Can Biochar Save Us All?

2/20/2009 9:44:56 AM #

More biochar media coverage sent to me today by a journalist. This is honestly the first book I've worked on that's received fanmail: www.globalwarmingisreal.com/.../

Andrew

2/23/2009 10:48:55 AM #

hi, when is this book finally coming out.

chinaka dodge

2/23/2009 3:41:06 PM #

Hi Chinaka,

Stock should be coming in the first week of March. Then orders will start being fulfilled immediately.

AlexTurvey

3/1/2009 9:56:33 AM #

Another article on biochar, this time in the Yorkshire Post - mentioning our book! www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/.../...rt-their.5024535.jp

Andrew

6/7/2009 12:17:43 PM #

I ordered the book pre-publication and have gone through it in great detail. With a chemistry PhD with R&D experience in academia (5yr), chemical industry (26yr) plus 6yrs with a chemical technology business incubation NGO (last 18months as CEO) I feel well qualified to comment on this book. It's excellent! The science is good and the business modelling looks at all the essential issues. It does not try and oversell the concept and is fair in pointing out areas of uncertainty. The problem is not with the concept - I am very excited about the idea and am presently preparing a proposal to the local government to carbonise alien eucalyptus tree infestations on and in the Swartkops river (Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa) that are impacting on the health of our beautiful estuary - regarded as the 12th most important out of SA's 250, and somewhat unique that it's within the boundary of one of SA's main cities. I do agree that it's premature, and probably not desirable, for it to be included in any carbon trading scheme - I think CDM has been to heavily abused already by big business and won't solve the climate change threat (which is real and worse than the IPCC AR4 might lead one to think). I fully support Jim Hansen in that regard - he's a hero in raising the alarm, so long ago already, and has been proven right. If this project goes ahead I'll post it on the IBC site. There's a novel and cost-effective carboniser technology, invented here in SA, that I was involved in helping to commercialise while with the Business Incubator. I think it's a technology that can be usefully applied elsewhere in the biochar initiative, since it's continuous,needs no externally applied heat after start-up, carbonises at up to 500 deg C, and gives exeptionally high yields of charcoal (up to 50% mass/mass (wet feed basis with 25% moisture content).

Hugh Laue

11/23/2010 6:29:35 AM #

Thanks....

Solar Energy UK

1/9/2011 2:09:49 PM #

What has happened since?

Maria Callas

1/10/2011 7:25:28 AM #

Dear Maria,
I can't believe it's 18 months since I wrote the above. I was not able to get local government interested in the biochar idea although I still believe it has merit. Time is not yet ripe.
Since that post I have learnt a lot more about human caused climate disruption, peaking fossil fuels and the worldwide lack of political will (not to mention rampant corruption and anti-science opinion) to drive the necessary actions that will mitigate the catastrophic scenarios that are already beginning to be noticed. The root of the trouble is human desire that has elevated growth economics to godlike status. Growth economics (neoclassical economics) is not only disconnected from biophysical reality but it has transformed simple desire into the extremes of greed and fear that we see in the consumerist society that it has spawned.
Google "ecological economics" and "biophysical economics charles hall" for background. There was a biophysical economics conference in New York that has a number of excellent presentations that can be downloaded, including one by Joseph Tainter on collapse of civilizations.
I'm not hopeful that humankind is going to take the necessary actions to avert catastrophe. IMHO the best site for understanding how we got ourselves into this mess and what we as individuals can do about it is www.postcarbon.org.

Regards

Hugh



  

Hugh Laue