Our Solution : Majority World Emphasis
The AirTerra solution is hundreds of thousands of low cost – low tech biochar stoves. Distributed by NGOs in areas where they already know the people in their communities, the AirTerra stoves are specially designed to char any biomass from rice husks to grasses, corn stalks to leaves, branches, algae, sea weed and anything else that grows thereby reducing wood consumption.
The biochar that remains after the meal is cooked can be amended into the soil. In addition to its potential for carbon sequestration, biochar has numerous co-benefits when added to soil.
- prevent the leaching of nutrients out of the soil
- increase the available nutrients for plant growth
- increase water retention
- reduce the amount of fertilizer required
- Biochar has been shown to decrease N2O (nitrous oxide) and CH4 (methane) emissions from soil, thus further reducing GHG emissions.
One of biochar’s immediate uses in switching from “slash-and-burn” to “slash-and-char” is the prevention of rapid deforestation and subsequent degradation of soils.
Johannes Lehmann of Cornell University recently stated: “Biochar sequestration does not require a fundamental scientific advance and the underlying production technology is robust and simple, making it appropriate for many regions of the world.”
Source: http://www.energybulletin.net/node/29673