Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>]

A post about biochar and food to another list
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Ken, while I appreciate your efforts and enthusiasm on the subject, and that 
of others, it's easy to miss the big picture. I contend that events have 
overtaken much of our projects and aspirations for sustainability, and the 
most critical project by far in the near term is local food security - local 
production and storage and the supporting activities, training, networking, 
and low tech to sustain it. If biochar can play a role in that then research 
needs to show how now, not someday. I'll agree that in some isolated cases it 
may be useful on a local level. But we do not have years left to pore over 
studies and scholarly hair splitting.

You stated
>what is
>economically profitable depends on where you are and what you are doing--a
>quitessentially bioregional message.

I must add some desirable things cannot be economically profitable when none 
of the necessary resources, time, and financing are available. Where will the 
energy come from to make biochar and the necessary equipment over the next 
few years, and what will it cost in a year or two? This is getting into the 
big picture and ties in with the urgency of local food security without 
fossil fuel-based fertilizers and pesticides. Fossil fuels are going to be 
far too expensive to keep up industrial food production. How soon is the 
question, and how critical is this.

There are so many sources moving the same direction it's hard to pick just 
one to make the point, but this is a link to the University of California 
report, Peak Energy, Climate Change, and the Collapse of Global Civilization: 
The Current Peak Oil Crisis.
http://www.global.ucsb.edu/climateproject/papers/index.html

>From that site:
   This report is a synthesis of the current state of knowledge on energy 
resources and global climate and environmental change. The findings clearly 
indicate that the convergence of peak energy resources and dangerous 
anthropogenic climate and environmental change will likely have a disastrous 
impact in the near- and long-term on the quantity and quality of human life 
on the planet (see synopsis below).
   The findings suggest:
    * Global conventional oil production likely peaked around 2005 – 2011.
    * Peak global production of coal, natural gas, and uranium resources will 
likely occur by 2020 – 2030, if not sooner.
    * Energy resource shortages post-peak oil will likely cause a systemic 
collapse of global industrialized civilization in the near-term as the 
abundant fossil fuel energy resources used to develop and support 
industrialized economies become increasingly scarce.
    * Current trends in land, soil, water, and biodiversity loss and 
degradation, combined with potential climate change impacts, ocean 
acidification, a mass extinction event, and energy scarcity will 
significantly limit the human carrying capacity of the Earth.
   In order to keep current on the issues of peak energy, climate change, and 
economic decline which are occurring at an accelerating rate, relevant 
updates will be made on the author's blog: Global Change Watch.
   Peak Energy, Climate Change, and the Collapse of Global Civilization: The 
Current Peak Oil Crisis (2nd Edition; November 2010) is a not-for-profit 
report that is currently released as an eBook (pdf file). The eBook may be 
freely downloaded, printed, and distributed:
~~~~~~~
This site shows key points and summary from that report
http://www.energybulletin.net/stories/2010-12-14/peak-energy-climate-change-and-collapse-global-civilization-current-peak-oil-cris
Entire report:
http://www.global.ucsb.edu/climateproject/papers/pdf/Morrigan_2010_PECC2.pdf

One of many key points:
   "The localization of economies will likely occur on a massive scale, 
particularly the localization of the production of food, goods, and services."
~~~~~~~~

paul tradingpost@lobo.net