[Terrapreta] Can Terra Preta Compete?

[lou gold]

black is beautiful!

viva change!





On Thu, May 8, 2008 at 4:20 PM, David Yarrow <dyarrow at nycap.rr.com> wrote:

>  i'm not sure gerry (and too many others) grasps what we are dealing with
> here.  the idea terra preta must compete with other uses for biocarbon
> ignores a stark, uncompromising reality: you can't eat coal, and you can't
> drink gasoline.  or money.  we're talking about soil fertility and food
> supply.
>
> the real challenge here is if we as a society finally become wise enough to
> realize how precious fertile, productive, food-growing soil is -- community
> by community, nation by nation, and worldwide.  and make a commitment to do
> whatever must be done to preserve this precious, irreplacable resource, and
> assure abundance for endless ages and generations.
>
>  lots of folk -- including political and business leaders -- are waking up
> to this simple choice: food, or energy?  corn, or ethanol?  already we are
> seeing food riots and strikes in many nations as poor communities scramble
> to find food, or affordable food, or nutritious, healthy food.
>
> but if this essential value of feeding our communities isn't sufficient to
> distinguish terra preta as a top priority use for biocarbon, terra preta
> offers several bonuses not offered by other purely industrial uses,
> including:
> 1) soil microbes function as a global flywheel to stabilize earth's
> composition of gases
> 2) soils with abundant microbial food webs and organic carbon filter,
> purify and conserve groundwater
> 3) terra preta creates nutrient dense soils able to grow nutrient dense
> foods to mitigate our epidemic of degenerative diseases
>
> so, i suggest we think more deeply about certain biological and moral
> imperatives that underlie our work: food, and the allocation of resources to
> produce enough food to feed our communities when oil hits $150/barrel, and
> climate and weather get extreme, unpredictable and unstable.  the question
> should be reframed  from "can terra preta compete?" to "what priority must
> we place on agricultural uses of char?" and "how to we enforce this priority
> for food-producing soil?"
>
> this leads us to other critical questions:
> "how do we incentivize and encourage farmers to produce biomass for biochar
> & biofuel?"
> and also "how to we enlist farmers to become biochar producers?"
> and third "how do we get growers to recycle a percent of annual biochar
> produced back into local soils?"
>
> when we start answering these questions, i'll believe i'm living in a
> society that is successfully making enough sense to assure its survival in
> the challenges ahead.  currently, i have deep doubts and mistrust that
> humans have enough common sense and ecological intelligence to make it
> through the next century.
>
> but things are changing, and many voters are looking for leaders for those
> changes....
>
> for a green & peaceful planet,
> David Yarrow
> 44 Gilligan Rd, E Greenbush, NY 12061
> www.championtrees.org
> www.OnondagaLakePeaceFestival.org
> www.farmandfood.org
> www.SeaAgri.com
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Gerry Kutney <gkutney at all-woodfibre.com>
> *To:* terrapreta at bioenergylists.org
> *Sent:* Wednesday, May 07, 2008 10:51 AM
> *Subject:* [Terrapreta] Can Terra Preta Compete?
>
>  BIOCARBON:  Can Terra Preta Compete?
>
> Those of us in the biocarbon industry (i.e., those that have manufacturing
> facilities for biocarbon and are marketing the material) watch with great
> interest the countless articles on terra preta.  We are concerned, though,
> about the misunderstanding of the value of biocarbon.  The biocarbon,
> itself, is discussed as almost a waste product that is worth a few dollars
> per ton.  Biocarbon has inherent value as a renewable energy pellet, with an
> energy content of 30 GJ/te, which is similar to coal and almost double that
> of a wood pellet.  Recently, a Korean steel manufacturer was reported to be
> paying over $300 per tonne for coking coal.  If coal can be valued so
> highly, how much higher in price should be a renewable (GHG neutral)
> replacement for coal, i.e. biocarbon?  An even higher valued market opens
> when the biocarbon is activated.  An important environmental role for
> activated biocarbon is to remove mercury contamination from flew gas in
> coal-fired power plants.  While costs increase to activate the material,
> selling prices are often in excess of $1,000 per tonne.
>
>
>
> This wonder of nature appears to have amazing impact on plant growth and
> has a significant carbon negative footprint.  However, studies in someone's
> backyard or flower garden, do not supply the rigour that government agencies
> demand to prove the agricultural benefits of new products.  Extensive field
> trials are required to prove and quantify the benefits of TP.  The issue is
> especially important for terra preta since it does not fit the standard mold
> of an agricultural product.  It is not a fertilizer or nutrient, yet it
> stimulates plant growth.  This agricultural catalyst will likely be thus put
> under even closer regulatory scrutiny; more reason to get proper field
> trials under way.
>
>
>
> We, at Alterna Energy (www.alternaenergy.ca), are investigating carrying
> out such field trials on terra preta in Australia, and we will shortly be
> promoting such trials in Canada.  These trials will only *begin* to
> quantify the benefits of terra preta.  For the terra preta genii to be
> released from its carbon bottle, many soils in varying climatic conditions
> must be tested.  In the meantime, Alterna Energy continues to market its
> biocarbon as carbon-neutral, bioenergy pellets.  We eagerly await the
> opportunity to build plants around the world to supply a future agricultural
> market.
>
>
>
> In the end, the success of terra preta will depend on demonstrated
> agricultural and environmental benefits, and competing market demand.
> Biocarbon is an amazing substance; so much so that various industries will
> be vying for its almost magical abilities.  We will have to see if terra
> preta can compete?  In other words, will the field trials demonstrate to the
> agricultural community and related government agencies that terra preta is
> worth, at least, what competing industries are willing to pay for it.  Of
> course, we all hope that it can.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Gerry Kutney
>
> Chief Operating Officer
>
> 1-250-649-2459
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
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