[Terrapreta] two recent articles on TP

[Sean K. Barry]

Hi Jim,

I think the relation to Terra Preta is that one focus of TP is to attempt to mitigate the growth in atmospheric concentrations of GHG by sequestering carbon as charcoal-in-soil.  Methane from cows is a GHG and a potent one.  It is the other end of the problem.  Reductions in atmospheric concentrations of GHG like CO2 and CH4 can be made by reducing emissions from sources.

I know you are absolutely right, too, about the petroleum intensive nature of corn production, corn used to fatten up cows.  Corn takes large amounts of fertilizer.  Most all of this fertilizer is produced from natural gas, gasified petroleum oil, or gasified coal.  Methane  is cracked in Hydrogen-H2, which is combined with Nitrogen-N2 from the air, using the Haber-Bausch process to make Ammonia-NH3.  Liquid anhydrous ammonia is a primary fertilizer and is a primary chemical component in the manufacture of solid ammonia salts, which are the nitrogen carriers in all solid NPK fertilizers.  Many of the high nitrogen fertilizers used on corn, applied onto corn stover in the fall, gas off nitrous oxide-N2O, an extremely potent and long lived GHG (because of its persistence in the atmosphere it has 296 times the radiative forcing effect of CO2) 

Tractors to apply fertilizers and pull corn harvesters use lots of "red" diesel fuel.  Pharmaceuticals used to keep cows disease free in feedlots are made from petrochemicals.  Rivers of cow shit filling pools aside feed lots emit copious amounts of Methane-CH4 and CO2 as they degrade in the sunshine.  You make valid points, Jim.   Corn production for livestock feed makes a huge contribution to increases in atmosphere GHG.

Still, the emission of CO2 from burning fossil fuel for generating electricity, domestic heat, industrial processes, and transportation fuels in automobiles and trucks, far exceed the emissions stated above as coming from agricultural processes and purposes.

The formation of Terra Preta can be an offsetting of fossil carbon emissions.  It will store biomass carbon.  TP may reduce burning or using fossil carbon, if it proves to reduce the need for the production, transport, and application of industrially made (petroleum-based) chemical fertilizers.  Terra Preta is a "consumption-side/demand-side" solution to the problem of rising levels of GHG in the atmosphere.

Reducing emissions of GHG into the atmosphere is a "supply-side" solution.

Regards,

SKB
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Jim Joyner<mailto:jimstoy at dtccom.net> 
  To: Undisclosed-recipients:<mailto:Undisclosed-recipients:> 
  Cc: Terra Preta<mailto:terrapreta at bioenergylists.org> 
  Sent: Saturday, March 01, 2008 7:44 AM
  Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] two recent articles on TP


  Sean,

  I'm not sure what this has to do with terra preta but just a little addition to what you said below. There is indeed something to protest when it come to cattle, at the least the feed lot cattle in the US. They are fed out on corn which is wholly unnatural to their digestive systems and produces much larger amounts of methane. (The corn feed is primarily produced from petrochemicals. Oil). Growing the corn has caused wholesale degradation of cropland, a social disruption in rural agricultural communities, a distortion in our food system, and foodstuffs to become lethal over time increasing obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Consider that once they put a calf in a feed lot, they must slaughter it within 6 months, otherwise, it will die on its own (I guess the animal rights folks could get into this one too). lastly, to keeps these cattle alive, they must add copious amounts of pharmaceuticals to the diet of the average American.

  Jim
   
  Sean K. Barry wrote: 
    But, it would maybe help reduce radiative forcing by GHG (aka Global Warming), if cows guts did not produce as much Methane out of either end of the cow.

  _______________________________________________
  Terrapreta mailing list
  Terrapreta at bioenergylists.org
  http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/biochar/
  http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org
  http://info.bioenergylists.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: /attachments/20080301/7beeab3a/attachment.html