So what is my interest in biochar? After a 25 year career as a scientist, chemist, engineer, and the “make it so" guy in industry, I spent the last two years teaching physics and physical science in a rural Wisconsin high school. The last topic we covered in the physical science class this past year was "the carbon cycle" and what the ramifications of our use of fossil fuels might be. I didn't insist on the kids accepting the current theory and fears of global warming. Most of them already knew enough to question how accurate the predictions are of global warming caused by human activity. With the drastic climate changes during the past 10,000 year not being explained by current climate change models, it is difficult to take the predictions seriously.
The side effect of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide levels which I stressed cannot be ignored is ocean acidification. The kids learned that there are two large scale methods of moving carbon to long term storage in the lithosphere; 1) the aging of rocks (silicates react with atmospheric carbon dioxide creating bicarbonates and carbonates and silicon dioxide (sand). (Look for a future blog where I wonder why this isn't done on purpose in power plants to remove the carbon dioxide from the exhaust gasses.) The carbonates wash down the water sheds to the oceans. And 2) carbon dioxide dissolves in the oceans forming more bicarbonates and carbonates and living creatures use these ions to build shells and tests. These shells and tests eventually settle to the ocean floor, creating limestone rock. As the ocean becomes more acidic, it becomes more difficult for the creatures to turn the carbonates into shells and tests. This is bad news. Make the world warmer, and weather patterns change, some species don't adapt and die, more wars occur as populations shift. Kill the oceans and everything dies.
My challenge to them was to figure out how to prevent ocean acidification. We explored growing biomass and making compost and biofuels. None of these activities reduced the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide for a long period of time. The one activity they found which moves carbon dioxide back to the lithosphere for an extended period of time is making biochar. And it has the advantages that the biochar makes our farmland, gardens and forests more productive and energy is released during the production of biochar which can be used to make electricity or biofuels.
I got so excited about this that I have spent my summer learning how to make biochar from my dried grass clippings and hay and am attending the North American Biochar Conference - 2009 in Boulder, CO.
I will post my notes about the biochar conference here on my blog. The conference runs from 8-9-09 thru 8-12-09.
Bye for now, Doug
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We are very excited and interested in this conference. Tom Vilsack, the former governor of our state, Iowa, will be a keynote speaker. He is the present Secretary of Agriculture and we hope he fully supports the Biochar intiative. We are committed to the use of biochar to sequester greenhouse gasses released from the soil as a result of farming. Biochar can also replenish abused soils to increase fertility, and it helps retain moisture for significant crop yield. Check out www.BioCharGrows.com website for more info. The premier biochar product on the market today is EternaGreen. Troy Wragg will be presenting at the conference. Don't miss him, and say, "Hello from Lee & Rita Staszak from Iowa" for us.
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