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06-01-2007
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#31 (permalink)
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M.C. Grillmeister
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Re: Terra Preta in the news
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The huge potential of agricultural soils to reduce greenhouse gases and increase production at the same time has been reinforced by new research findings at NSW Department of Primary Industries’ (DPI) Wollongbar Agricultural Institute in Australia.
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ScienceDaily: Soils Offer New Hope As Carbon Sink
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Hypography Science Forums Moderator
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"There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew." - Marshall McLuhan
"We must not forget that when radium was discovered no one knew that it would prove useful in hospitals. The work was one of pure science. And this is a proof that scientific work must not be considered from the point of view of the direct usefulness of it." - Marie Curie
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06-01-2007
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#32 (permalink)
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Re: Terra Preta in the news
Quote:
Originally Posted by Philip Small
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You might begin your search here to get closer to that goal. I found these after some creative googling once I'd read the link you offerred:
http://www.northern.cma.nsw.gov.au/p...pt#256,1,Lukas Van Zwieten
300 kg/hr Feed (cow manure/sawdust 30:70 mix)
http://www.css.cornell.edu/faculty/l...20accepted.pdf
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Concept of low-temperature pyrolysis bio-energy with bio-char sequestration. Typically about
50% of the pyrolyzed biomass is converted into bio-char and can be returned to soil.
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Happy sequestering. 
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06-04-2007
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#33 (permalink)
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M.C. Grillmeister
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Re: Terra Preta in the news
And here's a good example of TP NOT in the news...
This is from the weekly Environmental Technical Assistance Program (ETAP) newsletter.
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The report said that although biofuels can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, this potential benefit depends heavily on land use changes, choice of feedstock, agricultural practices, refining techniques, and end-use practices. For example, the report said that if prairie grassland were converted to maize or soy, treated with chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and refined using coal and natural gas, the resulting biofuel could have greater impact on the Earth's climate than fossil fuels.
The report also said that bioenergy crops can further contribute to global climate change if they replace primary forests, because deforestation releases large amounts of carbon from the soil that can "negate any benefits from biofuels for decades." Cutting down forests to plant energy crops also can leach nutrients from the soil and decrease biodiversity, the report said.
As a result, the report advised farmers to rely less on grain crops to produce biofuels because these crops require high fossil energy inputs (such as conventional fertilizer) and large amounts of farmland. They also have relatively low energy yields per hectare.
Instead, according to the report, farmers should use perennial grasses and other dedicated energy crops that are appropriate to the regions where they are planted and do not require clearing large amounts of environmentally sensitive land.
The report, Sustainable Energy: A Framework for Decision Makers, is available at ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a1094e/a1094e00.pdf.
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Ahem...pyrolysis anyone?
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Hypography Science Forums Moderator
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"There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew." - Marshall McLuhan
"We must not forget that when radium was discovered no one knew that it would prove useful in hospitals. The work was one of pure science. And this is a proof that scientific work must not be considered from the point of view of the direct usefulness of it." - Marie Curie
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06-09-2007
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#34 (permalink)
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Thinking
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Re: Terra Preta in the news
Nice to come across this thoughtful thumbs-up in Gristmill's Feeding the World Sustainably from 24 Apr 2007:
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...recent work on charcoal as soil amendments may allow us to go further -- sequestering significant amounts of carbon and building soil to a far greater extent. However, there are significant limitations we need to watch out for here. Just as conventional chemical fertilizers add nutrients without building soil structure, charcoal agriculture build soil structure without adding nutrients. So you want to limit the percent and type of agricultural waste you convert to charcoal for this purpose -- especially avoiding nitrogen rich materials. Additionally, charcoal making is usually very air polluting. There are charcoal making methods this is not true of, but they are expensive, especially on the small scale you want to use for conversion of agricultural wastes. None of this is insurmountable. Rodale is working on incorporating charcoal agriculture into its no-till farms. It just should not be seen as a quick fix that can avoid the need for emissions reduction.
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06-19-2007
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#35 (permalink)
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Creating
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Re: Terra Preta in the news
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"Unemployment is capitalism's way of getting you to plant a garden."
~Orson Scott Card  |
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07-12-2007
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#36 (permalink)
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Creating
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Re: Terra Preta in the news R.I.P.
Killers of renowned anthropologist sentenced in Brazil
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The men charged with the 2005 killing of University of Vermont anthropology professor James Petersen in the Amazon rainforest were sentenced Tuesday to nearly 30 years in prison, close to the maximum under Brazilian law.
Petersen, who had been doing pioneering research on advanced civilizations in the Amazon rainforest and had become a popular figure in the region, was shot and killed on August 13, 2005 during a robbery of a restaurant near Iranduba, a small town in the Brazilian Amazon. The two gunmen were apprehended within 24 hours, while their two accomplices were captured after a three week-manhunt through the rainforest.
Peterson's Work in the Amazon
Peterson gained fame for his archeological work in the Central Amazon. Together with a handful of other researchers, Peterson collected evidence of sophisticated societies in the Amazon rainforest. These civilizations built extensive road networks, practiced large-scale agriculture, and produced elaborate pottery, but left little trace after they were wiped out by European disease in the sixteenth century.
JAMES PETERSEN (1954 - 2005)
One of the few remnants left behind by these populations, is their nutrient-rich soil, known locally as terra preta.
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and some other sad news
Research and advocacy can be dangerous
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Dorothy Stang, 1931 - 2005
Dorothy Stang fought for social equity in the Amazon. Dorothy Stang, an American nun who spent more than 30 years fighting for land rights for poor settlers in the Amazon, was murdered by a contract killer in February 2005 in the Brazilian state of Para. Stang, 73, was shot six times with a revolver as she read from the Bible.
Stang's confessed killer said he was hired by Amair Feijoli da Cunha, a rancher. He and a partner were offered 50,000 reais (around $25,000) to kill Stang. Stang, a member of the Order of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, was working with the Pastoral Land Commission, a Catholic Church group that lobbies for land reform in Brazil and fights for land rights for the poor, when she was gunned down.
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Dorothy Stang fought for social equity in the Amazon (Read what her brother has to say here)
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"Unemployment is capitalism's way of getting you to plant a garden."
~Orson Scott Card
Last edited by Michaelangelica; 07-12-2007 at 02:13 PM..
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09-20-2007
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#38 (permalink)
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Creating
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Re: Terra Preta in the news
This , I am told is, a good book to have a look at
MA
Terra preta de índio, Global Climate Change
By Rudolph Ryser
An example of lost knowledge that could benefit human kind now is given the modern name of terra preta-the dark soil of the upper Amazon created by ancient occupants of the River. Terra preta is rich soil that, according to Mann, ...
Fourth World Eye - Fourth World Eye
de preta índio, Climate Terra Global Change
By john(john)
Charles Mann's well written lexicon entitled 1491 (2005, 2006 Vintage Books) reveals the pre-European settlement recital of complex and rich civilizations that mostly figured out how to manage the environment past destroying the ...
Environment news - Environment news
ALSO Stephen Joseph, the founder of the Oz BEST Industries, was on the ABC (Australian BC) science show "Catalyst" last night.
You may be able to watch it on line
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Meet taiko drumming environmental scientist, Stephen Joseph
Producer: Ingrid Arnott
Researcher: Ingrid Arnott
Camera: Dennis Brennan
Sound: Richard McDermott
Editor: Sasha Madon
Transcript
Related Info
20 September 2007
Professor Stephen Joseph has two passions in his life, one is his science and the other is playing the taiko drums and, according to Stephen, they both give him “the same spiritual experience.”
As a renewable energy engineer Stephen has travelled the world working with people in third world countries to improve their living and working conditions. This work inspired Stephen to start up a renewable energy business. Today, Stephen is visiting professor at UNSW Materials Science and Engineering. He is concentrating his research efforts on bio-char, an organic charcoal that can be used to improve soil health, crop yields, and could be one solution to climate change
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Catalyst: Meet taiko drumming environmental scientist, Stephen Joseph - ABC TV Science
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"Unemployment is capitalism's way of getting you to plant a garden."
~Orson Scott Card |
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10-08-2007
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#40 (permalink)
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M.C. Grillmeister
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Re: Terra Preta in the news
Quote:
Originally Posted by Michaelangelica
Could you pls. tell me how relevant this is. My WWW connection is not fast enough to view it
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Too bad you can't watch it, it's a pretty good film.
It is all about organic farming with no mention of TP. They state that their research has shown that organic farming methods have reduced soil CO2 emissions by over 20%. They explain that when soil is heavily tilled, as in conventional farming, it exposes the organic material and C to more O2 that causes more CO2 to be emitted by the soil. The practice of winter cover crops and no-till or little-till practices ensure that more C is locked in the soil year after year.
These findings coupled with TP offer growers an even better edge for battling CO2.
I haven't searched through the site, but it was the Rodale Institute that did all the research.
The Rodale Institute
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Hypography Science Forums Moderator
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"There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew." - Marshall McLuhan
"We must not forget that when radium was discovered no one knew that it would prove useful in hospitals. The work was one of pure science. And this is a proof that scientific work must not be considered from the point of view of the direct usefulness of it." - Marie Curie
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