 |
||||||||||||
| KEYNOTE PRODUCTION CHARACTERIZATION SOILS ENVIRONMENT BUSINESS TERRA PRETA POLICY | ||||||||||||
Conference Keynote Presentations
|
||||||||||||
|
Keynote Videos (1&2 - Solomon; 7 & 8 - Vilsack)
Click on sections below for abstracts and details. Welcome and Introductions (0:00 -17:30)
Dr. Lakshman Guruswamy - Welcome and Conference introductions (00:00-08:00)
Chancellor Philip DiStefano - Welcome and Introductions (08:00-12:00) Conference Chair Jonah Levine - Welcome and Sponsors Thank you, Conference goals (12:00- 17:30) Dr. Susan Solomon - A world of change: climate yesterday, today, and tomorrow (17:30 - 46:17); continues in video 2 (0:00 - 5:00)
A world of change: climate yesterday, today, and tomorrow
Climate change is unequivocal. Understanding how temperatures are increasing around the world, how ice is melting at the poles, and how rain is decreasing in key regions are among the critical issues attracting the attention of scientists and policymakers worldwide. Recent work has shown that man-made warming that takes place due to increases in carbon dioxide concentration is nearly irreversible for more than 1000 years after emissions stop. This is due to physical linkages between transport of heat and of carbon dioxide to the deep ocean, rendering the cumulative effects of every year's carbon dioxide emissions and resulting climate changes unique among major anthropogenic greenhouse gases. It will be shown that unabated increases of carbon dioxide in the coming century could cause dry-season rainfall reductions in several regions comparable to those of the 'dust bowl' era, as well as a lower limit to slow but inexorable sea level rise that could eventually exceed 1 meter. Dr. Johannes Lehmann, (05:30 - 20:53)
Response to the climate change challenge; Carbon sequestration and mitigation; Soil carbon; Carbon cycle and cycling rates; Carbon positive vs carbon neutral vs carbon negative; Biochar, Terra Preta and farming origins of Biochar; Climate change mitigation; Multiple values and revenues from Biochar
Dr. James Amonette (21:30 -38:25)
How much carbon can biochar offset? It all depends; How much biochar biomass is available; What is the charing process; Where does the char go; How long does the char stay?
The First IBI Assessment of the Global Technical Potential of Biochar to Mitigate Climate Change J.E. Amonette(1)*, R. Larson(2), J. Lehmann(3), and S. Joseph(4). (1) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352 (2) Retired, Golden, CO 80401 (3)Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (4) University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2251, Australia We developed a simple model to estimate the technical potential of biochar to mitigate climate change that accounts for modern biochar technology, availability of biomass and land for storage, and for the stability of the biochar when placed in soil. Of the potential carbon offset pathways, we considered only the ones with the greatest impact: direct sequestration, displacement of fossil energy, increase in NPP, and nitrous oxide reduction. We also analyzed the impact of applying carbon capture and sequestration to biochar energy co-production. The model contains four scenarios that differ primarily in the amount of biomass that is available in a sustainable way from global Net Primary Production (NPP), using published data for residue production. The “Conservative” scenario assumes that only biomass from cropping and forestry residues that otherwise had no use (about 27% of the total residues) is available. The “Moderate” and “Optimistic” scenarios consider that 50% and 80%, respectively, of all the cropping and forestry residues is available to make biochar. For each base scenario, we estimated the amount of biochar produced, as well as the amounts of fossil fuel carbon emissions replaced by the energy generated during biochar production. And we estimated the additional amount of carbon that could be sequestered if CO2 emissions generated during biochar production were captured and sequestered in the same manner as proposed for coal combustion facilities. For the “Optimistic Plus” scenario, we added in generous feedbacks related to potential increases in NPP (25%) and potential decreases in N2O emissions (50%) stemming from biochar amendments to soil. All scenarios assume that slow pyrolysis, which has a carbonization efficiency of about 40%, was used to produce the biochar. Other factors such as the stability of biochar in soils and the length of time required to reach maximum production levels were also varied. The results of the scenarios show that conservatively, the carbon in biochar alone can account for about 0.25 Gt C equivalent (Ce) by 2030. Our Optimistic Plus scenario reaches 1 Gt Ce around 2040. When we count carbon emissions from coal combustion that is avoided by substitution of energy generated by biochar production, three of the scenarios predict more than a Gt Ce of impact on atmospheric CO2 by 2025. Perhaps most intriguing is the positive feedback shown in the Optimistic Plus scenario, where the impact of biochar is shown to continue to increase after the other scenarios have leveled out. As much as 60 Gt Ce could be sequestered or offset in just the 40 years to 2050 with the Optimistic Plus scenario. We expect these values will change as more is learned about the impacts of biochar, but the model gives a sense of what is possible. Dr. Susan Solomon, Dr. Johannes Lehmann, Dr. James Amonette- Questions (38:52 – 43:26)
Question and Answer Session
Alice Madden Colorado Climate Change Advisor Introduction of Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack (00:00-04:00)
Introduction of Secretary Vilsack.
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack (4:00-26:25/ 54:34); continues in video 8 (00:00 - 11:40)
Keynote Presentation by Secretary Vilsack.
|
|||||||||||
| © 2009 Center for Energy & Environmental Security • University of Colorado at Boulder • International Biochar Initiative | ||||||||||||
