[Terrapreta] Bio-Char Sequestration in TerrestrialEcosystems--A Review

[Brian Hans]

like i mentioned, the time is not ripe. 4$/ton for CO2 is a gross
miscalculation of the true costs. @ 80$/ton, then we are talking, i suppose
it depends how much one wants to pay to cure ATM CO2 levels. certainly its a
more useful way of using ATM CO2 to the advantage of the world vs pumping it
into old oil wells or bottom of the ocean (both of which scare me). another
point here is that CO2 is not a 'bad' thing when it comes to the ecosystem,
its like 'crack' to the system. we should use this fact to our advantage by
keeping it into the system in the form of terra preta. 

 

100% carbon doesnt hold much energy (at least until we can do cold fusion),
100% biomass does. by pilfering off the energy that is fixed by
photosynthesis by reducing the fixed C-H energy into char and energy (and
water vs CO2) we can get the best of both worlds. there are methods of
producing char, energy and value added products. 

there are many added benefits to the land owner to terra preta. at some
point, those benefits will outweigh to costs of producing and installing
char. more water holding capacity, more nutrient holding capacity, better
root crop production, less disease, better root structure, better drought
resistance...the list is long. depending on the soil, 1 ton of char can be
worth 1/2 ton of fertilizers to the system. 

 

i believe that at some point, the value added products along with carbon
credits and soil fertility will eventually work out. im not sure that a
farmer will be able to grow out a crop to only char it back into their soil
and make money but i am sure that there are economic models that work out to
the benefit of everyone. 

 

also...i think this poor guy has some extra biomass for me to use
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/water/greatlakes/cladophora/Citizen.pdf

 

another point here. manure doesnt have the same ability that char does to
add fertility to the soil. a much better method of manure management would
be the processing into char, energy and fertilizers. we can then add to the
soil what it needs and pilfer the rest. and sterility doesnt become a major
issue. 

 

as a side note here, show me how the economic models of libraries and nature
preserves work? answer, they dont. the reason they exist is because the net
society benefits from these resources and pays for them. at some point, will
global warming put char into the ground @ 100$/ton? 200$/ton? 10000$/ton...
this is not a question for science to answer, this is a question for
economists, politics and morals.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/06/news/FIN-GEN-Egypt-Volcker-Global-
Warming.php  my buddy Paul is on board. 

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