Combating Climate Change
It's not always the best idea to bury problems, out-of-sight, out-of-mind. But when it comes to planet-imperiling CO2, laying carbon to rest in the soil has unexpected benefits. Biochar is the name given to a type of carbon created from plant remains. Solid, black and charcoal-like, it is left over from the special low-oxygen burning of organic wastes. When crushed, and added to soils, it soaks up nutrients and water like a sponge; it also reduces harmful run-off of ammonia and nitrates. Best of all, it is a long term store of carbon, that could ultimately help topple emissions by 12%, if widely used.
This concept seeks to do just that -- rolling biochar out to the masses, with cheap recycled kilns that can churn out up to 5 tones of biochar each year. The idea is to build the kilns locally, from old oil-gallon drums, and then promote them to millions of small-scale farmers across the developing world. Not only would their crops grow greener -- with yields as much as doubled -- but the farmers can use surplus biochar as fuel in charcoal stoves. It can also be sold on, to bring in a steadier income.
The team would like to see bigger investment in promoting such kiln-producing centers. But they also have in mind a new biochar process -- known as fast pyrolysis. It involves heating plant remains, such as corn-husks or cane-stalks, to the temperatures needed much more quickly. That produces better quality biochar, and an oil which could be turned into a useful fuel -- for lighting, or power generation. Turning waste into a product that cuts carbon-emissions, whilst enriching the most impoverished, truly is a bounty from the black-stuff.
About the finalists:
Jason Aramburu is the founder and CEO of re:char. Jason studied ecology and environmental studies at Princeton University, and completed research in Princeton's Climate Mitigation Initiative under Profs Stephen Pacala and Robert Socolow. He believes that climate change, energy and rural poverty are the greatest challenges of the next century. Jason is an Echoing Green Fellow, a Pop!Tech Fellow, a Hitachi Foundation Fellow and runner-up in the Dutch Postcode Green Challenge. He is currently a finalist for the ConocoPhillips Energy Prize. He has been featured on BBC World for his work with re:char and was recently profiled in the scientific journal Nature. Jason was named one of Business Week's Top 25 Social Entrepreneurs in America in 2010.Timothy Callahan is re:char's COO (Chief Operating Officer). Tim studied sociology at Princeton University and has worked in a variety of roles in the development field. Tim previously worked for IRC in Tanzania, a global non-profit operating refugee camps, and a leading micro finance fund in the Dominican Republic. In 2010 Tim was named an Unreasonable Institute Fellow. Tim is fluent in Kiswahili and lives in Western Kenya. Luke Iseman is re:char's CTO (Chief Technology Officer). Luke studied entrepreneurship at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. Luke is an experienced entrepreneur and fabricator having launched and sold several companies in the sustainable transportation and agricultural industries. Luke previously served as a Director at Bazaarvoice, a provider of online review technologies, prior to its IPO. Abigail Cohen is re:char’s Chief of Marketing and Communications. She holds a degree from Columbia University.
James Lovelock, Ph.D., is a scientific advisor to re:char. Dr. Lovelock is an independent scientist based in Cambridge, UK and originator of the Gaia Hypothesis. Dr. Lovelock is widely known for his theories on climate change and the environment, and is a noted and outspoken advocate for biochar. Lina Yousef, PhD is a scientific collaborator working with re:char. Dr. Yousef is an assistant professor of Water & Environmental Engineering at the Masdar Institute in the United Arab Emirates. Dr. Yousef is working with re:char to investigate biochar as a suitable soil amendment for agriculture in arid regions like the UAE through an integrated system of aquaponics and halophytic plant species.Dr. Yousef is a visiting scholar at MIT and studied at The University of Western Ontario and The Ohio State University.