[Terrapreta] "A Terra Preta Nova Development Plan"

[lou gold]

Sean,

I love your enthusiasm.

It's time to organize.

And I love Mary Lehmann's ideas.

What is needed now is something like a network.
Biochar Fund is a model for a network of poor rural farmers in Africa.
I think you could find a group of progressive medium size cities in the US
and make a network. Or a group of garden clubs and make a network. Or a
group of organic farms and make a network.

I'm not so sure about the name Terra Preta Nova. It's sexy in the exotic
sense. I like the lead back to the Amazon from using Portuguese. I'm not
sure that it will capture the English-speaking audience. Something like the
*Clean Carbon and Abundant Soil Campaign* might work better. Just an idea.

So here's a proposal to this list. I would like to invite anyone who is
interested enough to be following along to think about it and submit your
ideas for the name of a network and a campaign. Let's share our ideas here.

hugs and blessings,

lou



On Mon, Apr 14, 2008 at 5:18 PM, Sean K. Barry <sean.barry at juno.com> wrote:

>  Hi Tom,
>
> I agree with you.  I think the promise of this very potential with Terra
> Preta is one of the most compelling elements of the whole concept.  Soil
> restoration + char-in-soil-carbon sequestration, formation of Terra Preta
> soils, is clearly a mechanism that I think can work (IMHO) and it has vast
> potential to improve BOTH climate issues and issues of population growth,
> food production, and overall livability on the planet, for us and future
> generations.  Most other plans can't boast this.  For me to see the
> agronomic value of TP is evident in the archaeology.  I understand
> charcoal-from-biomass production for charcoal-in-soil as the potential
> workable carbon sequestration mechanism.  Added to this, for me, currently,
> is the production of a raw material needed for charcoal-in-soil agronomic
> research.
>
> We need to keep working together on a common *"Terra Preta Nova
> Development Plan" *and quit arguing over the details or motives:
>
>     1) Learn how to make charcoal cleanly, inexpensively, and in vast
> quantities.
>     2) Learn how to apply charcoal into soil and realize the fertile
> qualities observed in of Terra Preta de Indio soils.
>     3) Apply this to as many hectares of land all over the world, with as
> many tons of charcoal as we can.
>     4) Do ALL of this simultaneously as soon as we possibly can.
>
> Nothing short of this will work to stem the tide of the rising GHG
> concentrations.  This is true even if we quit burning all fossil fuels
> today.  We need to REMOVE at least 30 ppm of CO2 from the atmosphere before
> this century is out AND we need to cut worldwide CO2 emissions by 85% NOW!
> We need to increase food production by over 50-70% if population estimates
> hold.
> Show me another plan (other than the Terra Preta Nova Development Plan)
> that has the premise to support improvements in either of these problems
> (rising GHGs and consequent GW/GCC and world food production) substantially
> more, let alone to potentially address and redress BOTH?
>
> I agree with you.  Let's keep planning and making this happen.  Would it
> surprise you if I said I thought the questions of economic viability and of
> realized agricultural benefits need to be dragged along, unanswered for now,
> until they become realities?
>
> Dr. James Hansen makes emotional appeals to the public, points out the
> scope of the problem and a call for extreme expedience of ACTION.  He
> requests nearly a similar scope of widespread public reaction (a moving CALL
> TO ACTION).  I can only wish I sounded like I say no less.
>
> Regards,
>
> SKB
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Tom Miles <tmiles at trmiles.com>
> *To:* 'Sean K. Barry' <sean.barry at juno.com> ; 'Terra Preta'<terrapreta at bioenergylists.org>; 'lou
> gold' <lou.gold at gmail.com> ; 'Ron Larson' <rongretlarson at comcast.net>
> *Sent:* Sunday, April 13, 2008 11:37 PM
> *Subject:* RE: [Terrapreta] A reward system for eliminating and/or
> offsetting fossil carbon usage
>
>  Sean,
>
>
>
> The most important statement in Ron's list is:
>
>  9.  … We on this list need to provide proof (more than statements) that
> biochar will sufficiently increase soil productivity that we can address
> hunger as well as climate issues.  There need not be the hard choice of this
> news article, but we need more proof if we are to help Hansen - who I now
> view as likely to be our most effective spokesperson.
>
>


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