BY JOSE PALU-AY DACUDAO
Renewable sources
Let’s clear the field first. Solar, windmills, water currents, etc… are NOT economically viable as widespread commercial sources of energy. They are too dilute and unpredictable. We can talk about these in future articles.
The tried and proven ones are:
1. Hydroelectric.
2. Geothermal.
That is if your place has them. Fortunately, the Philippines has.
Mention must be made of Negros. Geothermal power from this 4th largest Philippine Island may possibly provide enough energy for it to become independent in terms of energy production, and help out in the energy needs of Panay and Cebu. That is if it is maximally developed.
In summary, if we want to cut down on man-made CO2 in the Philippines, the only commercially viable ways are to develop alternative sources of energy to fossil fuels are:
1. Geothermal
2. Hydroelectric
3. Nuclear
Before we end this article, let me mention a nonsensical absurd means to cut CO2 production often cited in the western mass media. I suspect it is a propaganda gimmick so the conmen doing them in Europe can get funds for their racket from gullible patrons and corrupt government officials out for a kickback.
Sequester CO2 into massive containers and bury them deep in the Earth.
1. The cost alone makes this complicated procedure unviable economically. In addition, doing so takes energy. That will also likely have to come from fossil fuels.
2. CO2 is a commercial gas, used in the chemical industries, greenhouses, and as dry ice all over the world. Why the spend lots of money to sequester it and then just bury it uselessly in the ground? Many industries require CO2 and so CO2 will be produced for them by other factories.
If you really want to sequester Carbon more efficiently and cheaply, the same can be done by simply burying loads of wood. Specifically, lignin, the hard-to-decompose carbon-rich component of wood that makes it woody. Bury wood in the ocean or the earth in anaerobic conditions. The carbon in organic matter will decompose by oxidation if exposed to the air, but in the anaerobic deep earth or beneath the sea floor, it won’t. Instead it gets slowly pyrolyzed, same chemical reaction as in charring to make charcoal. H2O gets squeezed out and Carbon remains as a solid buried for millions of years deep underground.
Black Soil
Terra preta (“black soil” in Portuguese) – this soil in Brazil is the product of indigenous slash-and-char agriculture technique.
It is a great alternative for sequestering Carbon into the earth. The Carbon stays in the earth for thousands of years, or if buried further, for millions of years.
In Brazil, native farmers and woodsmen char waste organic products from their activities. This carbonizes them. The Carbon is buried in the soil, and acts as a great conditioner. It helps decompose organic material, and retain minerals, air, water, microbes, animals that burrow and aerate, and allows the soil to resist leaching and acidification.
Charring (carbonizing) is an exergonic process. It dies not need an energy input to proceed. Once it starts, it continues naturally, since it gives off energy, until most of the organic material is carbonized. (If you don’t believe this, just watch a piece of wood char into charcoal.) Thus, there are indications that Terra preta actually spreads once it is has been started.
And one very important point. Sugar farming in Negros and Panay practice this charring of the left-overs of cane harvesting (dead leaves, stems, roots). This incorporates Carbon into the soil. Ever wondered why Negros sugar plantations remain viable even after being used for 150 years? This charring technique may be the secret. (The clean air act frowns on this. In truth it is the clean air act that should be cleaned thoroughly.) If slash and char were not done, our sugar fields would probably by now be acidic deserts./PN
