permaculture

[Toby Hemenway <toby@patternliteracy.com>]

I was immensely disappointed in the ISIS article, even though I am usually a 
huge fan of Mae-Won Ho. I agree with Robyn on this one. It was a dreadful bit 
of selective bias. It was not a peer-reviewed article (ISIS is Ho's outfit), 
and it could not have survived peer review.

My cred here: a big chunk of my last job in my biotech days was to review and 
edit the manuscripts from our scientific staff before they went out to 
journals. These folks were brilliant scientists, and they taught me a lot 
about critically evaluating research. I was lucky to work with them. I 
probably reviewed 300 articles that they wrote (we had 150 PhDs), which got 
published in Nature, Science, Cell, PNAS, and all the big journals. 

So IMHO, the ISIS article stank. There were comments under it that took it 
apart, deservedly. The arithmetic behind the claim that biochar could deplete 
atmospheric oxygen, to name one blunder, was ridiculous.

This is not to be taken as support for biochar--there ain't no magic bullet, 
and as permies we use living systems before dead ones. But the article was 
terrible.

Toby
http://patternliteracy.com


On Nov 7, 2013, at 7:32 PM, Robyn Francis wrote:

> John,
> I read the ISIS institute article 'Beware the Biochar Solution' some months 
> ago and have pretty well dismissed it as poor science and narrowly 
> researched, cherry-picking the trials that support the argument, and 
> ignoring the mountains of other work that's been done on biochar as one of 
> the many strategies that can contribute to carbon sequestration and 
> storage.  There are some good comments questioning the article and it's 
> flawed assumptions, worth reading them through with an open mind.
> I agree that large industrial-scale biochar production is no solution, 
> however there's also good research being done on biochar as a positive 
> contributor to building soil and C sequestration as small localised 
> activity and with proper bio-activation of biochar before adding it to 
> soil. It may not be appropriate to all climates, and I noted that most of 
> the negative examples in the ISIS report were from places like Siberia, 
> Scandinavia and Scotland.
> No one technique or technology will save us, and my hackles quiver when any 
> one thing is touted as THE solution, however along with a comprehensive and 
> diverse tool kit of solutions, biochar does have a role to play.
> 
> Robyn
> 
> 
> 
> On 08/11/2013, at 10:22 AM, John D'hondt wrote:
> 
>> 
>> Well, just maybe I have read a lot more about it than you Christopher for 
>> at 
>> least two decades. At least the latest from the ISIS institute confirms my 
>> own misgivings.
>> And please, science should be about critical thinking and experimenting 
>> and 
>> I have done both, personally.
>> 
>> The worse and more complex the problems become the more simplistic and 
>> often 
>> stupid the solutions proposed become. That seems to be the general rule. 
>> And 
>> I am sure Albert Bates will make more money out of this than I ever will.
>> John
>> 
>>> Again, John, you do not understand the science. Please read "The Biochar 
>>> Solution" by Albert Bates so you have any understanding. Right now you 
>>> are 
>>> reactionary and clueless.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> _____________________________
>>> Christopher Nesbitt
>>> 
>>> Maya Mountain Research Farm
>>> San Pedro Columbia, Toledo
>>> PO 153 Punta Gorda Town, Toledo
>>> BELIZE,
>>> Central America
>>> 
>>> Country code 501-630-4386
>>> 
>>> www.mmrfbz.org
>>> www.facebook.com/MayaMountainResearchFarm
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Nov 7, 2013, at 12:11 PM, John D'hondt wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Lawrence you know what I think about "biochar". The name is a very good 
>>>> name
>>>> to sell a product that is quite bad for the planet.
>>>> Want to keep the planet cool? Then go for living trees and shrubs and all
>>>> sorts of plants. You want to do something good for the soil then let
>>>> residues rot in situ. That is food for living organisms. Bio-char is a 
>>>> dead
>>>> substance whatever the name.
>>>> John
>>>> 
>>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>>> From: "Lawrence London" <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>
>>>> To: "permaculture" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
>>>> Sent: Thursday, November 07, 2013 4:07 AM
>>>> Subject: Re: [permaculture] Beetle Kill and Biochar-- Fwd: USDA Invests 
>>>> in
>>>> Research to Convert Beetle-Killed Trees into Renewable Energy
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>>> On Wed, Nov 6, 2013 at 8:18 PM, Amy Little <amylittle@hvc.rr.com> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>>> Though not stated clearly... Cool Planet Energy Systems is  BIOCHAR
>>>>>> oriented
>>>>>> company.....
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> From: "USDA Office of Communications" <usda@public.govdelivery.com>
>>>>>> To: jeffs@ncat.org
>>>>>> Sent: Wednesday, November 6, 2013 1:04:01 PM
>>>>>> Subject: USDA Invests in Research to Convert Beetle-Killed Trees into
>>>>>> Renewable Energy
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> That could be a lot of trees across the country utilizing losses from 
>>>>> ash
>>>>> dieback, pine beetle and other sources. I remember the years when pine
>>>>> beetle devastated
>>>>> quite a large number of southern yellow pines and possibly other
>>>>> varieties.
>>>>> If the harvesting is done on tree farms, state and national parks lands,
>>>>> federal land,
>>>>> private sector tracts growing timber for paper or lumber products then 
>>>>> you
>>>>> might have a lot of material to convert to biochar. The main issue is
>>>>> getting the trees harvested and
>>>>> transported to biochar production sites; who is going to pay for and do
>>>>> this?
>>>>> 
>>>>> Lawrence London
>>>>> lfljvenaura@gmail.com
>>>>> http://www.avantgeared.com
>>>>> avantgeard@gmail.com
>>>>> https://plus.google.com/+Avantgeared
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>>>> 
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>> 
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> 
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