[Terrapreta] dot.earth on carbon credits

[Sean K. Barry]

Hi 'terrapreta' list,

Here is a blog post for our great cause here at the 'terrapreta' list, Lou.

Carbon credits should be paid for "long term" sequestration of carbon, not just for preventing the further release of more "fossil carbon" to the atmosphere, or for "temporarily" storing carbon with "short term" sequestratration in living plants.  Perhaps "long term" sequestration should be paid MORE (with higher value credits per ton?) than "short term" sequestration and "short term" sequestration should be paid MORE than simple "fossil carbon" emissions reductions?  Perhaps, too, carbon credits could increase in value with increased longevity of the carbon storage out of the atmosphere?  Paid like bonds?  Carbon credits paid in growing value CARBON BONDS!

Terra Preta is Portuguese for "Dark Earth", where soil is enriched with carbon in the form of black charcoal.  This charcoal stays for a very long time in the soil, magnitudes longer than carbon stored in living or decomposing plants and biomass.  It has half-life "out-of-the-atmosphere" that is measured in centuries or millennia.

The charcoal in soil also imparts properties to the soil which makes it a better growing medium for plants; better water holding capacity, better nutrient holding capacity, better habitat for benficial soil microorganisms, better tilth and friability of the soil, and better cation ion exchange capacity (CEC), all to make water and plant nutrients more available for growing plants.  Plants grow bigger (measured at up to 266% more in a single growing season vs. in un-amended soil) and stronger in charcoal amended soil because the soil can deliver more of the neccessary plant nutrients.  The plants just use more nutrients from the soil, more sunshine, take more CO2 out of the atmosphere, and grow more plant!  Terra Preta soils exhibit remarkable fertility.

Terra Preta soil formations were first discovered in the Amazon River Basin.  They are MAN MADE!  Pre-Columbian peoples performed an agricultrual miracle by building Terra Preta soils.  It allowed them to feed 100s of thousands of people 1000s of years ago, growing food crops in a place which does not readily grow food crops well (it only grows jungles slowly).  The Terra Preta soils in the Amazon formations have retained their remarkable fertility for at least centuries, still until today, as documented by generational histories of many South American farm families.  They land containing these soils is highly prized as very productive agricultural land.  Highly valued "Terra Preta De Indio" soils are illegally mined and sold as garden soil amendments.

In a world suffering from briskly advancing population growth, skyrocketing atmospheric CO2 concentrations, and consequential Global Warming, the formation of Terra Preta anew (Terra Preta Nova) could provide the largest signifiicant double whammy to these problems.  Terra Preta soils could both help feed a growing world population and sequester giga-tons of carbon directly out of the atmosphere and into "long term" sequestration in the soil.  Most of the energy needed to do this would come from the Sun.  Acute knowledge of Terra Preta the engineering know how to make the formation of it happen both exist now, but world-wide common knowledge of it and the will to act on it are lacking.

Regards,

Sean K. Barry
Principal Engineer/Owner
Troposphere Energy, LLC
11170 142nd St. N.
Stillwater, MN 55082-4797
(651)-285-0904 (Work/Cell)
(651)-351-0711 (Home/Fax)
sean.barry at juno.com<mailto:sean.barry at juno.com> 
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: lou gold<mailto:lou.gold at gmail.com> 
  To: Terrapreta<mailto:Terrapreta at bioenergylists.org> 
  Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2007 1:56 PM
  Subject: [Terrapreta] dot.earth on carbon credits




  Hi Folks,

  Andrew Revkin over at the NY Times blog dot earth http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/20/efforts-to-see-that-a-ton-of-carbon-saved-is-a-ton-earned/index.html?hp <http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/20/efforts-to-see-that-a-ton-of-carbon-saved-is-a-ton-earned/index.html?hp>
  has a post on regulating carbon credits.

  Comments are open. Perhaps it's a good place to tout how easy it would 
  be to have regulated metrics for producing and sequestering char. 

  Anyway, it's a place to gain some attention for terra preta. 

  The International Herald Tribune<http://www.iht.com/> blog called Business of Green is mentioned
  which might be another place to boost agrichar.

  all best,

  lou
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