[Terrapreta] Anthropogenic casue for Global Warming

[Jim Joyner]

Sean,

You said, "You seem to want to pigeon hole and kick at me for my opinions . . ."
No, I don't. I said I didn't want to argue the causes of global warming
and I don't. I don't have the knowledge. What I was trying to do was
argue a path of action that would encompass the possibility that the popular belief might be wrong
-- which in a sense, would be a much worse scenario. I mean, if it is
human caused, it might be reversed, at least, to some extent. If it has
to do with cosmic rays being blocked by solar activity and those rays
are responsible for cloud formation, we've got a problem that can't be
human reversed. I, frankly, don't know but as a farmer I want to be
prepared in any event.

What
I am not arguing is that we should in any way stop the move toward
carbon sequestration or reductions in carbon emissions. There is simply
to much at stake and, ultimately, the cost can be borne along with the
cleaning of the environment that needs to be done anyway.  But grand
gov't schemes bother me. Glassy eyed bureaucrats, politicians and
do-gooders in general too often want to do things without considering
who must shoulder the burden for paying for them. These are typically
the people who don't pay for them.

I
do have a question about your statement below. I certainly agree on the
potential benefits of TP but where is it that you are going to get charcoal from renewable, 
perennial plant matter (not trees . . .)? What renewable, 
perennial plant matter?

I guess I've been assuming that charcoal would be made from waste or
by-products of things we already grow. But come to think of it,
that waste and those throw-away bi-products are becoming more difficult
to find. I've not grown corn and soy beans in a long time, but when I did,
nothing but the corn and beans left the field. What was "waste" was put
back into or onto the soil for tilth and erosion control. And I don't
plow/till the soil. There are a few things that leave a little waste,
like rice hulls, but they don't amount to much and typically they are
more expensive to utilize then they are worth.

In my case I can take trees because I have species that are dying off
on their own. And I am replacing them with more valuable, better
adapted trees. Some of these newer ones might be harvested, but
probably by my great grand children.

I
suppose one could utilize something like bamboo or kanaf, but I'm not
sure of the economics of that. The cost might be more than the benefit.
What I suspect is that my original estimate of $10k to $15k per acre
might end up being conservative. What say you?

Jim

From: Sean K. Barry <sean.barry at juno.com>

I would like to restate my views on the possibilities for Terra Preta 
Nova.  Formation of TP soils, by burying charcoal can improve soil 
conditions for growing plants.  Making that charcoal from renewable, 
perennial plant matter (not trees, not plastics, not lignite coal) can harvest 
CO2 from the atmosphere.  Once buried, it has the potential to not just 
improve degraded soils (better water holding capacity, better CEC, better 
nutrient holding capacity, better living conditions for beneficial soil 
microbiology, etc.) but it can at the same time remove and sequester the same 
number of tons of carbon from the atmosphere that we would be using to improve 
the soils.



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