[Gasification] Biochar et al.
Jeff Davis
jeffdavis0124 at gmail.com
Sun Dec 8 23:09:35 CST 2013
David,
I really hate to ask this but how does one make rock dust? Kind of
sounds like clay. Could I dig clay out of a pond and spray it on my
compost pile?
What's your thought on Hugelkultur?
Thanks,
Jeff
On 12/07/2013 11:15 PM, David Murphy wrote:
> Joe, you might find it of interest to look up John D. Hamaker on the
> net. He was an American Mechanical Engineer who turned his mind (and
> subsequently devoted his life) to improving soil by the addition of
> rock dust. He saw global warming as a precursor to the next ice
> age. He saw an ice age as essential refurbishment of the earth's
> resources. His argument has a lot of good solid logioc to it and
> it's worth adding to your store of knowledge on the general topic.
> If he's proven right, then we're in a lot of trouble ! If you want
> to study it further I have a DVD I made from a tape he produced I
> could let you have.
>
> Rock dust is a storehouse of minerals, all of which are essential to
> growth. First to plants and then to the animals which eat them -
> including us humans. Rock dust is insoluble to water but not to
> enzymes which are produced by soil benevolent bacteria - bacteria
> which are present in soil with good OM and in compost. Many
> readers of this string will be aware of it's benefits when used as
> fertiliser.
>
> Seeking to remedy climate change purported to be caused by
> anthropomorphic global warming is an extraordinarily complex
> question. And seeking to make a contribution by sequestering carbon
> as charcoal is in itself another complex range of issues. The
> charcoal must be first ligneos carbon - wood - and it is probably
> almost as good to lock up some of that carbon in timber for building
> houses or making furniture.
>
> I'd promote the first step by making the sequestration of the carbon
> as part of a broader program of building building soil organic matter
> OM. This includes animate carbon as well as vegetative. At least
> get it up to 5% to plough depth, say 10 inches (250mm) as a minimum,
> aiming at 20%. That in itself locks away a lot of carbon, but of a
> different nature, in that it's available to contribute to plant
> growth, growth without the need for chemical or artificial fertilisers.
>
> Every 1% increase in soil OM (world wide) would be a lockup of around
> 30 billion tonnes of carbon in a world which generates now (probably)
> 20 million tonnes annually. Just for the record, the biggest
> emitter of CO2, bigger than every other agency combined - every
> factory, airplane, car truck tractor etc and so on - is the soil of
> the earth as it respires. So, the more land we put down under crop
> to feed the increasing billions, the more CO2 we produce and put into
> the atmosphere.
>
> So, it's a race against a proven runner - so called mother Nature -
> and she's a proven stayer.
>
> On the other hand, some of the wise owls are now saying it's not CO2
> at all, but PCB's causing the damage. Maybe they're right - who
> knows _for sure ?_ Nobody I'm aware of despite what they say.
> It's all conjecture, some of it soundly based, but still conjecture
> relying on historical info compiled over a geological blink.
>
> Using charcoal and zeolite together is a bit like wearing belt &
> braces with self-supporting trousers. It certainly works !
>
> The easy and less costly way is to just get the OM into the soil and
> plant stuff to grow and suck up all the CO2 and N.
>
> But whatever you do, don't stop the good work.
>
> David Murphy.
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