[Terrapreta] Fw: In Brief article in Scientific American

[Sean K. Barry]

Too true, Mark

D.Y. writes:

"enhances soil's natural ability to seize carbon"
should include nitrogen as well as carbon
a far more deadly GHG -- 289x more deadly


Deadly? Generally, I don't object to colorful language but this seems a bit over the top!


Mark

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Sean K. Barry<mailto:sean.barry at juno.com> 
To: David Yarrow<mailto:dyarrow at nycap.rr.com> 
Sent: Saturday, May 24, 2008 2:04 PM
Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] In Brief article in Scientific American


Hi David,

It's good you are trying to correct the wording in that article.  But tell Charles Q. Choi, not me.  He wrote it, not me.

Nitrogen bearing compounds are not altogether potent GHGs ... only Nitrous oxide (N2O).  Many nitrogen compounds are in fact widely used and useful fertilizers (Ammonium nitrate-NH4NO3 (also can be used to make an explosive, ANFO), Ammonium bicarbonate-NH4HCO3, Ammonium sulfate-(NH4)2SO4, etc).  Nitric oxide-NO and Nitrogen dioxide-NO2 make up smog and come mostly from high temperature "burning" of nitrogen from the air inside internal combustion engines and power plant boilers burning coal, but these are very unstable and are not GHGs.  The air itself is 78% Nitrogen gas-N2 and that is not a GHG.

Most releases of the only nitrogen oxide compound that is a potent green house gas, Nitrous oxide-N2O comes from animal wastes in open "shit ponds" next to large feedlots.  There are some N2O emissions from bacterial activity metabolizing fertilizers on agricultural fields, but most of the nitrogen there is either water soluble nitrates that run off, or are taken up by growing plants.

I think it is a mistake to characterize Nitrogen as a pollutant or a potent GHG problem and for that matter the same with carbon.  Only fossil based carbon in Carbon dioxide gas-CO2 and Methane gas-CH4 are potent GHGs, but there are many, many other carbon compounds; gas, solid, and liquids, that are categorically not pollutants or GHGs.

Regards,

SKB
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: David Yarrow<mailto:dyarrow at nycap.rr.com> 
  To: terrapreta at bioenergylists.org<mailto:terrapreta at bioenergylists.org> 
  Sent: Friday, May 23, 2008 3:39 PM
  Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] In Brief article in Scientific American


  two corrections to this SCIAM peep at biochar:
  "such burned, dead matter fertilizes better than compost and animal manure"

  the "better than" comparison of biochar vs. compost+manure is false and misleading.  biochar is not a replacement or eqivalent to nutrient and microbial fertilizers

  the sentence should have more accurately read
  such burned, dead matter added to compost and animal manure fertilizes better than synthetic industrial chemicals

  also, 
  "enhances soil's natural ability to seize carbon"
  should include nitrogen as well as carbon
  a far more deadly GHG -- 289x more deadly.
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Sean K. Barry<mailto:sean.barry at juno.com> 
    To: terrapreta<mailto:terrapreta at bioenergylists.org> 
    Sent: Friday, May 23, 2008 3:00 PM
    Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] In Brief article in Scientific American


    Hi TP List readers,

    There is an "In Brief" article on page 38 of the June 2008 edition of Scientific American on Terra Preta

    CHARRED FOR LIFE
    In the heart of the Amazon River basin 1,500 years ago, tribes mixed soil with charcoal derived from animal bone and tree bark to boost their crop yields. Now scientists conclude that such burned, dead matter fertilizes better than compost and animal manure, helping to transform the soil into the richest earth in the world. The "biochar" also profoundly enhances soil's natural ability to seize carbon, thereby trapping greenhouse gases. Delaware State University researchers presented their findings April 10 at a national meeting of the American Chemical Society.
    Charles Q. Choi

    Regards,

    SKB



----------------------------------------------------------------------------


    _______________________________________________
    Terrapreta mailing list
    Terrapreta at bioenergylists.org
    http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/biochar/
    http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org
    http://info.bioenergylists.org
  _______________________________________________
  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/20080525/99ffe55f/attachment.html