[Terrapreta] Making charcoal in a barrel

[code suidae]

On 9/24/07, Sean K. Barry <sean.barry at juno.com> wrote:
> I said this guys heart is in the right place, but his methods are not
> clearly thought out.  He should not propose the simplicity of making
> charcoal in a barrel, outside, will save the world.  On a massive scale,
> actions taken like this will plummet the world even faster.

Are you sure? If small-scale (relatively 'dirty') production were done
on a massive scale, for the purpose of increasing the productivity of
the soil to grow food non-commericaly, one would expect an equally
massive, but (hopefully) sustained, reduction in GHG-producing
activities associated with the commercial production of food. One
might imagine also huge numbers of surburbanites so busy putting up
tomatoes from their gardens or learning new recipes for their fresh
produce that they spend less time driving around looking for stuff to
buy to fill up all their free time.

My point is that the calculation to determine if the GHG's released by
somewhat inefficient small-scale production of biochar seems much more
complicated than simply GHG's released vs. carbon sequestered. There
is an associated change in behavior resulting in a sustained reduction
of GHGs that might mean that the net effect is positive, even
considering the poorly-controlled charing process.

You are asserting that it is, in fact, self-defeating. I'm just
looking for some justification that this is true, beyond your honest
word that it is so.

> As for the nom-de-plume; do you think I should adopt "ArrogantSOB" ?

Lol, no, too obvious :*) Try something with a little cynical humor.

DK
-- 
"Our ignorance is not so vast as our failure to use what we know." -
M. King Hubbert