[Terrapreta] Whats going wrong??? Re: why we must relate to cap and trade

[Kevin Chisholm]

Dear Sean

Sean K. Barry wrote:
> Hi Kevin, Lou,
>  
> I do respect your thrust here, that the use and adoption of Terra 
> Preta as a widespread practice, will require for many people, that it 
> show clear signs of being both agriculturally beneficial and 
> economically viable.  When I can generate any valuable data I will 
> endeavor to help you fill in some of the blanks on your spreadsheet, 
> Kevin.  I believe you are correct too, about the need for "numerical 
> metrics".
>  
> Folke Gunthur sent an E-MAIL posting to this list last night with the 
> subject line ...
>  
> *Re: [Terrapreta] Atmospheric CO2 Hits 387ppm*
>  
> I posted a response to this list about Folke's posting, pointing out 
> the implications of this rather alarming development in the 
> observational data.
> NO ONE ELSE responded and now it is just a lame, dead-end thread 
> between Folke and I, I guess ...

Well, consider yourselves fortunate that you only have one thread that 
fell flat! I am sure that you will have great pity and sympathy for me, 
who has had not 1, but TWO threads in as many days fall flatter than 
roadkill.

1: Spreadsheet for Calculating Basic "New Terra Preta" Economics 
5/14/2008 9:25 AM:
I thought this would be helpful to people interested in doing Terra 
Preta Tests, in that how much char one should add to a soil plot for a 
test is a tricky calculation. Interest shown in this spread sheet has 
been rather conspicuous by its absence. Not one reply to the List. 51 
visits to the TP Site to read th posting there, but the stats don't show 
how many ppl. opened the Spread sheet. Actually, there were only 45 
visits to the thread... I clicked in 6 times to see the level of 
interest in it. 45 visits out of about 300 TP List Members = about 15% 
of TP list people

2: "New Terra Preta" Test Plots 5/14/2008 2:40 PM
I initiated this thread, because of Lou's important observation that 
Biochar needs some beneficial, encouraging and helpful metrics to 
stimulate the interest in Biochar. There was 1  on-line response to this 
thread. The good news is that the 1 response is infinitely better than 
Zero Responses. The bad news was that the response was from Lou, saying 
that he wouldn't be able to do a New Terra Preta Test plot. In private 
Correspondance, I had one person express interest in doing a char test. 
Boo hoo. Only one. Uno.

In Internet Marketing, when people see notice of a message, thats an 
"Exposure." When ppl read the message, thats a "Clickthrough." The 
percentage of people who actually "click through to the mesage" is 
called teh "Click Through Rate". When people act on a Message, thats a 
"Conversion." Our "Click Through Rate" is 45/300 =15%, which is not bad, 
but our Conversion rate to date is 1/300 = .3%, which is so dreadful 
that it only happens in Internet Marketing Nightmares. It means some or 
all of the following:
A: My message is poorly presented.
B: People aren't interested in what I have to say
C: I'm in the wrong market.
D: All of the above.

So.... what am I doing wrong?

Perhaps most people on the TP list just want to talk about Climate 
Change and the TP of 3,000 years ago, rather than actually doing 
something about increasing the use of Biochar today?

Kevin
>  
> I have said this repeatedly on this list ...
>  
> 1) WE MUST STOP THE CONSUMPTION OF FOSSIL CARBON FUELS and the 
> subsequent emission of CO2 into the atmosphere.  WE MUST DO THIS as 
> soon as possible (preferably nearly immediately, within a very few years).
>  
> 2) WE WILL NEED ALSO TO BEGIN IMMEDIATELY REMOVING CO2 FROM THE 
> ATMOSPHERE on a massive scale.
>  
> 3) I know, the formation Terra Preta soils using charcoal made from 
> biomass sources can help us do this better than just about anything 
> else I've seen.
>  
> It is my view that the immediate ascendancy of the "rising levels of 
> GHG problem" requires a very active and immediate program to abate 
> it.  DO IT NOW.  DON'T WAIT!  I also think this overrides the concerns 
> of "metrics" about agricultural benefits and/or the economics of Terra 
> Preta formation.  I do not mean that these are not valid concerns, nor 
> that we should not do anything to address them.  They are important in 
> the long scheme, which includes the restorative implications of TP on 
> soil health, agricultural productivity, food health, population 
> health, and overall health of the planet and Nature.
>  
> What I am at, though, is triage.  We need to amputate the fossil fuel 
> industry and we MUST STOP all of the bleeding of carbon into the 
> atmosphere or all will be lost!  Unless we act soon and significantly, 
> we may never have the chance to heal this Earth with ministrations of 
> well formed Terra Preta Nova soils.
>  
> I know my prescription is SO VERY DIFFICULT to swallow or even see how 
> we can undertake it.  It is absolutely necessary, though.
>  
> Please help me!?  Everyone?  Please let us find a way to ramp up fast 
> on forming Terra Preta and solve the details as we go.  We cannot 
> afford the slow deliberate approach anymore.
>  
> Regards,
>  
> SKB
>  
>
>     ----- Original Message -----
>     *From:* Kevin Chisholm <mailto:kchisholm at ca.inter.net>
>     *To:* lou gold <mailto:lou.gold at gmail.com>
>     *Cc:* Sean K. Barry <mailto:sean.barry at juno.com> ; Terrapreta
>     <mailto:Terrapreta at bioenergylists.org>
>     *Sent:* Wednesday, May 14, 2008 12:28 PM
>     *Subject:* Re: [Terrapreta] why we must relate to cap and trade
>
>     Dear Lou
>
>     lou gold wrote:
>     > Sean,
>     > ...del...
>     > But my point was not to discuss policy alternatives but to point
>     out
>     > that right now the biochar movement does not have the power of
>     > supportive metrics. I hope that this can be corrected.
>
>     Right on! We need the metrics... how much does char cost for a given
>     benefit...  If we had some good numerology, showing that people could
>     actually make money by adding charcoal to the soil, then people could
>     indeed become enthused about Biochar and "New Terra Preta."
>
>     The spreadsheet that I posted at
>
>     http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org/chisholm051308
>
>     gives one a perspective on how much or how little money we are
>     talking about.
>
>     Can you put in two test plots, one with biochar, and one without,
>     and report back with your results in teh Fall?
>
>     Real numbers such as you can provide will be of great help in
>     promoting Biochar, if indeed it is sensible to use biochar as an
>     agricultural investment.
>
>     Best wishes,
>
>     Kevin
>
>     >
>     > hugs,
>     >
>     > lou
>     >
>
>
>

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