[Terrapreta] Carbon Trading Primer in Scientific American

[Sean K. Barry]

Hi Bakary Jatta,

I certainly can empathize with your need to use simple methods and trail and error in your work there in The Gambia.  You do carry a light of understanding there, though, too, which is a tremendous benefit to that part of the world.  I hope you can share your understanding and experience as much with your countrymen as you do with us.  Please stay connected with us and let us know more of your experiments and story.  I think what you are doing is very valuable.

I believe that there is a way to involve those thousands of peasants to all participate in this work of forming Terra Preta soils.  I believe, too, that they can receive immediate and lasting benefits in there lives for doing this work.

Thanks for your comments.

Regards,

SKB
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: bakaryjatta<mailto:bakaryj at gamtel.gm> 
  To: terrapreta at bioenergylists.org<mailto:terrapreta at bioenergylists.org> 
  Sent: Friday, December 21, 2007 1:58 PM
  Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] Carbon Trading Primer in Scientific American


  Dear list members,

  It is interesting to observe how much talk and time goes by before there is any kind of agreement at some level in some part of the world. Agenda 21 came out of the World Summit in Rio de Janiero and ten years later in Johannesburg it was found that many of the signatories had hardly made a move to deal with the essence of the summit, which was in fact, dealing with the environment.  How great that in Bali there finally was an agreement reached by all parties to start negotiating another deal after the failure of Kyoto. Let us say that carbon credit trading will be universally agreed upon, how long will it be  before the thousands of peasants in the world with only 1 - 2.5 Ha of land are going to get an incentive to sequester CO2 in their patch of soil? My vision is probably to limited, I can not see those thousands ever being involved and probably staying on the outside looking at it from a distance. They certainly don't read Scientific American and if they are like my neighbours, do not pay much attention to GHG and GW.

  Agenda 21 called for the media and organizations of civil society to be involved in the implementation. Again, maybe I am not too well informed, but Malaria and HIV/Aids seem to be higher priorities. Problem solving gets funding and guaranteed the problems multiply faster than projects deliver solutions. The bottleneck has been and continues to be that the World Economy System must be propped up at all costs. It also thrives on problems, the more destruction, the more market demand. 

  Now the poor in the world depend on the World Economy too. As they can't produce competitively, they depend on aid and imported food. For other income they will be desperate to extract more out of the environment and each other or whatever else will maintain their role of consumers. My neighbours are looking for their market money every day, they don't have a stocked pantry. 

  There is need for a revolution in thinking. Unless there is unity of thought and considering the 'whole of society' as more important than the 'part,self, family, clan, etc.', we will not see much of a turn around.  Our thinking has to envelop all the world's people as our relatives and that thought has to be institutionalized. The closest we have come is the concept of the United Nations. It would be good if it would be more than an institution and reflect the spirit on which it was founded. 

  I appreciate the efforts made by the list members. There appears to be a unity of purpose and it will have results. When results are seen, people will also see that there is no need to fight or connive for survival. Money or credits have not been equalizers in the game. We don't want winners and losers, we need all to be winners. 

  How many TP list members are in the Third World? How do they get to the grass roots?

  Kind regards,

  Bakary Jatta,

  Bwiam village,
  The Gambia
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