Carbon Sink

I am progressively getting convinced that planting tree is NOT a good carbon sink, nor is sequestration in deep well or ocean bottom. Carbon captured in trees is liable to be released back into atmosphere when it is harvested. Deep well and ocean carbon sequestration are subject to earth quarks and untested in sufficient scale.

Do I have a solution? I think I have.

It is biochar. Terra preta has been around for thousands of years and remain stable as carbon. It was estimated that only 2mm thick layer covering all the earth surface with biochar would revert the CO₂ back to the pre-industrial level. If all the “excess” carbon dioxide in the atmosphere were converted into carbon and spread across all the earth’s arable lands, there would be 17kg of charcoal per square metre, in a layer 8cm thick. That’s not an unfeasible notion. The Gardening with Biochar FAQ mentions biochar application rates of around 5kg/m². On the other hand, photos of Terra Preta soils show black layers that are many centimetres thick, so they must contain far more than 17 kg/m² of carbon. [source]

The task is to develop a business model to make producing biochar and burying into soil economically attractive to investor. Anyone?

How to make the super thin spring roll skin

Instruction:


and really they are created like this:

Charcoal production in Pennsylvania

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4

Solar powered lights using plastic 2-L soda bottles

Solar powered lights using plastic 2-L soda bottles


Will it leak on rainy days? Apparently not!

Refrigerator: the worse white good in our homes

The current design of refrigerators in our homes is the worse possible. Every time we open the door, almost ALL the cold air in the box will flow out. Simple physics really. Cold air is denser than warm air. With the door occupying almost the whole height of the refrigerator, cold air just flow out, naturally. Once you close the door, the machine kicks in to cool the air inside again. No wonder refrigeration is typically the largest energy usage in our home.

Look at the cold chests in supermarkets. They can afford to have the cold chests top open (no top actually) simply because the cold air in the chest is kept within the chest.

Governments are banning the light bulbs in favour of compact florescence bulb. The energy saved is good, but compared with improving/changing the side door refrigerator to a top open, that would be small.

Someone should come out and design a user friendly top-open refrigerator!

Banana tree in aquaponic

For those who can read Chinese, this website is worth visiting.