Michaelangelica Posted March 4, 2008 Report Posted March 4, 2008 I have been fiddling with this article for years.I couldn"t wiork out how to post articles on HP.But this is probably the most appropriate forum anyway.I thought I might get $50.00 from the Oz science magazine for it but they don't want to know about TP.After Adriana from BEST ripped it apart (nicely) I lost a bit of heart.I don't even know which version this is of the very many versions I have writtenPlease excuse it; is is 2 years out of date ad written by a 'bear of little brain.' I would find it most helpful if you would give me criticisms of any wild statements I make without any scientific reference or backup. Please be kind my ego is fragile :hihi: Black Dirt, Terra preta - the Greatest Gift of all.It is in men as in soils, where sometimes there is a vein of gold which the owner knows not of. Jonathan SwiftThe Americas are full of ancient wonders and their old societies have given us many gifts: potatoes, chocolate, corn, chillies. In the Amazon River Basin, little remains of the vast populations that lived there in Pre -Columbian times. However the Native Indians’ amazing knowledge of soil fertility lives on in the modern archaeological studies of the soils they made- “Terra preta” . My introduction to “Terra preta”, “Amazon Dark Earth” or simply “Black Dirt” started one wet Sunday afternoon watching what I thought was going to be the usual "doom and gloom" story of the destruction of the Tropical Rainforests in South America. It was a BBC documentary called “The Secret of El Dorado”. The documentary told of ancient Amazon Indian soils, full of charcoal and still fertile after 2,000 years I soon found the archaeology engrossing. How had millions of people survived in the greater Amazon River Basin when the soil was so poor? The show unravelled like a detective story, tantalising me with seemingly incongruous facts. The show talked about the very fertile patches of soil that had been found scattered widely through the region. This soil supported a vast, pre-Columbian population (We now know these "patches" cover an area the size of France!). I had studied archaeology sociology, psychology, and loved history, had gardened professionally, so here was a show that combined archaeology, sociology, history, gardening and a puzzle that would stump Sherlock. I was hooked. What is Terra preta?And he gave it for his opinion, that whoever could make two ears of corn, or two blades of grass, to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his country, than the whole race of politicians put together. Jonathan Swift Many native farmers in tropical regions today use a "slash and burn" agriculture system. They slash and burn an area of rain forest and then every three years or so move on to another new area when the soil fertility is depleted. Throughout the Amazon River Basin are scattered patches of very old, fertile, highly weathered soil up to one metre or more deep. Rain-forest soil is notoriously poor because nutrients are leached from the soil by the daily tropical rain and therefore do not support a large population. However it is thought that these patches of Terra preta supported a native population numbering in the millions; and that these people were annihilated by disease in the early days of Spanish exploration of the area. Terra preta soils’ main distinguishing feature is its obvious dark colour, which is caused by the high content of finely ground charcoal that it contains. The Terra preta is highly regarded by the locals who sometimes sell it to less fortunate farmers. Interestingly Terra preta soil that has not been worked for 400 years is still fertile. The fertility of the Terra preta soil seems to last a very long time .For a world fast running out of Oil Based Fertilisers, this is more than of passing interest. The first starling revelation of Terra preta is that these soils are man made, built up over a period of 2,500 (2, Lehman et al p.105) years. These soils contain finely ground charcoal, pottery fragments, fish wastes, a lot of organic matter, shells quartz and kaolinite.The amazing thing is the amount of finely ground charcoal they contain. For every 1 meter of soil depth there is between 147 and 506 tonnes of charcoal/carbon per hectare.!You don’t get charcoal by just burning something. It has to be made-It is a man-made artefact. if you “slash and burn” you get about 35 carbon not the 50-95% you get from making charcoal The second amazing property of Terra preta is that the South American. Indians claim that it "grows." People who sell their Terra preta soil feel that they have an endless supply. They just leave an area fallow for a few years and the soil has returned. Research in Brazil and at Cornell University has shown that the Terra preta soil contains a very large population of soil microflora, fungi, bacteria and worms. It is very much "alive". Is this because of the charcoal and organic matter in the soil? Or are there unique micro-organisms at work in Terra preta? It seems the amount of finely powdered charcoal is a major factor in promoting this soil ‘life” although it is not the complete story. I guess I have always vaguely known that there are growing, living things in the soil. (I once controlled an infestation of Root-Knot Nematode with lots of mulch and sugar which made a favourable environment for the yeast-like predator of the Root Knot Nematode). But here, with Terra preta is a way of actually encouraging microbial and other soil life by mealy adding charcoal some old clay and fish bones to the soil!. I speculated: do the bacteria make little condos out of minute charcoal caves or do they use elaborate, architect designed carbon buckeyballs?(See electron microscope photos of charcoal and Buckyball illustration) What is charcoal?Once this was an easy question to answer. English woodsmen would go into the forest cut down tree branches make a ‘cold’ bonfire and fire the timber over a48 hour period. This is still done and called ‘coppicing’ woodsman would watchi and yarn around the “fire” Watching because they could not afford to let the fire blaze. Charcoal is only formed in the absence of air. Too much air and all the woodsman’s work would be ruined. British woods have been managed sustainably in this way for generations. The charcoal eventually produced was sold to blacksmiths to make the very hot fires required to make iron and steel.These days the question, “What is charcoal?” needs an engineering and chemistry degree. With the invention of sophisticated Pyrolysis machines (literally machines that transform (almost magically ?) by fire or heat) charcoal has became a different product. For a start charcoal need not be made from trees. Modern pyrolysis machines and techniques can cope with anything organic with up to 70% moisture content. The temperature the charcoal is made at can vary from 300C to 1000C. Each type of organic material used and each temperature it is fired at makes a charcoal with a different micropsic structure with different chemical and mineral contents. Enough research for a gross of Phds. For example Australia is drowning in Chicken manure. If you tun it into charcoal at 400C you get something different to what is produced at 600C. Broiler ana layer manure is different to satrt with. All this becomes important when you add charcoal to the soil as a whole metropolis of fungi, worms and bacteria grow on different charcoals, resulting in different plant growth. To discuss Charcoal’s effects on the planet a dozen or more degrees in various disciplines such as agriculture, horticulture, ecology, land management, waste management microbiology soil science and climatology all would be helpful. Japanese agriculturalist has known for years that charcoal improves the fertility and Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) of soil. (CEC, briefly, is the ability of the plant to access the fertiliser present in the soil). Charcoal not only reduces fertiliser run off (even though the soil can be more permeable and aerated) but it seems to help make the soil organic matter more available to plants.Charcoal can also help the soil hold water, reducing water use by up to 18% or more (12) (The more “activated” the carbon the greater its water holding capacity (13)). By producing the charcoal at higher temperatures (500C+) the bio-oils and resins are driven off and the charcoal ‘pops’ or expands like popcorn providing a much grater surface area for water to permeate. With pyrolysis plants like that engineered by Best Energies in Australia, inexpensive activated charcoal can be made. Charcoal’s ability to conserve water in the soil and in Potting mixes should be enough to lead to is wholesale adoption by nursery and agriculture industries. Have you often pined over the wonderful hanging baskets dripping with flowering plants from thatched cottages in “midsummer murders” well with charcoal in a hanging basket potting mix Australians may have a chance of producing something similar. Alternatives such as water holding crystals, vermiculite or perlite or peat are expensive and/or have environmental drawbacks The pH of the soil is also improved by charcoal Soil “pH” (acidity or alkalinity) is crucial for good plant growth. Too high or too low both reduce the of available plant ‘food.’. Chicken manure char when first made may have a Ph of 9 yet after use in the garden soil Ph moves close to neutral.(!3) Japanese researchers have found that continued use of bamboo charcoal can reduce soil Ph by 0.5-1 Charcoal-enriched soil can triple or quadruple the productivity of many crops. (12).Again this fact alone should lead to charcoal’s wholesale adoption by agriculturalists. Even small amounts of charcoal added yearly to crops can dramatically increase growth rates of perennial plants. Recent Japanese research on Tea trees (Camellia sinensis) found that adding 100g charcoal* per square metre to each tree, each year over a three year period, led to a 40% increase in tree volume. The Tea trees were 20% taller than the untreated control trees, despite a reduction in the amount of fertiliser applied to the charcoal treated plants. (11). One hundred grams(x3) is a very small amount of charcoal. Many experiments use 10-20% or even 50% by volume. in soil and putting mixes often getting more than 400% growth Original Terra preta soil itself contains, for every 1 meter of depth of soil, between 147 and 506 tonnes of charcoal per hectare. This cumulative long term effect on encoraginging plant growth is one of the more puzzling aspects of charcoal in soil. Why should something so long lasting ad seemingly inert substance-carbon- have such a remarkable effect on plant growth. It seems even soda water (carbonated water) will promote plant growth!(REF?) NPK and Charcoal NPK OnlySource: Steiner, C. et al (2003), University of Bayteuth, Germany. “Slash and char not slash and burn” (The yield of sorghum plants increased from 0.3 t/ha to 1.2 t/ha after adding char.)Figure 1 Rice/Sorghum Plots 2nd harvests – plant size after 55 days. There was a + 30% biomass increase and a + 50% average yield improvement over 4 cropping cycles (12)Other ‘quirky’ benefits of including charcoal in soil are:• it absorbs soil-damaging herbicides and pesticides. The more “activated” the carbon, the more absorbent it becomes. (In Japan activated carbon has been used to save trees that have been poisoned). Up to now activated charcoal has mainly been used in medicine (gastrointestinal problems) or in order to soak up pesticide, heavy metal or fertiliser spills.• it absorbs and neutralises the natural toxins in decomposing organic materials, particularly those in bark.• it absorbs at least some of the harmful chloride and fluoride found in tap water.• it removes the germination-inhibiting chemicals from some seed surfaces. (13). The Australian aborigines knew this when they “cold” fired the Australian bush (Burnt on cold or wet days). The charcoal and gasses formed helped the germination of many Australian natives. Like good wine, Terra preta seems to get better with age. The longer the charcoal is in the soil, the better the benefit to soil fertility. Terra preta soils of the Amazon are ancient, yet still fertile. Terra preta nova The question now is: what was or what is the complete secret of Terra preta? Can it be reproduced? Is it specific to the Tropics or can it be produced in other climatic zones. Can we create “New Black Earth”- “Terra preta nova” for modern horticulture and agriculture? Can ‘Dead Indians’ save the planet?He had been eight years upon a project for extracting sunbeams out of cucumbers, which were to be put into vials hermetically sealed,and let out to warm the air in raw, inclement summers. Jonathan Swift Having gardened and managed anursery for forty years and always on the lookout for the Holy Grail (The “Perfect” Potting Mix,) I found this whole concept of Terra preta nova exciting and fascinating. I immediately started pounding up (coconut) BBQ charcoal, (My wife's mortar and pestle will never recover), and tried to re-create a Terra preta soil for my potted plants. I became an ardent mailer to internet gardening and science discussion groups.It was then I discovered words like sequestration, gasification, bioconversion pyrolysis, bio-mass, bio-char, bio energy, bio oils, and agrichar, edaphology.. and glomalin (‘recalcitrant mycorhhizal fungally produced glycoprotein that may account for 1/3 of world soil carbon’ (9)). To my surprise, many who were joining in on the web discussions were not gardeners or farmers but engineers, ecologists, soil mycologists and bacteriologists, environmentalists and scientists concerned about global warming and dwindling carbon di-oxide producing fossil fuels. Charcoal is, of course, almost pure carbon. (75% to 98%)It is not just "burnt trees"; it is "tree concentrate." In fact it is not really burnt in the traditional sense of the word at all. It is heated in the absence of oxygen. During this heating some remarkable changes take place Charcoal or bio-char can be made from anything that once was organic. It does not have to come from trees or even plants. Charcoal is perhaps best known as a fuel used frequently in barbeques and in Third World countries is a major fuel source. Barbeque charcoal. is usually made from renewable bamboo forests or from coconut husks. Given the right production processes charcoal can be “carbon negative.” It has been suggested that if enough farmers adopt charcoal as a soil additive it could slow or even stop further global warming. Terra preta nova might be a way of sequestering (putting away) carbon and cooling the planet. Used as a soil additive, it can increase soil fertility by as much as 400%, and reduce water and fertiliser costs. No wonder so many people were excited by the idea of Terra preta nova. My obsession with Terra preta started to bore my friends, ruin the carpet and attract the attention of the New South Wales. Police who thought I was stockpiling charcoal in order to make a bomb. I was obviously a dangerous terrorist. My wife was amused only by terrorist bit. It is surprising, given her guffaws and cavalier attitude to the police, that I am not presently rotting incognito in some offshore gaol! I guess, initially, I was being a titch picky about my charcoal, asking for it to be finely ground, made from rainforest timber and produced at 400C. All of which according to my research was the best type of charcoal for soil. A friend introduced me via phone one night to another "Charcoal Nut" who was regaling them at dinner with stories of charcoal’s amazing effects in the garden and displaying his vegetable trophies. The dinner guest was none other than the fascinating Dr. Stephen Joseph, from “Best Energies”. Stephen had spent a goodly part of the last ten years inventing a machine to produce bio-char (charcoal) in an ecologically sustainable and environmentally friendly way. Steven is researching different types of char and had a huge hard drive of information on 'char' and its action in the soil. He invited me to see his operation at Somersby on the Central Coast of NSW. Adriana Downe, a PhD student at the University of NSW researching bio-char, showed me around Best Energies’ plant that produces Agrichar or Biochar, a range of high grade charcoal for agricultural use. This “pyrolysis” system, not only controls oxygen levels in order to produce different grades of charcoal but controls the exhaust of potentially harmful gasses such as benzopyrene. It also collects bio-oils, these may act like plant resins in promoting soil microflora. On the office walls were photographs of charcoal taken with an electron microscope. They were like amazing stills from a science fiction movie, miniature worlds. I left many hours later with my head spinning with information and ideas, and a full of borrowed International Research Papers on Charcoal and Terra preta.”Best Energies” prototype/demonstration pyrolysis plant. They call it "C4H4"- a Starwars name- as it produces both charcoal, hydrogen, methane and carbon monoxide. C4H4 would probably fit in a very large double garage and can produces charcoal at anything between 400-550C. If needed, it can make a low grade activated charcoal by adding water and air. C4H4 starts up on natural gas (or LPG) and then runs on synthesis gas produced by the charcoal making process. It is linked up to an old generator and produces a mass of electricity. Unfortunately this electricity is away as the electricity supply company can't cope with much electricity going back into the gird without expensive safeguards. Best Energies hopes to sell to industry a plant that has either a capacity of two or four tonnes per hour of dry waste ! It will produce renewable energy and charcoal at maybe $200 a tonne! (Woollies and Coles retail charcoal at about $2,000 a tonne; Barmac sells Pick Up activated charcoal for Greenkeepers for $150 for 5 litres). This makes the C4H4 Quite a bargain at around 5M .I wanted a small version to take home! Best Energies have been asked if they could ma small C4H4 that would fit on the back of a semi-trailer so it could be taken to the waste. This they could do, but considerable funds were required to develop a plant that meets the Australian environmental and Occupational Health and Safety laws.. I immediately thought of the masses of seaweed pilling up in great drifts around the edges of the local lakes. Polluting the lakes, producing stinking hydrogen sulphide & probably the greenhouse gas, methane, too. It would be fascinating to see what seaweed charcoal could do for the soil! The process used to convert the waste to char (10)What surprised me at Best Energies was the variety of waste being used to make Charcoal. Most anything organic, it seems, can be made into charcoal. At the moment they are experimenting with many types of waste and analysing all the different types of charcoal produced . Best Energies want to do more field trials with all the varieties of charcoal they can make. I was shown wonderful electron microscope photos of char which looked like something NASA would produce in Mars space probes. A whole miniature world for good soil bugs to live in!I was amazed that they could turn paper-making waste slurry with 70% water into charcoal! At present, in Australia, this waste goes into landfill. This has a number of disadvantages. Holes are becoming harder to find so there are ever increasing waste transport costs and the waste, if left to decompose anaerobically, will produce greenhouse gasses. The water could also be recovered using the steam or the electricity produced by the system. However the wetter the mix the lower the excess energy produced. So wetter wastes (paper slurry) can be mixed with drier (wood waste) With dry feeds like poultry litter (<20% moisture content) there is energy excess from the system. All the different varieties of charcoal either produced at different temperatures or different wastes have different advantages. I am at present experimenting in my own pots with rice husk charcoal. It is a beautiful fine powdery charcoal with a very high silicon level. Silicon may help growing plants resist fungal attack such as pythium, bud rot (botyritis) It is said to strengthen plant cell walls and helps prevent water stress (wilting) and attack by sucking insects. Some nurseries sell silicon supplements for plants, especially for hydroponic use.(Although it is not a good idea to breathe in pure silicon ).Much of the human energies of Best Energies are at present going into reseach on all the variables that make charcoals different. Such important research is being done with little government support.It is even possible to make char from sewage wastes but there do seem may be a problem with some sewage’s content of heavy metals. I asked about the issue of resins in char and the supposed encouragement of soil micro-organisms by them.(in the Terra preta literature). Stephen said most char produced bio-oils which seemed to act in the same way as resins in encouraging soil life. We still don't have the full story hence their research. Best Energies have taken the concept of "Terra preta" to a new level by making bio-char with things like Chicken manure, Cow manure and combinations of both with Wood, Industrial (paper) or Green waste. In the local area there is a problem disposing of chicken manure (If the population of Australia was represented in a Village of 100, there would be 2,100 chickens.- The nation, it seems, likes its poultry.). With Chicken manure charcoal not only do you have the beneficial effects of charcoal on the soil but you also have a clean, sterile, light fertiliser from the manure. Interestingly at higher temperatures more calcium seems to be inexplicably available. Remember the original Terra preta soils of the Amazon contained a lot of calcium in the form of fish bones and shells. So this is an unexpected bonus. Basically the hotter the temperature the bio-char is produced at the more nitrogen comes off. (Usually Char for soil amendment purposes is produced at around 400-500C) Potassium and Phosphorus stay with the char, and are therefore concentrated. But seemingly in a variety somehow much more bio-available to plants. Ironically it may not burn new plants as does fresh manure. Best Energies is researching this now.NPK Analysis of Charred chicken litter produced at 400oC and 600oC (10)Temperature of Reactor 400ºC 600ºCNitrogen (wt%, db) 4.00 3.74Phosphorus (wt%, db) 3.217 4.402Potassium (wt%, db) 2.945 3.803 This could be the breakthrough the horticulture industry needs to help make their production more organic as there are many problems using raw manure in pots. The charcoal produced by the C4H4 is fine, but not too fine, looking a little like black sawdust. It would help aerate potting mixes and slow or stop fertiliser run-off. It would not lock up nitrogen as does sawdust and bark commonly used in Australian potting mixes. It would also cut fertiliser use and may make the fertiliser applied more bio-available. Char would also save water (up to 18% in some studies). That alone should make it apart of every Commercial Potting Mix! Best Energies hope to have their first commercial pyrolysis plant “C4H4” up and running soon. Despite the obvious benefits to everyone with this technology Australian firms have been slow to get on the band wagon. They want to see someone else 'go-first.' I just don't think they understand how revolutionary the whole concept is or how helpful it can be to a. society drowning in its own wastes and CO2. The concept of Terra preta has not hit public consciousness yet. Re-creating Terra preta (nova) has to be the best solutions suggested for the problem of Global Warming. A solution where everyone wins, the environment, industry, polluters, farmers, gardeners, horticulturalists/greenkeepers! A huge international perfumery/flavour company I visited in Germany would be an ideal candidate for a C4H4. they used tonnes and tonnes of organic matter to make perfumes and flavours and generated their own diesel electricity. Dumping the masses of waste was difficult and expensive. It took a tone of chamomile flowers to produce a litre of Essential oil!. With a C4H4 all these problems would be solved, they would have free electricity and they would save money, produce valuable char for gardeners, farmers, horticulturalists plus do the environment a favour. I am surprised that every Local Council in Australia is not clamouring at the door of Best Energies for a pyrolysis plant to deal with green and other community waste. Instead of looking for bigger and bigger holes for waste they would have free electricity, free fertiliser, free water, free bio-gas, free energy and charcoal to sell (or even give to their voters!)- all from what is now thrown away. Maybe it all sounds too good to be true. But there it is just sitting at Somesby waiting to go. The “tipping point” will occur when plant growers start trying to buy charcoal, at the moment there is little demand for it for this purpose; but the potential market is staggering especially if Australia starts a carbon credits system. Best energies feel they can produce most chars from between $250-$300 a tonne, perhaps even less depending on the particular use a pyrolysis plant is put to. This makes charcoal very competitive with potting mix, fertiliser and landscaping soil. The Australian Prime Minister, John Howard is happy to spend $60M on untried CO2 sequestration (by putting it down a hole) with Chevron-Mobil in WA but does the National Party know how Best Energies technology could help farmers? For a mere 5m a pyrolysis plant could be put anywhere; perhaps in every county town? Farmers earning carbon credits with waste, weather damaged crops and stubble? In Queensland some farmers are now selling their land clearing rights back to the government for carbon credit worth sometimes in excess of $1,000,000. These credits are being snapped up by aluminium smelting firms. But Terra preta nova is as system where even damaged or over-produced crops can be turned into carbon and then money via a carbon credit system. Just too good to be true?What we need is a ”sea change” in our attitude to charcoal to value it as the planet-saving substance it can be. Just as we have had a ‘sea change” in its production and appreciation of its potential –thanks mainly to ‘Dead Indians’ of the Amazon and the work of many soil scientists and archaeologists.While I have concentrated on agricultural uses of charcoal it also has many other uses:- as a renewable fuel co-fired with coal, domestic fuel, metallurgy industries , air filtration, water treatment, in animal feed and in pollution spills and odour control. I would hate to be National Party politician explaining how he let this one get away from his farming electorate. I would hate to be a Company Managing Director explaining to his shareholders why their company couldn't have a C4H4, to get rid of their waste for free and produce their own electricity as Best Energies have two years of orders to fill first; as have Solar Panel Makers now in Germany! -- Michael Bailes****************************************************************************** Detailed analysis of char from a number of different waste materials has been undertaken using a scanning electron microscope and the electron probe micro analyser (figure 6). BEST is working closely with the NSW Department of Agriculture to test soils, carry out pot trials and analyse results from the pot trials. (10)**********************************************************************************Best Energies have a number of stunning electron microscope photos of charcoal ***************************************** There is a conference exploring the whole Charcoal issue, open to all, soon in Australia. it is being organised by the International Agrichar Initiative (IAI) April 29-May 2, 2007 Terrigal, New South Wales, AustraliaFor more details see the new terra preta web site here:About the Terra Preta Discussion List and Website at Bioenergylists.org | Terra Preta *******************************************************888 References and further ResourcesThe show that started it all for me:_1. The Secret of El Dorado BBC - Science & Nature - Horizon - The Secret of El Dorado2. Amazonian Dark Earths, Origin properties management ed by Johannes Lehmann et al Kulwer academic publishers Dordrecht, The Netherlands 20033. The Hypography Science Forums (Where I have done most of my learning and posting on Terra preta http://hypography.com/forums/earth-science/3451-terra-preta.html?highlight=Terra+preta(There are a great many links here to other Forums, research articles and news articles and Blogs.)4. The Cornell University Tera preta Web SiteTerra Preta home 5. First-ever estimate of total bacteria on earthProvided by the University of GeorgiaET 9/98: First-ever estimate of total bacteria on earth6. A new Terra preta site trying to pull together some of the research and the people interested in Terra pretaAbout the Terra Preta Discussion List and Website at Bioenergylists.org | Terra Preta7. Growth promotion of Tea Trees by putting Bamboo Charcoal in SoilTakehiko Hosi, dept. of Biological science and technology, School of High-technology for Human Welfare, Tokai University, Nishino 317 Numazi-shi, Shizuoka, 410-0395 Japan8. The International Agrichar InitiativeConference Announcement for the International Agrichar Initiative (IAI) | BioEnergy Lists: Biomass Cooking Stoveshttp://iaiconference.org/home.html9. good blog on Terra preta and soiltransect points10. Production of Char for Agriculture; A Profile of Best’s TechnologyReport (undated) by Stephen Joseph 11. Growth Promotion of Tea Trees by putting Bamboo Charcoal in SoilTakehiko Hosi, Tokai University, Nishino. Japancultivation using the bamboo charcoal 12. Char increased available water holding capacity by more than 18% ofsurrounding soils (Glaser)xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxhttp://www.energy.gatech.edu/presentations/dday.pdf*particle size approximately 5 millimetres, per square metre per year13. Personal communication, Dr Stephen Joseph An internet discussionThanks for your valuable posts. It is wonderful to have someone to bounce ideas off. This is not the sort of discussion you can have at the Pub:- "G'day, how's yea'r terry prety go'n Bruce"'-- Michael ReplyI got a kick out of the idea of discussing Terra Preta with the boys at the pub.Last weekend, while I was making charcoal, my neighbor Auggie, a retired logger who we buy eggs from, stopped by. "Howdy neighbor," he said. "Watcha doin'? Fixin' to smoke some fish?" "Naw," I said. "I'm trying to make some charcoal." "Oh." Long pause. "How come? You gonna have a barbecue?" "No, I need a special kind of charcoal to make something called Terra Preta." "Oh." Another long pause. "That some kind of Mexican dish?" "No, It's a type of soil that the people in the Amazon used to make to grow their food in." "So . . . you're makin' dirt?" "Yep." "How come? Don't you have enough already?" "Well, yeah, but you know, making Terra Preta just might be a way to help solve the problem of global warming. I'm just playing around with the idea." "So . . . you're makin' charcoal, to make some dirt so you can fix global warming?" "Yeah, something like that?" "Well, ain't that something!" Long pause. "Say, you got any more of that home-made raspberry wine in the fridge?" "Sure Auggie, help yourself."From:http://hypography.com/forums/earth-science/3451-terra-preta-9.html?highlight=Seattle#post108209 Maybe, one day, Terra preta will be a common conversation topic in Australian Country Pubs? (Thanks to Garry (gost) for permission to print this) Quote
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