[Terrapreta] Catalyst: Carbon Bigfoot

[Sean K. Barry]

Hi Duane, Kevin,

The way that Terra Preta soils can most contribute to mitigation of the Global Warming problem is by reducing GHG concentrations.
This would be done by turning 25 billon tons of biomass into 6 billion tons of charcoal and burying it in the ground every year!  Until Terra Preta soil formation at that level occurs, then TP formation only will slow the increase in CO2 concentrations.

Terra Preta soils can reduce the need for synthetic fertilizer inputs and the production of those fertilizers, further reducing GHG inputs to the atmosphere.  Terra Preta formation can help soils hold onto nitrogen better (in nitrogen binding microorganisms), thus reducing nitrous oxide-N2O emissions to the atmosphere, and soluble nitrate-NOx emissions to the watersheds.

The biggest problem I see to the formation of Terra Preta soils is that charcoal is currently more highly valued as a "carbon neutral" fuel, rather than as a valuable soil amendment, that can improve soils, and sequester carbon.  Got any ideas to change that perception!?

Fossil carbon is rapidly being turned into atmospheric carbon.  Turning atmospheric carbon back into terrestrial carbon (say, with Terra Preta formation?) is a way to remove carbon from the atmosphere.

Regards,

SKB
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Duane Pendergast<mailto:still.thinking at computare.org> 
  To: 'Sean K. Barry'<mailto:sean.barry at juno.com> 
  Cc: 'Terrapreta'<mailto:terrapreta at bioenergylists.org> 
  Sent: Saturday, December 08, 2007 10:30 AM
  Subject: RE: [Terrapreta] Catalyst: Carbon Bigfoot


  Morning Sean,



  My response to you was totally sincere. After 20 years trying to follow the climate issue, I'm becoming more and more skeptical about the dire claims made in the name of climate change due to greenhouse gas emissions. 



  I was just trying to point out, that if terra preta lives up to expectations on this site, there is potential for excess removal of CO2 from the atmosphere. Danny Day has suggested that we are seeing the "stumbling steps of a brand new species evolved to stabilize this recurring imbalance" with reference to the drastic cycling between ice ages seen in the long term climate change record. He sees the burgeoning human population, including some three billion now impoverished farmers, as key to planetary survival and prosperity. The ultimate outcome of successful demonstration of terra preta benefits could thus be an incentive to geo-agricultural engineering on a massive scale. That vision will be self limiting if plant growth is suppressed by a shortage of atmospheric carbon dioxide. A next logical step for humanity could be to continue to transfer carbon from fossil fuel into the soil.



  There is plenty of scope for climate change ballyhoo at the UNFCCC meeting in Bali and in the media. Kevin Chisholm's gentle suggestion in his response to your post that the list focus on demonstrating the efficacy of the terra preta concept has considerable merit.



  Duane



  -----Original Message-----
  From: Sean K. Barry [mailto:sean.barry at juno.com] 
  Sent: December 7, 2007 9:51 PM
  To: still.thinking at computare.org; 'lou gold'
  Cc: 'Terrapreta'
  Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] Catalyst: Carbon Bigfoot



  Hi Duane,



  WHAT?!  Is your response to my post "tongue in cheek"?  I hope so ... or you really do not see things the way I do, either.  Burning coal and oil has to slow way down, even to stopping altogether.  If coal energy is required, then it has to change over to "clean" coal, without the release of CO2 emissions.




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