• About
    • Which Energy Mix is this?
  • Climate News Network Archive
  • Contact
The climate news that makes a difference.
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
  FEATURED
BREAKING: Fossil Fuels Fall 25% by 2030, Renewables ‘Keep the Path Open’ in IEA Net-Zero Update September 26, 2023
Green Space Groups Gear for Bigger Fights After Ontario Reverses Greenbelt Land Grab September 25, 2023
Community-Driven Solutions Can Take Back Ontario’s Electricity Future: Torrie September 25, 2023
‘Apex Oil and Gas Lobby’ Undercuts Canadian Sovereignty, Laxer Tells Foreign Influence Probe September 25, 2023
Momentum Builds Toward COP 28 as Countries Back Fossil Fuel Phaseout September 25, 2023
Next
Prev

Biochar Would Save 810 Megatons of Carbon by 2050

May 5, 2019
Reading time: 2 minutes

K.salo.85/Wikimedia Commons

K.salo.85/Wikimedia Commons

22
SHARES
 

Accelerating the production of biochar ranks #72 on Drawdown’s list of climate solutions, with the potential to reduce atmospheric carbon by 810 megatons by 2050.

Biochar is the modern-day term for an extraordinarily powerful soil amendment produced by slowly baking biomass in anaerobic or near-anaerobic conditions, Drawdown explains. It was well-known to the ancient peoples of the Amazon, who disposed of all their waste by burying and then burning it, and used the resultant terra preta (“black earth” in Portuguese) to nourish soils which sustained their thriving civilizations for millennia.

  • Concise headlines. Original content. Timely news and views from a select group of opinion leaders. Special extras.
  • Everything you need, nothing you don’t.
  • The Weekender: The climate news you need.
Subscribe

Unlike the slash-and-burn process introduced by Europeans and still practiced today, which leaves only residues of charcoal atop the naturally thin Amazonian soil which then swiftly wash away in heavy tropical rains, terra preta agriculture has been proven to maintain soil fertility “for many decades—more than 500 years in some studies.”

And this charred carbon really is a superhero for the soil, writes Drawdown. Its incredibly porous structure, akin to a coral reef, is “riddled with nooks and crannies that catch nutrients, hold on to water, and help vital microorganisms to set up shop.” Furthermore, it “functions as a nutrient magnet, carrying a negative electrical charge that pulls in positively-charged elements such as calcium and potassium [which] can reduce soil acidity caused by nitrogen fertilizers and increase yield.”

And when it is “rendered stable” during the burning process, the carbon in biochar “can be held for centuries in the soil—a much delayed return to the atmosphere, effectively interrupting the normal carbon cycle [of surface decay into CO2 and methane] and putting it into slow motion.”

In theory, Drawdown states, “biochar could sequester billions of tons of carbon dioxide every year, in addition to averting emissions from organic waste.” Uncertainty remains, however, as “regulation and enforcement” will be key to ensuring that biochar feedstock comes only from organic waste. That distinction matters, as stripping the land of biomass or cutting down trees would utterly defeat the purpose—further degrading soil and worsening climate change.



in Drawdown, Ending Emissions, Food Security & Agriculture, Forests & Deforestation, Soil & Natural Sequestration

The latest climate news and analysis, direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Related Posts

Jason Blackeye/Unsplash
International Agencies & Studies

BREAKING: Fossil Fuels Fall 25% by 2030, Renewables ‘Keep the Path Open’ in IEA Net-Zero Update

September 26, 2023
1
Duffins Agriculture Preserve/North Country House Media via Greenbelt Foundation
Ontario

Green Space Groups Gear for Bigger Fights After Ontario Reverses Greenbelt Land Grab

September 25, 2023
6
UNDP/flickr
Heat & Power

Community-Driven Solutions Can Take Back Ontario’s Electricity Future: Torrie

September 26, 2023
8

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Trending Stories

Cullen328/wikimedia commons

Manufactured Housing Could Dent the Affordable Housing Crunch with Energy-Efficient Designs

September 20, 2023
276
Jon Sullivan/flickr

Thorold Gas Peaker Plant Won’t Be Built After Unanimous City Council Vote

September 21, 2023
658
UN Climate Change/flickr

Don’t Attend COP 28 Unless You’re There to Help, Figueres Tells Oil and Gas

September 24, 2023
461
/Piqusels

‘Beginning of the End’ for Oil and Gas as IEA Predicts Pre-2030 Peak

September 19, 2023
503
Rewat Wannasuk/Pexels

Virtual Power Plants Could Cut Peak Demand 20%, Save U.S. Grid $10B Per Year

September 20, 2023
121
Mark Dixon/wikimedia commons

Hundreds of Thousands March in Global Climate Strike

September 19, 2023
128

Recent Posts

Jason Blackeye/Unsplash

BREAKING: Fossil Fuels Fall 25% by 2030, Renewables ‘Keep the Path Open’ in IEA Net-Zero Update

September 26, 2023
1
Duffins Agriculture Preserve/North Country House Media via Greenbelt Foundation

Green Space Groups Gear for Bigger Fights After Ontario Reverses Greenbelt Land Grab

September 25, 2023
6
UNDP/flickr

Community-Driven Solutions Can Take Back Ontario’s Electricity Future: Torrie

September 26, 2023
8
Wilson Hui/flickr

‘Apex Oil and Gas Lobby’ Undercuts Canadian Sovereignty, Laxer Tells Foreign Influence Probe

September 26, 2023
10
United Nations/Twitter

Momentum Builds Toward COP 28 as Countries Back Fossil Fuel Phaseout

September 26, 2023
11
UniEnergy Technologies/wikimedia commons

Multi-Day Storage Can Deliver Cheaper Grid Reliability, Battery Maker Says

September 25, 2023
9
Next Post
Climate Home News/Facebook

Chile Declares ‘Time for Action’, Unveils Single Venue for COP 25

The Energy Mix - The climate news you need

Copyright 2023 © Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Copyright
  • Cookie Policy

Proudly partnering with…

scf_withtagline
The Energy Mix - Energy Central
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}