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  Biochar News

  from USBI   

                                      

        June 2011 

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Greetings!

 

Welcome to the new US Biochar Initiative newsletter.  There is so much activity around biochar in the U.S. that is it hard to keep track of all the innovations and experiments - but we aim to try!   

 

For those of you scratching your head, biochar, used as soil conditioner thousands of years ago, has been rediscovered!  Baking biomass (wood, manure, crop residues, solid waste, etc.) in a special furnace with minimal oxygen, creates this form of charcoal. These furnaces capture all emissions, gasses and oils for reuse as energy. Putting biochar back in the soil improves soil productivity and sequesters carbon!  Learn more at USBI's website, www.biochar-us.org. 

 

A huge thank you goes out to USBI's superb Advisory Board (see below) and to our friends at EcoTechnologies Group (ETG) and their graphic designers for our new logo!

 

Help us by letting us know what you and your biochar friends are up to.  With your permission, we can post that information on the USBI website so we can all learn from each other.  Stay tuned and let us know what you need from us. And help us grow our network! 

Happy Charring,                                                                                    

Gloria Flora  

Director, USBI

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USBI, a project of Sustainable Obtainable Solutions (SOS), provides a national exchange of information and activities in support of biochar research, development, demonstration and commercialization. It advocates for biochar research and applications. www.biochar-us.org

   We Gather ...

USBI 2012 Conference

Is there a National USBI Conference this year?

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USBI decided to focus time and energy on supporting local and regional conferences this year.  We will be sending solicitations for hosting the 2012 National Biochar Conference soon.  If your biochar chapter is interested in hosting a national event - with the help of USBI, let us know.  

 

In the meantime, there are many related local and regional gatherings planned.  Let us know about yours and check out others at our website.

 

 

St. Regis Conference

by Gloria Flora, USBI Director 

 

A March 21st Biomass to Biochar Conference drew 90 people from four states to the small town St. Regis in Mineral County, Montana (pop. 1,100).  The diverse and enthusiastic crowd included biochar and forest products experts, farmers, researchers and rural community outreach specialists from federal, state and local government, universities, industry and the conservation community.  What convergence of factors created this kind of biochar buzz in a remote timber community?

 

Several years ago, the Mineral County Challenge was launched under the leadership of Mineral County Extension and Dunrovin Research with the intention to expand sustainable economic opportunity.  Tricon Lumber, a leading local industry, was seeking innovations in generating on-site heat and energy and to maximizing their value-added products.  

 

Meanwhile U.S. Forest Service managers and researchers were exploring ways to improve forest health and wisely use the abundance of biomass generated by insect-killed trees and a backlog of thinning. Community leaders were looking for ways to create jobs and improve the local economy.  Farmers and foresters wanted to improve soils, and conservationists wanted all of the above but to ensure that any proposed actions were sustainable and environmental quality maintained.  

 

Early in the Mineral County Challenge, Dunrovin Research and the U.S. Biochar Initiative crossed paths and began to work together to bring biochar into the mix to help address many of these concerns. 

The progressive leadership of Tricon Lumber soon saw many potential benefits of adding biochar to their production stream and worked actively to find the technology and support from biomass suppliers.  Interest grew among so many entities that it was clearly time for a gathering this spring.

 

Panels of experts throughout the day covered topics ranging from an introduction to biochar, the need for forest restoration, sources for and utilization of biomass, emerging uses of biochar, biochar technology, markets and environmental concerns and current research on biochar.

 

The following day participants toured Tricon facilities and a nearby forest restoration project.

 

Participants and others will stay connected and active through www.TheMontanaChallenge.net. 

If you're interested in following and contributing, just request the password and join the conversation!

 

 

Meet the USBI Advisory Board:

 

Jason Aramburu, Albert Bates, Dr. Ron Larson, Jonah Levine, Dr. Tom Miles, Kelpie Wilson are on the Board.  Now, for a full introduction, go to: USBI Advisory Board 


   

  We Study ...   

 

The Need for Speed:

Reducing Non-CO2 Climate Forcers & Perfecting Carbon-Negative    Strategies  

by The Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development, March 2011 

 

The Institute stresses the urgency of action to reduce impacts from climate change, including biochar use.  

...The Arctic and Himalayas are warming much faster than the global average, and along with the oceans are already suffering impacts from climate change. Continuing emissions exacerbate the problem. Cutting CO2 is essential, but even the most aggressive cuts are no longer enough. 

Read more 

 

  We Test ...  

 

Biochar is used in the Hope Mine reclamation project in Colorado

From a joint press release by the United States Forest Service (USFS), Flux Farm Foundation and For the Forest. October 6, 2010.

 

The use of biochar for mine reclamation is described. 

 

Aspen-based For the Forest and Carbondale-based Flux Farm Foundation, in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, announced the launch of the Hope Mine Biochar Reclamation Project with the goals of protecting Aspen's water supply, restoring the natural ecology of the area, and raising awareness about climate change solutions.

 

The Hope Mine is an abandoned mining site on the backside of Aspen Mountain with large tailing piles containing heavy metals.  These tailing extend down a steep hillside directly into Castle Creek, which is part of Aspen's primary water supply.

 

The effort is considered groundbreaking for the way it involves the use of biochar, a natural substance that has been proven to regenerate soils used in agricultural production.

When completed, the reclamation will result in a more stable and re-vegetated hillside, reduced tailings erosion, reduced leaching of heavy metals into Castle Creek, and a safer water source for Aspen's households.  Project organizers hope eventually to transform the tailings site from exposed toxic mine waste to a stable covering of native grasses and other natural vegetation.

 

"This is a great way to take care of an important local environmental concern, create healthier water and forests and work to reduce carbon in the atmosphere," said The Forest Executive Director John Bennett.

 

The work began on October 10, 2010, when groups all over the world came together for the 10/10/10 Global Work Party spearheaded by the international climate change campaign of 350.org.  

 

Organizers chose 10/10/10 to launch the Hope Mine Biochar Reclamation Project in order to raise awareness of climate change and all the local projects that are under way to cope with it.

 

Other resources:

There are a number of research papers available from Cornell University and other scholarly sources on our website:

http://www.biochar-us.org/links.html 

 

World-wide, the interest in biochar is heating up,

http://www.biochar-international.org/ 

 

To complement the information in the Hope Mine reclamation article, go to:

Beyond coal: A resilient new economy for Appalachia 

We Work ... 

 USBI Feedstocks 

 

The Montana bitterroot flower

Help "feed" USBI with contributions of articles, ideas, donations, and book purchases. 

 

We'd love to hear from you.  And please share this with friends.  

 

 Until we have our on-line store set-up, email your order to [email protected].  

 Or, order by mail to USBI, P.O. Box 1424, Helena, MT 59624  

 

Books Available - Newsletter Inauguration PRICE REDUCTIONS!  

The Biochar Solution: Carbon Farming and Climate Change by Albert Bates (New Society publishers, BC Canada, 2010)

Our price: $15.00

List price: $17.95

S&H: $2.50  

$17.50 total   

 

Biochar for Environmental Management edited by Johannes Lehmann and Stephen Joseph (Earthscan, London/Washington, D.C., 2010)

Our price: $58.00  - $6 LESS THAN AMAZON!! 

List price: $80.00

S&H: $5.00  

$ 63.00 total  

 

The Biochar Debate: Charcoal's Potential to Reverse Climate Change and Build Soil Fertility by James Bruges (Chelsea Green Publishing, White River Junction, Vermont, 2009)

Our price: $12.00  

List price: $14.95  

S&H: $2.50

$ 14.50 total    

Thanks for all you do!

 

Gloria

Director, U.S. Biochar Initiative