NZ Royal Society on biochar

I’ve been exploring the NZRS website, searching their history on biochar reporting. A search on ‘biochar’ on their website pulls information back to 2007. I list and link some of this below…

Oct-2013 – 10. Branch event: ‘Biochar in New Zealand’, 15 October, Palmerston North The Royal Society of New Zealand Manawatu Branch presents a talk by Associate Professor Marta Camps.

May-2013 – http://royalsociety.org.nz/teaching-learning/teacher-fellowships/profiles/2013-recipients/richard-self/

May-2011 – reference to RadioNZ report on biochar: “It’s been heralded as ‘black gold’, a way of improving the soil and of mitigating climate change by locking away carbon. But what exactly is biochar, how do you make it, and how do you find out what it does in the soil? To find out more about this ‘super charcoal’ Alison Ballance meets soil biologist Marta Camps and chemical engineer Jim Jones at Massey University’s Biochar Research Centre.” RadioNZ OurChangingWorld link

Mar-2011 – http://royalsociety.org.nz/expert-advice/information-papers/yr2011/geo-engineering-an-interactive-workshop/The workshop explored recent research into geo-engineering options. The range of proposals is large and expanding, including increasing soil carbon and sequestering biochar, avoiding deforestation, increased mineral weathering, and ocean fertilisation.” This links to a presentation from Prof. Jim Jones.

Sep-2009 – Geoengineering no replacement for reducing greenhouse gas emissions: The Royal Society of London released a major report on geoengineering – the science of actively intervening in the climate. The Royal Society of New Zealand commented on the report from a New Zealand context, where proposals for afforestation, biochar and biofuels, and ocean fertilisation are most relevant. However, no proposal is a silver bullet to solve climate change.”   http://www.royalsociety.org.nz/expert-advice/information-papers/yr2009/geoengineering-commentary/ This policy(?) document is nearly 5 years old. It would be interesting to know if there is any shift in this ‘neutral’ report on biochar. 


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