Ken, Simon As it was I that said it, I had best front up.
My objection on first reading was to the passage immediately following Simon's quote, which is a gratuitous shift from policy relevance to policy prescription, viz: "Biochar and other forms of sequestered biomass have not yet been adequately researched and characterised, and so should not be eligible for carbon credits under the UNFCCC flexible mechanisms until there is a reliable system in place for verifying how much carbon is stored, and the wider social and environmental effects have been determined. Substantial research will be required to achieve these conditions for methods other than BECS". However, as regards the words that Simon quotes, one concern is a matter of emphasis, interpretation and tone. For instance, there are in aggregate about 15Gt p.a. crop and forestry residues and animal dung, which may be expected to rise to 20Gtp.a. (with ~10Gtp.a. C content) with population increase to 9billions. If the lot were pyrolyzed with 50 per cent C capture, and the product used for soil improvement, that would yield the lower end of the Lehman et al quoted range without any growth at all "in the resources devoted to producing" [[not "biofuels" but biochar is presumably intended]]. There would not be conflict with the use of agricultural land but synergy, with improved soil leading to increased crop yield. In a single sentence the RS writer manages to state that "using crops [PRESUMABLY HE/SHE MEANS CROP RESIDUES] for renewable fuels would be in conflict with using agricultural land for the production of food AND/OR BIOFUELS" !! Beyond the circular non-sequitur, the sentence is about biofuels and not about biochar at all. Next, a negativistic sentence "However, unless the sustainable sequestration rate exceeds around 1 GtC/yr, it is unlikely that it could make a large contribution." contains a false premise [as per the numbers above] which is then carried through to a prominent conclusion of low effectiveness in table 2.4 As regards final sentence that Simon quotes "might increase the cost and reduce the availability of food crops" is precisely the opposite of what would happen with conversion of currently largely wasted or inefficiently used farm and forestry residues to soil productivity enhancing biochar. As Ron Larson has noted, there is an extraordinary failure to quote the enormous positive literature on biochar, conveniently referenced and summarized in book format published in London IN MARCH 2009, within 2 miles of the RS Carlton House Terrace headquarters [Biochar for Environmental Management, Eds J Lehmann and S Joseph, Earthscan] which contrasts strangely with the Report's favourable attitude to BECS where the literature is sparse (possibly a convenience) and where success is entirely dependant on the infant CCS technology. There is not the slightest doubt that we know how to pyrolyze. As regards the gratuitous policy prescriptive paragraph, the establishment of a reliable system for verifying how much C is stored through commercial biochar application to soil is no different from estimating fossil fuel emissions - quantities and quality assay will.become available through normal accountancy procedures and can be aggregated in the same way as is done for coal, except the movement is down into the gropund rather than up out of it. As biochar is "finely divided pyrolyzed biomass prepared [expensively] for soil improvement" purchasers are not going to waste if for fuel (especially as preparation will likely involve wetting and doping with nutrients and/or fungal spores etc., somewhat spoiling combustion properties). Nobody is talking about carbon credits for increased labile soil C resulting from increased productivity or about unregulated backyard operations, though much valuable experimentation is going on in that way. As regards the RS concern over "the wider social and environmental effects " it would be good to see the same applied to already large scale bioenergy before getting too excited about the (likely beneficial) social and environmental effects of infant biochar. While I do not generally favour ad hominem arguments it may be noted that there is not a single member of the working group and review panel that has a publishing record in the field of biochar. Hope that helps Peter ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ken Caldeira" <[email protected]> To: "geoengineering" <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2009 4:51 PM Subject: [geo] Re: Manifesto for Geoengineering It would be nice if Ron would provide a direct answer to Simon Evans's question. I read the post on the yahoo group referred to by Ron. There are apparently differences of opinion on whether biochar is ready to be considered as an offset in negotiations under the UNFCCC, but I saw no errors of fact pointed out in that post. Tthe only substantive complaint I could find was that the section on biochar was inadequately referenced. If there are indeed errors of fact in the Royal Society Report, it would be helpful to point them out clearly, succinctly, and, where appropriate, quantitatively. Ken ----- Original Message ----- From: "chsee" <[email protected]> To: "geoengineering" <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, September 25, 2009 9:43 PM Subject: [geo] Re: Manifesto for Geoengineering Please, someone explain to me what is "nonsense", or indeed "misleading" about this quote on biochar from the Royal Society: “Proponents of biomass for sequestration argue that very large rates of sequestration are in principle achievable. For example, Lehmann et al. (2006), quote a potential carbon sink of 5.5 to 9.5 GtC/yr by 2100, larger than the present day fossil fuel source (and approaching 10% of global primary production by plants). Such fluxes suppose that there will be enormous growth in the resources devoted to the production of biofuels, and that some large fraction of this carbon would be converted to biochar. The use of crops for renewable fuels on such a scale would very likely conflict with the use of agricultural land for the production of food and/or biofuels. As summarised in Table 2.4 biomass for sequestration could be a significant small-scale contributor to a geoengineering approach to enhancing the global terrestrial carbon sink, and it could, under the right circumstances, also be a benign agricultural practice. However, unless the sustainable sequestration rate exceeds around 1 GtC/yr, it is unlikely that it could make a large contribution. As is the case with biofuels, there is also the significant risk that inappropriately applied incentives to encourage biochar might increase the cost and reduce the availability of food crops, if growing biomass feedstocks becomes more profitable than growing food.” simon evans On Sep 24, 5:39 am, Ron Larson <[email protected]> wrote: > Geoengineering List (with some ccs): Earlier today, Peter Read used my > name (Ron Larson - now a new member of this list) in connection with > Biochar - saying / "//despite Royal Society nonsense based apparently on > a submission from a scientifically ill-qualified NGO - Ron may care to > comment" . / > . The NGO being charged by Peter is BiofuelWatch (BFW), a > London-based group fighting biofuels. They have (totally incorrectly) > lumped Biochar with all biofuels, which they are against (justifiably) > for past considerable global cutting of rainforests. From the > perspective of this List, however, there is minimal attention to climate > issues (nor to soil issues). Despite massive evidence on the longevity > of [carbon-negative] char in soils for millenia, they deny all of that. > Similarly they deny that Biochar is sure to provide considerable ag > productivity increases. My main complaint about BFW is that the > references they use never support their charges and they ignore all > references that support Biochar. There is no other group anywhere in > the world with anything like their published (but not peer-reviewed) > anti-Biochar report. > . Peter has also correctly identified that the recent Royal Society > analysis of Biochar was "nonsense" from the perspective of those who are > supporters of Biochar. And BFW was not listed as a checkable reference > - whereas all of the other few the RS used were positive. > . In sum, having put many hundreds of hours in fighting BFW, this is > to fully support Peter's statements on these two superficial and > therefore harmful analyses of Biochar's Geoengineering potential. > Several rebuttals exist or are in process. The positive side of Biochar > is best seen atwww.biochar-international.org(and I am not employed by, > or on, any of the IBI committees or boards). > Ronal W. Larson, PhD, Golden, Colorado (retired) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.409 / Virus Database: 270.13.112/2394 - Release Date: 09/25/09 05:51:00 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. 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