[Terrapreta] Sustained Biochar

[lou gold]

Sean,

I believe that you have touched upon something important in saying,
"Participating in making the "New Black Gold" makes me feel like a better
man."

The "old black gold" was mined or extracted by the few capable of doing so,
which
also generated a very truncated distribution of its "wealth" creating oil
barons
and dependencies.

But the "new black gold" is made.  Let's use carbon credits and/or public
subsidies to create
char and give it to anyone who will use it as a soil amendment. Everyone --
corporations,
companies, families, individuals -- can put carbon in soil, grow plants,
remove carbon from the
atmosphere and reap benifits.

Thus, terra preta moves us from dependency to empowerment, from depletion to
abundance,
and from dependency to participation. Imagine the power of a public
relations campaign
that says "use New Black Gold to grow flowers and food and solve global
warming."

And perhaps there's an "info-age" principle embedded in all this -- by
giving New Black Gold away
through subsidies, credits, etc for simple and for complex technologies -- a
host of new opportunities
for fun and profit are created and we become "healthy, wealthy and wise."

OK, easier said than done. But it is such a beautiful aspiration and good
work. I believe that no
effort will go unrewarded. This is how the Sacred works. It's an intention,
a relationship and an evolution.

Best to all,

lou

On 8/31/07, Sean K. Barry <sean.barry at juno.com> wrote:
>
>  Hi Lou, Larry, et. al.,
>
>
> "Terra Preta Nova" is the "New Black Gold"!
>
> Sometime back, someone posted an article, where the Japanese ingest small
> amounts of charcoal to sooth a sour stomach.
>
> When black carbon in the form of charcoal is incorporated into the
> environment around us, our "personal" health is improved.
> Altruistically, if one makes black carbon charcoal for others,  and puts
> it in their environment, then they will have improved the health and lives
> of the others.  If parent's invest in making black carbon charcoal for their
> children, then they and their children will have healthier, improved lives.
>
> It we ALL put the "New Black Gold" more in our environment, use less of
> the "Old Black Gold" in our environment, and at the same time clean up the
> mess we made with the "Old Black Gold", then we will ALL have healthier,
> improved lives (I mean actual ability TO live).
>
> Is the "Old Black Gold" like the "Golden Calf"?  Now, we need to wander
> off the desert and find the "Land of Milk and New Black Gold"?
>
> I like the smack of the "New Black Gold".  Participating in making the
> "New Black Gold" makes me feel like a better man.
>
>
> SKB
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* lou gold <lou.gold at gmail.com>
> *To:* Larry Williams <lwilliams at nas.com>
> *Cc:* Sean K. Barry <sean.barry at juno.com> ; Miles Tom<terrapreta at bioenergylists.org>
> *Sent:* Friday, August 31, 2007 12:24 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [Terrapreta] Sustained Biochar
>
> Larry and All,
>
> I'm glad for your suggestion that we need to consider how to "frame" the
> new biochar technologies. The video segment about the "public relations"
> tactics of Edward Bernay is a great piece of history. The more recent
> discussion has given it a name -- "framing" -- and this has been widely
> discussed and commented on through the work of George Lakoff.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Lakoff
>
> http://www.amazon.com/s/002-9134631-1583254?ie=UTF8&tag=mozilla-20&index=blended&link%5Fcode=qs&field-keywords=george%20lakoff&sourceid=Mozilla-search
>
> The essence of the argument is that the way we think is very much a
> function of our embodied mind, that there are deeply embedded desires
> already in us that trigger our responses for other-than-rational reasons.
> Bernay's association of female smoking with the inner urge toward freedom
> and empowerment is a classic example (independent of what you might think of
> Freud's penis theories). In other words, to be effective the framing
> language must trigger an inner bodily desire.
>
> In this sense, I'm doubtful that either the Portuguese phrase "nova terra
> preta" or the recent scientific "neo terra preta" make the grade. The
> connection of "nova" with an "explosive stellar event" is interesting but
> who wants it in one's own body? I believe that what people want (almost
> universally) are health, wealth and abundance. The basic archetypal symbol
> across the age of materialism has been gold. The industrial age was founded
> on the use of the "old black gold" or fossil fuels. The new age will be
> founded on revitalized soils or the "new black gold",  a marvelous "hook
> phrase" that has already appeared in the journalistic treatments of terra
> preta.
>
> "New black gold" seems to be a powerful meme.  Add the thought that black
> can yield green and we have linked wealth and health (something that the
> "old black gold" failed to do). Let's think about it.
>
> lou
>
>
>
>
>   May I suggest, that the situation that we are facing with GHG requires
> > an radical explosion of activities. I use the term "nova" as with an
> > explosive stellar event, in reference to burial of black carbon, Terra
> > Preta, in the soil, rather than "Neo-" or renewed use. There is a sense of
> > urgency conveyed  with "nova" that I don't feel with "Neo-". Our success, I
> > feel, will depend on how many people who have a sense of urgency act on that
> > sense. The adjective that describes the renewed use of Terra Preta will
> > carry our feelings to others.
> >
> > Consider the marketing impacts on advertising that Edward Bernay had.
> > For example, getting woman to smoke. His techniques are used on us daily so
> > it seems that it is an effective tool, especially if your unaware that it is
> > being used on you. For a view of his influence see:  The Century Of The Self
> > - Part 1 of 4 - By Adam Curtis @  http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8953172273825999151
> >  .
> >
> >
>
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