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Indybay Feature

The Biochar Revolution: Healing Earth and Atmosphere with Paul Taylor, PhD

Date:
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Time:
1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Event Type:
Class/Workshop
Organizer/Author:
Location Details:
Sunrise Center
645 Tamalpais Dr.
Corte Madera, CA 94925

Biochar -- made from waste biomass -- may repair the soil, enhance food output, heal the atmosphere and produce energy, while also delivering economic, social and environmental benefits.

Bicochar is simply charcoal that is intended to go into the soil where it has some amazing benefits for soil and the environment. Charcoal is the carbon-rich material made from heating wood or other plant material in an oxygen-deprived atmosphere.

As a soil additive, biochar offers numerous potential benefits. It increases the capacity for soil to hold nutrients, enhances crop yields and captures and stores carbon for the long term. Unused biomass such as farm residues, green waste and sawmill scraps is heated with no or little oxygen present in a biochar oven where the temperature can reach 1000F.

The biochar-heating process releases energy-rich gases and preserves the char which can be ground up and mixed into soil to increase its fertility. And there's money to be made from the process. A ton of biochar could retail for $2000 or even more if packaged for specialty uses such as growing orchids or pot plants!

This is not about buying huge plantations or taking over natural forests; this is about using waste biomass and turning it into viable end products which then help the soil, help our food productivity, help with the climate problem and bring environmental, social and economic benefits.

Biochar can greatly reduce the amount of water and fertilizers needed as well as making healthier, stronger more nutritious plants and vegetables.

For home gardeners, commercial and small-scale land users.

Paul will be teachingBiochar cooking people how to make and operate biochar ovens from recycled material such as 55 gallon drums and how to prepare and condition the biochar for optimum benefits in the garden or farm.
You will learn:
* the multiple benefits of biochar
* how agriculture could help the climate
* how to build simple devices to make biochar
* making biochar/compost/mineral blends
* applying biochar to enhance soil fertility
* biochar in vermiponics, hydroponics, aquaponics
* financial benefits of biochar

This event is a great opportunity to interact with Paul Taylor

Learn small scale, backyard and small farm biochar making and use from expert Paul Taylor, PhD, editor/author of The Biochar Revolution: Transforming Agriculture and the Environment. http://biochar-books.com

For more info, call Dr. Taylor at 415-233-7366. To register, please click the Register Now link below.
http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e6gkolog42b4e9fd

Cost: $15-$35

Paul Taylor, PhDPaul Taylor is a physicist who researches and presents on biochar and climate change. He has presented in international biochar conferences in Australia, US and Brazil and is a presenter for Beyond Zero Emissions (100% renewable energy).

Paul graduated with the University Medal in physics from the University of NSW, received a PhD from University of Colorado, and worked at Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics, Oak Ridge National Labs, Harvard Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, NASA and MIT. He now lives in both Australia and the U.S., researching and presenting on biochar and climate change.
Added to the calendar on Tue, Nov 6, 2012 12:05PM
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