The People's Drawdown

Mother Jones published a feature article in December 2019 about solutions to climate change, with NO mention of biochar. “We Need a Massive Climate War Effort—Now” was mainly about the need for R&D in alternatives to fossil fuel. Pyrolysis was mentioned, but only in conjunction with new tree plantations.

Perhaps this is an understandable oversight. I still meet people who’ve never heard of biochar. I’d have thought that the Mother Jones staff would draw the connection between biochar and drawdown, but just in case they hadn’t, I sent them this:

Renewable energy R&D might come up with ways to allow us to continue using lots of energy. But “We Need a Massive Climate War Effort—Now” makes no mention of something we can all ask of ourselves that will actually reverse climate change: biochar. It comes close by mentioning pyrolysis, but we don't need to plant new trees to make it. All it takes is biomass and a match, although it can be scaled up for greater efficiency. Whether we make it or get it from someone else, biochar (charcoal as a soil amendment) has a centuries–old track record of improving soil in every respect: water and nutrient retention, microbial activity, aeration and productivity. It's fantastic for those reasons alone. But biochar is carbon captured by plants and made into a form that might take centuries to break down, which keeps it from returning to the atmosphere. That's sequestration, or drawdown, that we can all do. That's taking carbon out of the air and storing it in soil, while greatly improving the soil at the same time. No need to cite sources here; it's all over the internet. But I can recommend The Biochar Revolution, The Biochar Debate, Burn: Using Fire to Cool the Earth, and "The Secret of El Dorado" on YouTube. We can't just consume our way out of the climate emergency. High-tech drawdown is expensive, dangerous and doubtful. We need to phase out fossil fuels and convert some of the carbon captured by plants into safe, beneficial storage.

Gray Shaw

Berkeley, CA

510 418-3420