BioChar Conference Gains National Attention in The Economist
More than 300 scientists, scholars, politicians, and student gathered at Colorado Law School to discuss the virtues, manufacturing, and benefits of biochar during the North American Biochar 2009 Conference hosted by The Center for Energy and Environmental Security (CEES). Details of the conference were covered in an article appearing in the science and technology section of the August 27th edition of The Economist.
Biochar is essentially charcoal that can be made from the slow, controlled burning of organic materials such as corn scraps, yard waste, and offcuts from forestry and timber production. Infusing soils with biochar helps crops to grow and helps soils to retain plant nutrients. Recently, biochar has also been touted as a new tool to attack the problem of global warming by providing a way of extracting CO2 and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was among those who attended the conference. His remarks provided a high-level perspective when he described biochar as the type of advancement in agriculture and energy that is in line with the President’s vision.
Colorado Law Professor Lakshman Guruswamy was cited in the article when he suggested an added benefit of biochar could be provided if farmers living in poor and developing countries were given access to the technology. Many of these poor farmers burn wood, trash, and dung indoors for heating and cooking. The dark soot released into the air contributes to global warming because it absorbs heat. More notably, it also kills more than one million people per year who inhale the soot. The pyrolytic stoves that produce biochar from organic vegetation generate almost no soot while providing the same amount of heat. Coordinating an effort to bring smaller, pyrolising stoves to people in poorer countries could have several benefits at little cost, he said.
Listen to a podcast of Professor Guruswamy talk about energy justice and how one-third of the world’s population--more than 2 billion people--are without access to adequate energy sources, resulting in harmful health effects.