permaculture

[christopher nesbitt <christopher.nesbitt@mmrfbz.org>]

John, 

I was skeptical, too, initially, but the science is pretty solid on this. 
Biochar is good for soil, and removes carbon from the environment, locking it 
up in a stable form for a long time. There are ways to use the heat from 
making biochar for cooking and heating. It enabled very high populations to 
exist in the Amazon before the introduction of Europeans and their diseases 
decimated the population.

Rather than go into this here, in any detail, I will suggest you read Albert 
Bates book, "The Biochar Solution", which is fantastically informative, and 
will explain how it works to you. Albert is a great writer, and this book is 
a lot of fun to read, full of history and facts about soil. The book is 
available on Amazon.com 
www.amazon.com/Biochar-Solution-Farming.../dp/0865716773 nd here is an 
interview with Albert, 
http://www.treehugger.com/lawn-garden/author-of-the-biochar-solution-says-its-not-a-solution-video.html

Full disclosure, I co teach with Albert and find him to be one of the most 
level and thoughtful people I have ever met, a great person to hare coffee 
with, full of information, and I admire and respect him. Read this book 
before you develop an opinion. There os a lot more to it than you think.

www.biocharsolution.com  

Christopher


On Nov 14, 2011, at 4:31 PM, John D'hondt wrote:

> 
> They don't yet know how it works? But they are already telling everybody 
> how 
> to make it? Burning the planet to cool it?
> If it were not for the very name which comes under the heading of 
> "new-speak" in Brave New World more people might wonder if it worked at all 
> as do I. Bio means life and char means coal and freedom is slavery and war 
> is peace.
> john
> 
>> 
>> 
>> -------- Original Message --------
>> Subject: Biochar
>> 
>> If you're interested in biochar, you might want to check out an article
>> in the new issue of Agriculture Research, the news magazine of the USDA
>> Agriculture Research Service. The article describes research currently
>> underway by USDA to discover how it works and how to make and introduce 
>> it.
>> 
>> The following link will take you to the magazine's web page. If you
>> click on the current issue, it will take you to a download page for the
>> issue. If you have slow internet speed, be advised that it will require
>> downloading a 4-5 mb pdf file. Also, the web page allows you to explore
>> archived issues of Agriculture Research, which will inform you much
>> about research being done by the USDA and research that was done in the
>> past.
>> 
>> Here's the link; http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/ .
>> 
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> 
> 
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_____________________________
Christopher Nesbitt

Maya Mountain Research Farm
San Pedro Columbia, Toledo
PO 153 Punta Gorda Town, Toledo
BELIZE, 
Central America

www.mmrfbz.org