Monday, July 30, 2012
FEMA Staff Launch Unofficial Biochar Initiative
Staff at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the US national disaster response agency, have launched an effort to integrate biochar into official FEMA activities. This new group, calling itself the FEMA BioChar Initiative (FBCI), is pursuing two specific goals: first, to make post-disaster debris management activities that entail collection of biomass feedstocks for biochar manufacture eligible for FEMA funding; and second, to incorporate biochar cost-benefit analyses within FEMA decision-making procedures and processes. The FBCI is not formally affiliated with FEMA, but consists of FEMA employees working in their personal capacities along with other biochar industry stakeholders.
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This is good news. If you think of the quantity of biomass that gets disposed of by open burning in the aftermath of a fire, severe storm, earthquake or other severe disturbance, producing biochar would offer a way to reduce the CO2 impact of that remediation, and give a product that could go into the soil to improve conditions.
ReplyDeleteAnd what about preventive measures, such as reducing wildfire threat by clearing the understory of forests at high risk of wildfire?
Right on.... after hurricane sandy in Long Island New York there were hudge amounts of trees down, many 40-80 years old, lots of energywithin them to be reclaimed versus sending them to landfills and rotting.
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