News
Soil, carbon sequestration and the fight against climate change
A University of Sydney professor is using “digital soil mapping” to help measure soil carbon content in the field and encourage farmers to adopt the government’s Carbon Farming Initiative.
Is carbon the ‘crop’ of the future?
There is a growing interest in “carbon farming” among forward-looking agricultural producers in the United States. Ideas range from promoting on-farm practices such as conservation tilling and livestock rotation to establishing USDA-managed “carbon banks” to facilitate the buying and selling of agricultural carbon credits.
Pioneers on biochar – visit to a biochar production farm
Hjelmsäter was one of the first companies to start a production of biochar in Sweden. Production of charcoal through pyrolysis has been around since the medieval times. But here we are talking about modern production, also through pyrolysis, that has been talked about for over 10 years. Now, it seems that a breakthrough is close, thanks to boilers that optimizes the process with computer power, and equipment that make the handling easier.
Saying “yes” to cleantech
In this article, Yung Wu, CEO of the MaRS Discovery District, argues that long-standing barriers to getting cleantech innovations developed, financed and adopted may be starting to come down — and will need to come down — due in part to the challenges of climate change and COVID-19, as well as the need to rebuild our economy.
Effect of biochar on microbial community composition and enzymatic activity
Biochar offers several benefits as a soil amendment, including increased soil fertility, carbon sequestration, and water-holding capacity in nutrient-poor soils. In this study, soil samples with and without biochar additives were collected for two consecutive years from an experimental field plot to examine its effect on the microbial community structure and functions in sandy soils under peach-trees.
New report on carbon markets: What you need to know
The market for carbon offsets must be scaled up globally to make a sufficient dent in climate change, according to a new report that lays out a path toward a high-quality global carbon market. What does any of this mean? Let’s take you through it.
Ten golden rules of large-scale tree planting
Scientists have proposed 10 golden rules for tree-planting, which they say must be a top priority for all nations this decade. Forests are essential to life on Earth. They provide a home to three-quarters of the world’s plants and animals, soak up carbon dioxide, and provide food, fuels and medicines.
Elon Musk to offer $100M prize for ‘best’ carbon capture tech
Tesla Inc. chief and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk took to Twitter on Thursday to promise a $100 million US prize for development of the “best” technology to capture carbon dioxide emissions.
New uses for cherry pits makes landfilling a ‘waste of a waste’
Using pits from the Kewadin plant, Cornell researchers experimented with how to convert them to biochar, a charcoal-like, carbon-rich substance made by heating pits in a zero- or low-oxygen environment. Biochar is usually plowed or dug into farm fields and gardens to enrich the soil.