#Sequestration Process

[10bmnews]

How carbon capture works and the debate about whether it's a future climate solution - The Times of India

Power plants and industrial facilities that emit carbon dioxide, the primary driver of global warming, are hopeful that Congress will keep tax credits for capturing the gas and storing it deep underground. The process, called carbon capture and sequestration, is seen by many as an important way to reduce pollution during a transition to renewable energy. But it faces criticism from some…

[farmerstrend]

Biochar in Agriculture: Why Kenyan Farmers Should Start Using Biochar for Sustainable Farming

Biochar is an age-old method of improving soil health. The earliest known use of biochar in agriculture was over 2,000 years ago by the pre-Columbian indigenous people of the Amazon Basin. When scientists tested the soil in the area, they noticed how it had remained rich for over eight hundred years. This is because the indigenous people of the Amazon Basin used amended leftover charcoal from…

[delicatelysublimeforester]

Restoring Forests to Fight Climate Change

[probablyasocialecologist]

Maintaining the biodiversity of sheep is not just important for knitters and spinners, but for the health of the environment. Essentially, a sheep functions like a carbon sequestration system. Atmospheric carbon makes up 50 percent of wool's weight, and, unlike synthetic fabrics, wool is naturally biodegradable. When disposed of, wool acts like a fertilizer, slowly releasing valuable nutrients and carbon back into the soil. Wool fixed carbon in the topsoil rather than releasing it into the atmosphere. This process can help regenerate pastures, which sheep will graze. And sheep can help answer the problem of how to avoid far-flung fiber supply chains. Because sheep do well in such an extraordinary range of terrains, wool is a natural choice for people interested in rebuilding local systems of cloth manufacture. Certain breeds are more suited to certain atmospheric and geologic conditions than others, so preserving diversity also means preserving the geographic range in which sheep can flourish.

Sofi Thanhauser, Worn: A People’s History of Clothing

[transhuman-priestess]

Exclusionists really do not understand that the people who started those movements are either actively trying to separate queer people so they're easier to deal with or have been lied to by those same people

you are correct but i would add there is a crucial third component: Christianity.

There's a huge swath of queer people who were raised Christian and right-wing and the only reason they aren't anymore is because they were kicked out of those communities for being queer.

When you get kicked out of an ideology it's a lot easier to just take a top-down approach to reconfiguring your own thought processes. You replace the "Us" and the "them" with new groups and go right along with what you were doing before.

Cultural Christianity is all about exclusion, separation, sequestration, quarantine, and extermination. If you were raised this way and then told that you were the one to be excluded, there's a decent chance you'll jump at the chance to exclude others. People love doing this all the time.

It takes concerted effort to un-learn that.

[cyb0rg-bby]

Not looking forward to the Pope’s passing because I know the level of fomo I’m going to experience during the cardinal sequestration process will be debilitating

[timberwind]

Diamantane Hills, Snohualmy (Rainier II)

Snohualmy is a terrestrial moon roughly the size of Mars, a Lowell-Birch type terraform, a world dominated by glassy soletta-carved handramit valleys and cold, dry haranda highlands(1). It was once a planet in its own right, billions of years before the first transhuman explorers walked its deserts. In its brief heyday, the megayears before the final migration of the system's gas giants to their wide present-day orbits threw the Tiandonias system's closely packed orrery of inner planets into disarray, it may even have hosted a deep global ocean(2). Snohualmy was spared the fate of many of its sister worlds - ejection from the system and a subsequent trillion-year circuit race across the disk of the Milky Way - by a chance encounter with the waterworld Rainier. That fateful close flyby bent the little world's trajectory just enough to capture it into an wide retrograde(3) orbit of the significantly more massive waterworld, in a manner not entirely dissimilar to the slingshot maneuvers that Dawn Age spacecraft used to gain and shed orbital velocity in their journeys across Old Earth's solar system. Many larger worlds have captured moons like this: famous examples from the Early Interstellar period are Triton, icy moon of Neptune (Solar System), and Arash, terrestrial moon of Eff (Tau Ceti).

Pictured is the city of Diamantane Hills, a huddle of hab complexes and marshaling yards sitting on the dry valley floor at the head of the Samarkand Vallis - a great outflow channel system carved in the distant past by one of the catastrophic floods that marked Snohualmy's equivalent of old Mars' Hesperian era. Although a little stunted compared to the bustling cities of the coasts and handramits, it forms an important hub for the maintenance of mining and terraforming automation atop the Tanaka Plateau, as well as the last stop on the western limb of the Trans-Snohualmy Trunkline road-rail-pipeline link before final ascent to the loading docks of the Tanaka Launch Loop.

(1) It's not entirely desert, mind: there's also one major sea roughly at the sub-Rainier point - the somewhat unimaginatively named Nearside Sea - which covers approximately 12% of the surface area of the moon. The anti-Rainier hemisphere's five major lakes account for a further 1%.

(2) Now mostly lost to processes driven by the brief post-capture period of extremely violent tidal heating as Snohualmy's newly planet-centric looping eccentric orbit rung down to a near-perfect circle, as well as subsequent attrition from escape and sequestration processes over the last 3 Gyr.

(3) Snohualmy orbits Rainier counterclockwise relative to the direction of spin of its parent planet. This is a fairly surefire indicator for a moon being captured in and of itself - moons that form in-situ tend to have formed from a common disk of material that spins in the same direction as the final planet does.

[cassiebnuy]

Whats something you think about often?

i think a lot abt desert ecology tbh... ppl so often think of deserts as empty to the point i see a lot of ppl propose to get rid of them for farms or solar panels. its such a euro colonizer mindset - a way of thinking straight out of the book of genesis trying to claim dominion over the land and sea.

but like. deserts are very alive and theyre huge carbon sinks and they take a rly rly long time to recover from even mild disturbance.

the sonoran desert where i live is so full of life, just outside the city there are dense saguaro forests and ironwood trees tht turn the desert pale pink when they bloom. theres so many nitrogen fixing bean trees with bright yellow inflorescences the whole ground turns golden when they drop their petals. the cactus produce so much fruit tht we have fruit bats here. but the plants that do all this take centuries to grow. agaves are like. what if an annual lived for 50 years.

this is before u get into like. the human ecology of the desert, the role of indigenous lifeways in boosting and maintaining biodiversity and speeding up otherwise slow processes of nitrogen fixation and carbon sequestration.

i could go on for hours

[wachinyeya]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced today an investment of $70 million in seven creative and visionary agricultural projects to transform the U.S. food and agricultural system and sustainably increase agricultural production in ways that also reduce its environmental footprint.

This Fiscal Year 2023 investment is part of the Sustainable Agricultural Systems program area of NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, the nation’s leading and largest competitive grants program for agricultural sciences.

The innovative program focuses on a broad range of needed research, education and Extension solutions – from addressing agricultural workforce challenges and promoting land stewardship to addressing climate change impacts in agriculture and filling critical needs in food and nutrition.

“Agriculture is facing a multitude of complex challenges,” said Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young, USDA Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics. “We need all hands on deck developing creative, sustainable and strategic ways to feed, clothe and fuel future generations.”

The $10 million awards are for coordinated agricultural projects (CAPs), which are larger-scale and longer-term investments that integrate research, education and Extension efforts. These projects promote collaboration, open communication, information exchange and reduce duplication efforts by coordinating activities among individuals, institutions, states and regions.

“These research investments support exciting projects that integrate innovative systems-based thinking, methods and technologies to establish robust, resilient, and climate-smart food and agricultural systems,” said NIFA Director Dr. Manjit Misra. “These visionary projects will improve the local and regional supply of affordable, safe, nutritious and accessible food and agricultural products, while fostering economic development and rural prosperity in America.”

Explore the seven projects, which include the following:

At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. Erin Silva is leading a collaboration with the Great Lakes Intertribal Food Coalition, the Wisconsin Tribal Conservation Advisory Council, and the Menominee Nation on a transdisciplinary project that aims to scale up traditional Indigenous food production practices — practices that for generations have already been climate-smart and sustainable — by expanding production, processing, storage, and distribution systems, as well as education and Extension programs, that are needed to support integrated crop-livestock systems, cover crops, and rotationally-grazed cattle and pastured chickens.

At the University of Maine, Dr. Hemant Pendse is leading an integrated research, education and Extension effort to advance the bioeconomy by developing biorefinery technologies that will make the millions of tons of available low-grade woody biomass – which currently has a very limited market – more commercially viable in both the sustainable aviation fuel and fish feed sectors.

At Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Dr. Muthu Bagavathiannan is leading a project that seeks to transform cotton production in the southern United States into a more sustainable, climate-smart enterprise by applying improved precision management practices to increase carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions; enhance pest control, and nutrient and water management; and address labor challenges while creating new market opportunities.

AFRI, which also makes grants in the Foundational and Applied Sciences and Education and Workforce Development program areas, is designed to improve plant and animal production and sustainability, and human and environmental health. Grants are available to eligible colleges, universities, and other research organizations.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Grist:

A row of executives from grain-processing behemoth Archer Daniels Midland watched as Verlyn Rosenberger, 88, took the podium at a Decatur City Council meeting last week. It was the first meeting since she and the rest of her central Illinois community learned of a second leak at ADM’s carbon dioxide sequestration well beneath Lake Decatur, their primary source of drinking water. 

“Just because CO2 sequestration can be done doesn’t mean it should be done,” the retired elementary school teacher told the city council. “Pipes eventually leak.” 

ADM’s facility in central Illinois was the first permitted commercial carbon sequestration operation in the country, and it’s on the forefront of a booming, multibillion-dollar carbon capture and storage, or CCS, industry that promises to permanently sequester planet-warming carbon dioxide deep underground. 

The emerging technology has become a cornerstone of government strategies to slash fossil fuel emissions and meet climate goals. Meanwhile, the Biden administration’s signature climate legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act, has supercharged industry subsidies and tax credits and set off a CCS gold rush. 

There are now only four carbon sequestration wells operating in the United States — two each in Illinois and Indiana — but many more are on the way. Three proposed pipelines and 22 wells are up for review by state and federal regulators in Illinois, where the geography makes the landscape especially well suited for CCS. Nationwide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is reviewing 150 different applications. 

But if CCS operations leak, they can pose significant risks to water resources. That’s because pressurized CO2 stored underground can escape or propel brine trapped in the saline reservoirs typically used for permanent storage. The leaks can lead to heavy metal contamination and potentially lower pH levels, all of which can make drinking water undrinkable. This is what bothers critics of carbon capture, who worry that it’s solving one problem by creating another.

In September, the public learned of a leak at ADM’s Decatur site after it was reported by E&E News, which covers energy and environmental issues. Additional testing mandated by the EPA turned up a second leak later that month. The EPA has confirmed these leaks posed no threat to water sources. Still, they raise concern about whether more leaks are likely, whether the public has any right to know when leaks occur, and if CCS technology is really a viable climate solution.

Officials with Chicago-based ADM spoke at the Decatur City Council meeting immediately after Rosenberger. They tried to assuage her concerns. “We simply wouldn’t do this if we didn’t believe that it was safe,” said Greg Webb, ADM’s vice president of state-government relations. 

[fivay774]

Greater Los Angeles wildfires

The Greater Los Angeles area has long been susceptible to wildfires, a phenomenon that has become an annual fixture due to the region’s Mediterranean climate, dry brush, and strong seasonal winds. Wildfires in this area, often referred to as "LA fires," are both a natural and devastating occurrence, with far-reaching consequences for the environment, residents, and emergency responders.

Severity and Frequency: Wildfires in the Greater Los Angeles region have increased in both frequency and intensity over recent years, exacerbated by climate change, drought, and urban sprawl. The 2018 Woolsey Fire and the 2020 Bobcat Fire are among the most significant examples of recent devastation. These fires, along with others like the 2007 Griffith Park Fire and 2014 San Fernando Valley Fires, have ravaged large swathes of land, destroying homes, forcing thousands of people to evacuate, and disrupting daily life.

The impact is not limited to the physical destruction of homes and infrastructure; the loss of natural habitats and wildlife is equally tragic. Forests, chaparral, and other ecosystems that rely on periodic fires for regeneration are devastated, and animals are displaced or perish. Smoke pollution is also a major concern, affecting air quality across the region and even spreading to neighboring states.

Preparedness and Response: One of the strengths of the Los Angeles area when it comes to wildfire management is the rapid and coordinated response of local agencies, particularly the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), Cal Fire, and other regional firefighting units. These agencies are equipped with the latest technology, including fire-retardant planes, helicopters, and ground crews, to combat wildfires. However, despite their best efforts, the sheer scale and unpredictable nature of these fires often result in overwhelming situations, especially when fires spread quickly due to high winds or difficult terrain.

Evacuation plans, public alerts, and community preparedness programs are crucial in mitigating the impact of wildfires. Unfortunately, some neighborhoods in wildfire-prone areas are still underprepared, which can lead to tragic outcomes. The public's awareness of fire dangers has improved over the years, but ongoing education remains necessary to minimize risks and casualties.

Environmental Consequences: Beyond the immediate destruction caused by wildfires, the environmental aftermath is long-lasting. While fire can play a natural role in certain ecosystems by clearing out dead vegetation, the intensity and frequency of these fires have outpaced nature's ability to recover. Wildfires in urban-adjacent areas are particularly harmful because of their impact on water supplies, air quality, and local wildlife, many of which struggle to adapt to the increasingly volatile environment.

The rebuilding process is not only financially costly but also environmentally taxing, as there is often a need to balance restoration with sustainability. There’s also the added issue of the loss of carbon sequestration capacity in areas that burn, which further contributes to the cycle of climate change.

Conclusion: Wildfires in the Greater Los Angeles area are a constant and evolving challenge. While the region is well-equipped to handle these events, the frequency and scale of these disasters continue to test the limits of preparedness, response, and recovery. As climate change intensifies, it’s crucial that both residents and authorities adapt to new methods of fire management, land use, and ecological restoration.

As it stands, the wildfires in the Greater Los Angeles area serve as a stark reminder of the fragile balance between human development and nature. The beauty and appeal of the LA area are inextricably linked to the wild landscapes that surround it, but so too is the ever-present risk of fire. Until there is a significant shift in both environmental policy and urban planning, these wildfires will remain a defining aspect of life in Los Angeles.

[tenth-sentence]

In a general sense, such processes are referred to as carbon dioxide sequestration or mitigation (Fig. 8.17):

Geological sequestration – capture of carbon dioxide from the stack gases, and pumping it into 'safe' reservoirs on land or in the oceans

Biological sequestration – growing vegetation in quantities large enough to consume amounts of carbon dioxide equivalent to that released during energy consumption. The vegetation (biomass) that is produced can itself be used as a fuel, creating a closed production/consumption cycle.

"Environmental Chemistry: A Global Perspective", 4e - Gary W. VanLoon & Stephen J. Duffy

[arorganicfertizer]

ORGANIC FERTILIZER IN FUTURE ?

In the future, organic fertilizers are likely to become increasingly central to sustainable agriculture due to several evolving trends and advancements. Here’s how they might develop and impact farming practices:

1. Advanced Formulations and Technologies

Bioengineered Fertilizers: Future organic fertilizers could be engineered with specific microorganisms or enzymes to enhance nutrient availability and uptake, tailored to different soil types and crops.

Smart Fertilizers: Incorporating sensors and smart technology could enable fertilizers to release nutrients in response to soil conditions or crop needs, optimizing efficiency and reducing waste.

2. Enhanced Nutrient Delivery

Customized Blends: Advances in technology may allow for more precise formulations of organic fertilizers that match the exact nutrient requirements of different plants, leading to improved growth and yield.

Controlled Release: Organic fertilizers could be designed to release nutrients slowly over time, ensuring a steady supply to plants and reducing the need for frequent applications.

3. Waste Utilization and Circular Economy

Innovative Waste Recycling: Organic fertilizers may increasingly be produced from a variety of waste streams, including agricultural by-products, food waste, and even urban compost. This not only reduces waste but also adds value to otherwise discarded materials.

Circular Agricultural Systems: The concept of circular agriculture, where outputs from one process serve as inputs for another, could become more prevalent, with organic fertilizers playing a key role in this system.

4. Climate Change Mitigation

Carbon Sequestration: Organic fertilizers can enhance soil’s ability to sequester carbon, helping to mitigate climate change. Future advancements may focus on maximizing this benefit through improved soil management practices.

Resilient Crop Systems: By improving soil structure and health, organic fertilizers will help crops adapt to changing climate conditions, such as increased frequency of droughts and floods.

5. Integration with Precision Agriculture

Data-Driven Decisions: The integration of organic fertilizers with precision agriculture technologies, such as drones, soil sensors, and data analytics, will enable more accurate and efficient application, tailored to specific field conditions and crop needs.

Real-Time Monitoring: Technologies that provide real-time data on soil health and nutrient levels could lead to more responsive and adaptive fertilizer applications.

6. Regenerative Agriculture

Soil Health Focus: Organic fertilizers will be integral to regenerative agriculture practices that prioritize rebuilding soil health, enhancing biodiversity, and reducing reliance on synthetic inputs.

Holistic Approaches: Future practices may integrate organic fertilizers with other regenerative techniques, such as cover cropping, reduced tillage, and agroforestry.

7. Policy and Market Dynamics

Regulatory Support: As governments and institutions place more emphasis on sustainability and environmental protection, organic fertilizers may benefit from supportive policies and incentives.

Consumer Preferences: Growing consumer demand for sustainably produced food will drive the adoption of organic fertilizers, as they align with organic and eco-friendly farming practices.

8. Global and Urban Agriculture

Urban and Vertical Farming: With the rise of urban agriculture, organic fertilizers will be adapted for use in smaller-scale and vertical farming systems, making them suitable for city-based food production.

Global Adoption: As more regions around the world adopt sustainable farming practices, organic fertilizers will play a key role in global efforts to improve food security and environmental health.

[etherealspacejelly]

Helloo, what’s it like to study environmental science? i’m contemplating going into that field but i’m not sure yet 🧍🏻

thank you in advance 🫶🏼

oh boy. you've activated my trap card. strap the fuck in

its kind of fucking awesome actually. you get to learn about the earth system and how everything interacts with each other. you take bioscience classes alongside geography classes, so one minute you're in the lab squeezing soil between your fingers trying to figure out if its sandy loam or clay loam and the next you're having a lecture on marine protected areas and how to manage them effectively

it can be tough at times, biogeochemical cycles kicked my ass. what do you Mean i have to memorise all the different things that can happen to carbon, nitrogen, sulphur, and phosphorus and be able to DRAW DIAGRAMS of their life cycles in an exam setting. girl.

and it can also be depressing. a lot of lectures the main message is hey! we would be pretty much fine if we did xyz! the planet wouldnt warm that much and the worst effects of climate change would be avoided! heres what we're Actually Currently Doing though, and its much much worse.

i went vegetarian within the first like. 3 months of starting the course. because they were like hey look at all the methane cows produce! its 80x as potent of a greenhouse gas than CO2! so thats fun.

but it can also be super inspiring!! because its like, yeah ok things are pretty bad. but by learning about it you can go into environmental consulting, or conservation, or sustainable management, or research, and You Personally can actually Do Things to help! and make a difference! and thats awesome!

im going to be doing a dissertation next year about the effects of ant secretions on the process of rock weathering. which, if all goes well, could unlock a really interesting and NEW(!!!) area of research into carbon sequestration (removing CO2 from the atmosphere!!) using the power of ants and rocks!!! thats fucking awesome right??? and i came up with this idea all by myself!! its my project!! and im gonna be doing it next year!!

so if you're considering it, i say go for it!!! its one of the best decisions i ever made and you meet so many cool, likeminded people on a course like this so you'll make a bunch of friends super quickly. its incredibly interesting and versatile as a degree, and you can take it in so many different directions depending on what modules you choose.

is it challenging? yes. is it worth it? i certainly think so!!!

[reportsofagrandfuture]

High energy particles are absorbed by luminescent particles that re-emit them as visible light. Similar type of luminescent particles (derivable from certain fruits and vegetables) were suspended in a resin substrate and is used as the core technology on both devices. When hit by UV light, the particles absorb and re-emit visible light along the edges due to internal reflectance. PV cells are placed along the edges to capture the visible light emitted. The captured visible light are then converted to DC electricity. Regulating circuits will process the voltage output to allow battery charging, storage, or direct utilization of electricity

Solar Farms are built horizontally and never vertically, until now. Since AuREUS captures UV, it can produce electricity even when not facing the sun. Buildings clad on all sides with AuREUS become vertical solar farms. Crops easily spoil and cause losses to farmers. With this tech, wastes can now be upcycled.

[rametarin]

Seeing a lot of propaganda lately.

It's convenient that the astro turf environmentalists that schmoozed their way into business and regulation of it set up these oil companies and others with environmentalist paths and ways to get people to get involved in said environmentalism. That was effectively the compromise that would enable industry and progressive life to co-exist.

And now they're treating industrial environmentalism as if it was a scam concocted entirely by greedy polluting business heads. When people taught, trained and given careers in environmental science working with said companies weren't trained to do that shit.

It's just like the "OH MY GOD EVERYBODY PLASTIC STRAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWS!" fiasco, where the entire point of it was to have a goose stepping push for "change" imposed from the top down, get everybody into a hysteria about how straws were actually hurting the planet, and then come to find out.. No. 40-90% of the plastic in the environment, micro or other, is fishing nets. It was always fishing nets. And pollution from the developing world, or China. They knew that going into it and instead chose to do this campaign specifically to "have a convuhsayshun" by scaring the bejesus out of everybody and then pushing for low hanging fruit to drag you through the process of legislation thought to "change the world."

Those paper straws weren't even plastic free, as reusable as plastic straws, or very good.

So now the agritprops are spreading that anti-industry shit by acting like carbon footprints and home recycling was all a scam by the businesses to deflect from THEIR regulation or emissions, instead of what they really were: Deliberate demands by the environmentalists, whom regulate and oversee themselves as self-appointed experts and regulators of pollution, to micro manage everyday peoples trash and emissions. And make people ask, "Why aren't businesses getting poked with a stick?"

Because they wanted you to go, "GLAD YOU ASKED! Sign this paper that lets us suck great big sums of money out of businesses unless they reach these virtually unobtainable purity goals that are virtually required to function."

The only thing I'm glad about is that carbon sequestration and other forms of particulate management have improved as technologies to where machines capable of sequestering industrial emissions and doing something about storage and repatriation of the waste materials into other industrial applications, are much cheaper now. Eventually, these alarmists and blood suckers will run out of pollutants to use to justify a middle man to antagonize businesses about.

Because really, that's it. Once industries can manage and sequester 99.999% of their emissions until they're environmentally benign, and so are their products, there won't BE anything to tax or penalize for their pollution.

As is, if the UK itself cut its contribution to pollution each year by 100%, it'd put an end to a total of 2% of the global emissions of anything. The big drivers and movers of pollution driven climate change aren't western, they're East Asian, South Asian and African.

This revisionist propaganda where it was just business itself that made life suck for individuals when it "should've been raking business through the coals all along" is just that. It wouldn't have been possible to meet emissions standards of 0 in the west and be able to have any kind of industry.

But then the Inverted-Reds knew that. Which is why so many were gone off the deep end in environmentalism, talking about "getting back to primitive roots" and other nonsensical hippie shit. We're not going to forget that movement, yall.