On ocean acidification, I would like to draw your attention to this film: http://www.nrdc.org/oceans/acidification/aboutthefilm.asp This is a very serious problem that we should all feel compelled to address.
Thanks. Paul Olivier On Sat, Jul 6, 2013 at 7:31 AM, Paul Olivier <[email protected]> wrote: > A stove that makes both syngas and biochar can be just as clean-burning as > any other type of stove. Nothing is sacrificed in terms of human health if > a stove makes biochar. But when biochar is made, there is a benefit that > goes far beyond human health: CO2 is lock away in the soil for a very long > time, and does not make its way into the air or oceans. Also we have > demonstrated in over 20 experiments in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, how > biochar greatly enhances plant growth, while reducing costly inputs of > fertilizer and water in attaining similar levels of growth. > > The beautiful lake, which lies right at the center of the city of Dalat > where I live, is always heavily polluted with agricultural run off. Huge > areas of the lake are covered from time to time with dead fish. If biochar > and compost were added to the soil surrounding this lake, most of this > run-off could be curtailed. The Gulf of Mexico has a huge dead zone, mostly > caused by agricultural run-off. See: > http://science.time.com/2013/06/19/this-years-gulf-of-mexico-dead-zone-could-be-the-biggest-on-record/?xid=newsletter-asia-weekly > > *The major factor driving the size of the dead zone—beyond changing > flooding patterns—is the use and overuse of fertilizers in America’s rich > Midwestern corn belt. The U.S. Geological Survey estimated that 153,000 > metric tons of nutrients flowed down the swollen Mississippi and > Atchafalaya rivers during May—a 16% increase over the nutrient load average > seen during the past 34 years. And as James Greiff of Bloomberg points > out in a recent > piece<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2013-06-14/gulf-of-mexico-s-extinction-by-ethanol.html>, > those nutrients are used disproportionately to feed one particular crop: > corn. What’s more, 40 percent of the U.S. corn crop is devoted to making > ethanol, which fuel companies must blend with gasoline under a > congressional mandate. The Gulf dead zone is yet another reason for > Congress to kill that mandate.* > > A TLUD that makes biochar and then burns it is not ideal for two reasons: > 1) the burning of the biochar takes place at a considerable distance from > the pot and is inefficient, and 2) there is no biochar that gets > incorporated into the soil. > > Once again, when we go about designing TLUDs, if possible, we should > utilize waste biomass, not fossil fuels, and we should make biochar and > incorporate it into the soil. Our focus should not be exclusively on human > health. If poor people could afford fossil fuel gas, the health issue would > be fully addressed. Does this mean that we would no longer have to design > stoves for them? > > And finally, should we not be using in our own kitchens the stoves that we > design? Why is it OK for us to go on using fossil fuels to cook our food? > Why do we conveniently shift the burden of sustainability onto poor people? > > Thanks. > Paul Olivier > > > On Sat, Jul 6, 2013 at 3:38 AM, Dean Still <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Hi All, >> >> In recent discussions making stoves that reduce climate change as well as >> health problems has been a focus. I'm not an expert but to me that means >> investigating how stoves can burn as cleanly as possible. Making as close >> to zero amounts of CO and PM while cooking food as effectively as possible: >> making cooks happy as well. If the stove makes charcoal that will be buried >> it should be super clean when burning/cooking. >> >> We're getting closer. Stoves with chimneys can help a lot to protect >> health as long as the outside air stays below WHO guidelines but adding >> climate change means that we want to see only carbon neutral CO2 coming out >> of the chimney. >> >> I think that in the next few years biomass stoves that get close to this >> degree of clean burning will be for sale, available in the millions and at >> market prices. It's great that the Global Alliance is pushing this ' >> technological revolution'. And as a concerned Earthling, I want to >> sincerely thank all of the inventors and all concerned who are helping the >> plants and animals, the humans, on our planet. >> >> Thanks to Jacob, Tom, N. Nurhuda, Ron, Fred, Peter, Ben, Paul, Tom, >> Larry, Ranyee, Leslie, John, Crispin, and everyone. >> >> THANK YOU!!!, >> >> Dean >> >> >> On Fri, Jul 5, 2013 at 10:29 AM, Frank Shields <[email protected]>wrote: >> >>> This is a very good topic and related to Stoves to the point of noting >>> the >>> difference of a measure of Biochar pH value and alkalinity value. The pH >>> is >>> really not that important as many think it is. It's the alkalinity that >>> is >>> important. Having a water with a pH of 8.3 takes little acid to lower >>> the pH >>> but toss in a chunk of lime and the pH is still 8.3 but you will need to >>> add >>> acid until all the lime is dissolved before the pH goes down. So pH is >>> just >>> a reading. Alkalinity (or neutralizing value) is a measure of the amount >>> of >>> buffering holding that pH. We report this as CaCO3 equivalent units so it >>> can be compared to adding limestone to a soil. We boil a Biochar sample >>> in >>> 100 mls of 0.5N HCl to dissolve all the carbonates and oxides in the >>> sample >>> then back titrate using NaOH to determine the amount buffering (or >>> neutralizing value) the sample has. Much more useful. >>> >>> Frank >>> >>> >>> Thanks >>> >>> Frank Shields >>> >>> BioChar Division >>> Control Laboratories, Inc. >>> 42 Hangar Way >>> Watsonville, CE 95076 >>> >>> (831) 724-5422 tel >>> (81) 724-3188 fax >>> [email protected] >>> www.controllabs.com >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: Stoves [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf >>> Of >>> [email protected] >>> Sent: Thursday, July 04, 2013 11:47 PM >>> To: Discussion of biomass cooking stoves >>> Subject: Re: [Stoves] on ocean acidification >>> >>> On Thu, 04 Jul 2013 23:21:20 -0600,Mark Bigland-Pritchard / Low Energy >>> Design Ltd <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> >I wouldn't normally want to post off-topic, but I think it is necessary >>> >that an error be corrected before this thread is put to sleep. >>> >>> Mark I'm happy with your correction explaining pH. As we generally do >>> use pH >>> to denote acidity rather than hydrogen ions I think it is misleading to >>> then >>> say a 30% increase in hydrogen ion activity equates to a 30% change in >>> acidity. >>> >>> I think change in ocean ecology due to this small change in pH is a very >>> serious concern but please all of you take the discussion elsewhere and >>> stick to stove issues. >>> >>> AJH >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Stoves mailing list >>> >>> to Send a Message to the list, use the email address >>> [email protected] >>> >>> to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page >>> >>> http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/stoves_lists.bioenergylists >>> .org<http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org> >>> >>> for more Biomass Cooking Stoves, News and Information see our web site: >>> http://stoves.bioenergylists.org/ >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Stoves mailing list >>> >>> to Send a Message to the list, use the email address >>> [email protected] >>> >>> to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page >>> >>> http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org >>> >>> for more Biomass Cooking Stoves, News and Information see our web site: >>> http://stoves.bioenergylists.org/ >>> >>> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Stoves mailing list >> >> to Send a Message to the list, use the email address >> [email protected] >> >> to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page >> >> http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org >> >> for more Biomass Cooking Stoves, News and Information see our web site: >> http://stoves.bioenergylists.org/ >> >> >> > > > -- > Paul A. Olivier PhD > 26/5 Phu Dong Thien Vuong > Dalat > Vietnam > > Louisiana telephone: 1-337-447-4124 (rings Vietnam) > Mobile: 090-694-1573 (in Vietnam) > Skype address: Xpolivier > http://www.esrla.com/ > -- Paul A. Olivier PhD 26/5 Phu Dong Thien Vuong Dalat Vietnam Louisiana telephone: 1-337-447-4124 (rings Vietnam) Mobile: 090-694-1573 (in Vietnam) Skype address: Xpolivier http://www.esrla.com/
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