ONLINE MEDIA BRIEFING: Digging the dirt on biochar

AusSMC — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 06:08:11 +0000

TRANSCRIPTS OF EVELYN AND ANNETTE NOW AVAILABLE

Biochar seems to be the latest buzz word in the debate around Australia’s carbon emissions. The politicians are all talking about it, and there is growing commercial interest in the potential of biochar to sequester carbon and at the same time improve soil health – it sounds like an agricultural win-win. But how much do we know about the science of biochar and how it works?

BRIEFING DETAILS:
DATE: Wednesday 4 March 2009
START TIME: 10.30am AEDT
DURATION: Approx 30 min
VENUE: Online
The briefing discussed the following questions:

What is biochar?

What is the potential of biochar in Australia – is it a viable solution to the carbon problem?

How does biochar compare to other methods of mitigating climate change?

What are the research gaps and future challenges?

SPEAKERS:

Dr Evelyn Krull – Leader of the Carbon and Nutrient Cycling research group at CSIRO Land and Water. Evelyn will be discussing CSIRO’s latest report on biochar which is available here.

Dr Annette Cowie - Program Leader New Forests, NSW Department of Primary industries

PRESENTATIONS:

Full Briefing (WebEx):
View here

Evelyn Krull’s Presentation:
View PowerPoint (pdf) | View Notes (pdf) | View Transcript (pdf) | Listen (mp3)

Annette Cowie’s Presentation:
View PowerPoint (pdf) | View Transcript (pdf) | Listen (mp3)

Q & A Session:
Listen (mp3)

ONLINE BACKGROUND BRIEFING: Ocean fertilisation: carbon solution or eco disaster?

AusSMC — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 01:58:38 +0000

Setting climate targets is one thing – achieving them is another. It has been suggested that one way Australia might get to our targets is through ocean fertilisation. This involves ‘fertilising’ large areas of the ocean to stimulate the growth of microscopic marine plants, these plants consume carbon dioxide (CO2) as they grow and draw CO2 out of the atmosphere by the tonne.

BRIEFING DETAILS:
DATE: Tue 16 December 2008
START TIME: 11.30am AEDT
DURATION: Approx 30 min
VENUE: OnlineAlready there are several companies promoting this technology as the key to climate change mitigation and a means to gain carbon credits. So far much of the emphasis has been on adding iron to the ocean, because only a small amount has the potential to stimulate a strong response in regions like the Australian Antarctic Territory and much of the open Southern Ocean.

But is this a climate change solution or an eco disaster waiting to happen? Fertilising the ocean in this way could produce dramatic changes in marine ecosystems and biodiversity and might trigger a host of other negative effects.

Listen to an Australian Science Media Centre online background briefing and hear from experts from the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC as they launch their position paper on this technology:

Efficacy: does it work?
Capacity: how much carbon sequestration can be achieved?
Risk: what are the potential impacts?
Regulation: what safeguards are in place?

SPEAKERS:

Associate Professor Tom Trull is Leader of the Ocean Control of Carbon Dioxide Program at the Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE CRC)

Associate Professor Marcus Haward is Leader of the Policy Program at the Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE CRC)

PRESENTATIONS:

Full Briefing (WebEx):
View here

Tom Trull’s Presentation:
View Bio & Notes (pdf) | Listen (mp3)

Marcus Haward’s Presentation:
View Bio & Notes (pdf) | Listen (mp3)

Q & A Session:
Listen (mp3)

For further information, please contact the AusSMC on 08 8207 7415 or email.

AusSMC - Australian Science Media Centre » Geosequestration

ONLINE MEDIA BRIEFING: Digging the dirt on biochar

ONLINE BACKGROUND BRIEFING: Ocean fertilisation: carbon solution or eco disaster?