Go Bluebird

Solutions for the Planet: Biochar

The earth naturally absorbs about 18 times the amount of carbon emitted by mankind each year. The problem is, 99.9% of this carbon is subsequently re-released to the atmosphere through decomposition. This carbon 'open circuit' can be closed by a process known as pyrolysis. In this process, heated biomass undergoes chemical decomposition, locking down its CO2 in a substance known as biochar.

Biochar has the added benefit of being an effective and ecologically sound crop fertiliser – its production being known and practiced by pre-Columbian Amazonian natives. Apart from this, biochar can also be utilised in energy production, and can even be used as a dietary supplement for animals. 

Carbon sequestration has the potential to lock down atmospheric CO2 for thousands of years. If a real commitment were made, massive reductions in atmospheric carbon could be achieved - locking down carbon emissions and increasing the wealth of our soils. In conjunction with other geoengineering projects, biochar may truly hold the key to saving our earth from climate catastrophe.

The Promise of Biochar: Part One of Two. Produced by the International Biochar Initiative

The Guardian, March 2009 – James Lovelock on biochar: Let the Earth remove CO2 for us

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/mar/24/biochar-earth-c02

CSIRO – Biochar fact sheet

http://www.csiro.au/resources/Biochar-Factsheet.html

Solutions for the Planet: Painting our World White

Hashem Akbari's plan for cooling the planet is as simple as it is elegant. By resurfacing roofs and roads with white materials, Akbari calculates that the earth's overall albedo could be increased, causing solar radiation to be reflected. By some estimates, a global resurfacing rollout would increase the amount of sunlight bounced off the earth by 0.03%, cancelling out the warming caused by 44bn tonnes of CO2 pollution.

By his own admission this is not a permanent solution. Further efforts would be required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions if a long-term solution to global warming is to be achieved. Increasing albedo, however, could delay some of the detrimental effects of climate change while other solutions are being developed. Or as Akbari says, "we can give the atmosphere time to breathe."

The Guardian, Jan 2009 – Paint it white

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jan/16/white-paint-carbon-emissions-climate

Heat Island Group

http://heatisland.lbl.gov/

Solutions for the Planet: Cloud-brightening Yachts

Rising sea levels threaten our life on this planet, but the sea itself could hold the answer to our problems. In this remarkable experiment, futuristic yachts atomize the oceans and spray the clouds to make them denser and more reflective. Brighter clouds would help us combat global warming.

This video from the BBC's Five Ways to Save The World series

Solutions for the Planet: Sulphates in the Stratosphere

The Clean Air Acts designed to filter sulphates out of our immediate environment have had an ironic effect - they've accelerated the earth's warming. But what if sulphates could be taken high enough into the stratosphere - perhaps with rockets - to form a protective shield around our planet? Cutting-edge science could make the idea a reality. 

This video from the BBC's Five Ways to Save The World series

Solutions for the Planet: Mirrors in Space

The pace of climate change is outstripping conventional responses. The time has come for visionary thinking to save our beleaguered planet. Dr Roger Angel proposes firing trillions of mirrors into space to deflect solar rays, forming a 'sun shade' for the earth.