[Terrapreta] Global Carbon Cycle

[Sean K. Barry]

Hi Kurt,

----- Original Message ----- 
From: rukurt at westnet.com.au<mailto:rukurt at westnet.com.au> 
To: terrapreta at bioenergylists.org<mailto:terrapreta at bioenergylists.org> 
Sent: Monday, June 04, 2007 6:03 PM
Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] Global Carbon Cycle


Additionally there is the argument that it is ridiculous to dig carbon out of the ground by the gigaton, just to try and re-extract it from the air, to bury it again. We should be using the charcoal we can produce to reduce the amount of mined carbon, while also producing enough more charcoal to bury, to get rid of the 
excess carbon in the atmosphere.

This is where the "economic expedience" argument comes in.  It is STILL cheaper to mine fossil fuel carbon and burn it, than do do it more cleanly.  You know, this is where the "carbon tax" will actually help solve the problem.
If "fossil fuel carbon" paid a "carbon tax" and well it should, then fossil fuel would be more expensive, the renewable energy sources (that move zero carbon, are carbon neutral) would enjoy the benefit of getting to sell energy and not pay the "carbon tax".  It would level the playing field as it were on cost of operations.  Carbon negative" sequestration operators could earn "carbon credits" to sink carbon out of the atmosphere.

Building and funding "carbon neutral" and and "carbon negative" enterprises could be legitimately be financed by the "carbon tax".  These businesses could create wholesale new industries and growth in existing "renewable energy" industry worldwide to provide lots of employment.  The world's humans could put labor and technology into correcting the ill effects of our behavior in the past.

The acid rain problem in the north east United States, which was caused by sulfur and nitrogen oxide emissions from coal fired power plants was corrected by use of an "emissions tax".  This was accomplished under a "Joint Implementation".  The power plant producers of excess emissions paid an emissions tax, and worked jointly with the US government, to develop cleaner coal burning technologies.  The operation funded the development and application of cleaner burning coal technology, until most coal power plants had stopped producing SOx and NOx at previous levels, and the acid rain problem was abated.  The cleaner operators also stopped paying "emissions taxes".  To this day, it costs more for coal fired electric power (and the operators have greater profits!), but the acid rain has been diminished drastically.

I believe a "Joint Implementation/Clean Development Mechanism (JI/CDM)" can work, to cause a worldwide reduction in carbon in the atmosphere.  The joint participants should be all of the countries in the world.
One group, the industrialized/developed countries (Annex I and Annex II), who will pay a "carbon tax", fairly levied, because they add and have added more carbon to the atmosphere than anyone else. The othewr joint participants in the action will be the developing countries (Non Annex I) and CDM Executive Board-accredited Certified Emission Reductions (CER) projects/operators (who will justifiably earn "carbon credits" by sinking carbon from the atmosphere via "Neo Terra Preta" land reforming.  Both will earn, some for providing technology and management, others for the land that will be used for sequestration.

I think the "Neo Terra Preta" land reformers, the operators of the CER projects should earn the bulk of the early paid "carbon credits".  As the carbon sinks age, their value to the countries where the land lies will accrue.  There could be measurable increases in further "fixing" of carbon in "soil organic carbon"  (albeit for shorter terms) and these could possibly earn further out-year "carbon credit' payments, made to the countries of residence for the project.  There will be plant productivity gains and potential agricultural gains made in that soil, the benefits going to the countries which hold these "Neo Terra Preta land formations within their borders.

Do you think the Non-Annex I country of Brazil "values" the "Terra Preta" lands within its borders, even though they have never been paid dime one for all of the carbon which is sunk into the land there?  I bet they do.

The process has worked before, it can again.

Regards,

SKB
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