I recently received this sad “humor” forwarded by a very old friend from our high school and young-adult days.  (In spite of it, she’s actually a very nice lady – a retired nurse – normally caring, gentle, compassionate.  But she lives in Florida, and I can’t help but think she’s just fallen-in with a bad [...]

If you are interested in any of: > grass energy > cook stoves that do not pollute the air with lots of particulate matter, especially carbon black soot > Haiti > soil stabilization and restoration > biochar > reforestation Then this video is very encouraging. The cookies look delicious. Congratulations to Mike Mahowald and the [...]

Tags: Biochar, cooking, energy, environment, stoves, vetiver

This is a co-creation project that is both open source and open knowledge.  It is based on work first done by Amanda Ravenhill & Hugh McLaughlin at CHAB Camp in 2010. In terms of the quality and quantity of biochar, and the cleanliness of the stack gases, this design is yielding the best balanced results [...]

Easy iCan in its safety can What can I do with some old cans? I can make a stove I can cook a meal I can make biochar I can be carbon negative I can change the world I live in That’s why these cans are called iCans Illustrated instructions for making the Easy iCan [...]

Description: This is an interdisciplinary activity for grades 9 – 12, revolving around use of biochar to mitigate climate change and promote sustainable agriculture / horticulture.  It involves climate science, plant science, and chemistry.  Advanced students will also encounter some elementary combustion science and thermodynamics, soil science, and botany.  The activity includes hands-on construction and [...]

Explained here.

An essay written by Alan Page. http://commongood.typepad.com/blog/, with background information from William Mitchell, and Ellen Brown Introduction: The “common good” is the collection of what no one person owns, but which all people depend upon for life.  A simple example is the air we breathe.  No one owns it but we would all perish without [...]

A longer story starts below the fold on the front page of the Lancaster Farmer: I-Can Optimism More on iCans here and here.  

  Complete iCan system In this case, the second can has been modified to provide exhaust holes, as the top is essentially sealed by the bucket inserted into it. The bucket is stainless steel and holds 1 liter of water with a bit of room to spare. I give the 320 grams of softwood pellets, [...]

Do we need to develop a narrative about the role of carbon and integrated carbon systems on this planet?  We are carbon life forms whose bodies are just under 19% carbon.  But this is an isolated data point that does not begin to help us to understand how we fit into the planetary carbon system, [...]