Science Forums 2

[Winkelix]

There sure are challenges to terra preta, such as understanding how it all works, getting out the news to a world that is dealing with many pressing issues, and just proving it works. Also, the fact that it hasn't been used in climates with a freezing point, which brings up the question whether the special bacteria in terra preta can survive a cold climate.

But I personally think the benefits outway the challanges. Consider the benefits:
1. Carbon sequestration that will almost surely last for thousands of years, which can be used to combat global warming
2. Not especially hard to make, and the production of charcoal has many valuable byproducts
3. Though the science behind it may not be fully understood, I believe it does work, for it has been used by Amazonian Indians before the Europeans came and killed them with their diseases. Discover Magazine has an article an terra preta, and it notes that European explorers saw great civilizations, which could have only survived with terra preta(jungle soil couldn't have supported such great numbers). European diseases collapses their empires, and the jungle took hold of all the temples etc, leaving little evidence to support their claims.
4. There are still many more!

Though there are challenges, I don't think they should hold back the use of terra preta.