funds two professors for research in biochar sectorFriday, December 14, 2007Two professorships at Massey University have won government funding forwide-ranging research of "biochar". Research overseas has ... Brian Fallow: Price signal faint at first but the key to tackling emissionsThursday, September 20, 2007... is crucial both to reducing the country's net emissions in the short to medium termand to ensuring there is a plentiful source of biofuels, biochar and green ...NZ Herald: Search for biochar Mangawhai Earthwhisperers(BLOG)Wednesday, October 10, 2007Dr Peter Read to talk about Agrichar What is the Agrichar process? Agricultural feedstocks such as animal manure, rice hulls, peanut shells, corn stover or forest waste are pyrolized at low temperatures to produce a char product (Agrichar or biochar) and separate bio-energy streams, in the form of oils and/or gases. The biochar captures about 50% of the carbon in the feedstock, and can be used as a soil amendment to improve soil fertility, stability, and productivity, and to store carbon in the soils, as a means of mitigating global warming.Mangawhai Earthwhisperers: Dr Peter Read to talk about Agrichar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjen Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 Hello Infinite..., Well I am busy with a small research about charcoal effects on a sandy soil in the Netherlands. I am looking especially to N-cycling. So I measure N-leaching, N in soil and N uptake by a crop.While I was busy I found a nice video. you can find it on google : The Secret of El Dorado. I can't attach the video, because of the rules in this forum :S. Well, I attached it partly, just put http...in front Enjoy! Arjen video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2809044795781727003 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InfiniteNow Posted December 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 Hello Arjen, Welcome aboard. :doh: Our resident passionate gardening and planet saving cool info sharing member Michaelangelica has an entire thread just for this video, available at the following link: http://hypography.com/forums/terra-preta/11656-show-started-all.html And, as you've probably noticed, there is an entire sub-forum (within the Earth Science forum) dedicated to the discussion of Terra Preta. Regardless, I've posted your link below again on your behalf since it is such a good video. Thanks for saying hello, and enjoy yourself. :phones: BBC - Horizon - The Secret of El Dorado http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2809044795781727003 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelangelica Posted February 29, 2008 Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 The Solution on our Dinner Platesby Guy Dauncey What we can do about food and forests :: Changes from the ground up Total global emissions are the equivalent of 31.6 gigatonnes of CO2 annually.The world’s agricultural meat industry contributes 5.7 gigatonnes of that, and 6.3 gigatonnes comes from forest destruction. Eighteen percent of the climate change problem is associated with raising, feeding, and transporting meat. Cutting back on meat consumption is a way to immediately reduce climate impact. Picture of Cow. Photo by Dagmar Nelson, milkaway.smugmug.com Eighteen percent of the climate change problem is associated with raising, feeding, and transporting meat. Cutting back on meat consumption is a way to immediately reduce climate impact. Photo by Dagmar Nelson, milkaway.smugmug.comThe farm industries that put beef, pork, and dairy on our dinner tables account for 18 percent of global greenhouse emissions—a larger share than all the world’s transportation. Animal agriculture unleashes some of the most baneful greenhouse gases—methane from cows’ stomachs (25 times stronger than CO2) and nitrous oxide from animal manure and the use of nitrogen fertilizer (298 times more potent than CO2). And too often, both cows and animal feed are raised on slashed and burned rainforest land, releasing more CO2. What We Can Do About Food and Forests :: Changes from the Ground Up40% of NZ's emissions are due to burping cows.Total global emissions are the equivalent of 31.6 gigatonnes of CO2 annually.The world’s agricultural meat industry contributes 5.7 gigatonnes of that, and 6.3 gigatonnes comes from forest destruction. Here's an idea that, unlike clean coal, is within reach of local authorities and serves multiple purposes. While keeping carbon out of the atmosphere and generating electricity, it can also make our soils more productive. Tasmania has no shortage of plant waste, rich in carbon. Much of it disappears into the atmosphere by burning or is left to rot and relinquish its carbon over time. We can put it to better use. Biochar ("bio" as in plant matter and "char" as in charcoal) is a product that its advocates believe can replicate the ways in which the world's most fertile soils -- "terra preta" or "dark earth" -- cycle their nutrients, hold their water and grow plants better than anywhere else. Biochar is basically small granules of charcoal obtained through heating plant waste in an age-old process called pyrolysis, by which we once produced charcoal for fuel. Modern pyrolysis technology reduces carbon emissions to practically zero while producing heat that can generate sufficient electricity to power some small industrial plants. The residue from the process is carbon in the form of biochar, which has the capacity to revitalise our soils, giving long-lasting fertility while also improving moisture-carrying capacity. That's making carbon work for us, not against us. Which is the way nature always intended. Peter Boyer is a writer, illustrator and publisher who has written extensively about science. Since 2006 he has been a presenter for The Climate Project (AustCarbon tamed to work two ways | Mercury - The Voice of Tasmania Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erich Posted March 1, 2008 Report Share Posted March 1, 2008 This is the first system I've seen to produce "Agrichar" from fossil fuel.I would first like to see this Agrichar side by side with Biochar under an electron microscope to see if the fungi like it as well; Synthetic Agrichar? The Toronto Star reported earlier this month on an interesting new technology that promises cleaner burning natural gas with potentially valuable solid carbon as a by-product. CarbonSavor is the trademarked name of this new technology privately developed by Atlantic Hydrogen Inc. It uses a "low temperature plasma reactor process" to separate hydrogen gas and solid carbon from the natural gas stream without releasing any carbon dioxide in the process. The gaseous hydrogen is then re-routed back into the natural gas line creating a hydrogen enriched mixture that is about 20% hydrogen gas. Hydrogen enriched natural gas is purported to be compatible with existing appliances, furnaces and automobiles. According to the Toronto Star article the hydrogen enriched natural gas burns with a 7% reduction in carbon emissions. Furthermore, they claim that automobile exhausts have 50% to 60% reduced nitrogen oxide content when using the hydrogen enriched natural gas fuel. Two demonstration applications are slated for 2008. The solid carbon by-product created in this process may have several uses. It may have manufacturing applications, such as a in components for automobile or airplanes. Then, the Toronto Star takes one step too far: "It could also be permanently stored in soil – used alongside fertilizer to regenerate depleted farmland. This approach, often referred to as biochar sequestration, could fetch revenues in the form of saleable carbon credits." Biochar sequestration? Not really. Biochar looks like charcoal and is sometimes referred to as agrichar or terra preta. It is primarily carbon and is made by heating bio-mass in the absence of oxygen. Bio-mass comes from plants and animals. It contains carbon removed from the atmosphere during plant growth. When biomass is made into biochar and used as a soil amendment it sequesters carbon in the soil for hundreds of years. Production of biochar also generates a number of carbon negative bio-energy options. Carbon separated from natural gas is a poor substitute for biochar with respect to global warming. It is derived from fossil fuel, not bio-mass. It converts fossil carbon to soil. It does not sequester atmospheric carbon. It is "synthetic agrichar". If synthetic agrichar is cheap and abundant, it may stifle the adoption of genuine biochar. On the other hand, I can't argue with a 7% per unit volume reduction in carbon emissions for natural gas. Synthetic agrichar could be the catalyst that American agriculture needs to start examining the potential benefits of soil carbon sequestration. Farmers need more research to determine the usefulness and correct application rates of agrichar on various soil types. This synthetic product may generate the funding for that research. Synthetic agrichar leaves me scratching my head. More technology gives us more options. But, do I want more fossil fuel options? Is hydrogen enriched natural gas a step towards a hydrogen economy? Will carbon from natural gas actually prove valuable? I welcome your thoughts.By B Goodspeed at 2007-12-26 03:34 Synthetic Agrichar? | Energize America Also...a little off topic but looks promissing; Carbon capture gets crystal poweredUCLA researchers have created a new material that could replace toxic chemicals used to filter greenhouse gases.CO2 has been captured in the lab using a new class of materials designed by UCLA chemists called zeolitic imidazolate frameworks, or ZIFs. The UCLA team also said the ZIFs can store five times more carbon dioxide than the porous carbon materials that are available today, with each liter of ZIF holding 83 liters of carbon dioxide. Carbon capture gets crystal powered | Cleantech.com[EmailLink] Cheers ,Erich Michaelangelica 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelangelica Posted March 1, 2008 Report Share Posted March 1, 2008 Interesting erichChevon Mobile has a huge gas field off the WA coat. The Gogon Gas field.The previous government gave them 60mil (like they really need the money!) to look at carbon sequestration projects (i.e., pumping it back down the hole)As I understand it the natural gas they extract contains a deal of CO2 with the Natural Gas when they bring it to the surface.I could be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erich Posted March 1, 2008 Report Share Posted March 1, 2008 CarbonSavor's plasma process takes elemental carbon off the natural gas, CH4, leaving H2, which is mixed back with the CH4 to make it a "greener" fossil fuel, I don't know about the amount of CO2 bye gas in CH4 production. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erich Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 Drawing down carbon - Johannes Lehmann of Cornell University talks Bio CharFri, 2008-03-07 07:23 — admin We talk to Professor Johannes Lehmann about Bio Char Drawing down carbon - Johannes Lehmann of Cornell University talks Bio Char | Zero Emissions Climate Change Global Warming Solution Beyond Zero Emission's Lehmann Interview; "I have talked with farmers who are right now producing biochar on their farms with large scale pyrolysis machines that are absolutely not interested in producing bioenergy. They're completely content in producing biochar from sustainable biomass production and putting that biochar in soils without even thinking of bioenergy at this point. There might be others who are interested in remediating soils in remote areas in mine??? soils where it also would be difficult to transport the energy anywhere else; it would cost more energy than the energy is worth begin with". Who are these Farmers?................ and why aren't they on the TP list? Erich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelangelica Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 Tree Hugger on TPA New Twist on Using Wood for Fuel : TreeHugger Soil Color = Carbon Content : Sequestering Useful CarbonSoil Color = Carbon Content : Sequestering Useful Carbon : TreeHugger Is Zero-Carbon Farming Even Possible? Is Zero-Carbon Farming Even Possible? : TreeHugger Branson Offers $25 Million to Remove Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide : TreeHugger Amazon Carbon Trick Comes to LightAmazon Carbon Trick Comes to Light : TreeHugger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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