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Biochar 'Carbon Sequestration' Company Charged with Fraudulent “Ponzi” Scheme Targeting Elderly
WASHINGTON - November 23 - Environmental campaigners warn that a lawsuit over fraud against a company claiming to be the world's largest manufacturer and distributor of biochar presents a stark warning of the dangers of the scramble for funding for unproven climate change techno-fixes.
In the same week that the Obama administration announced a new task force for investigating financial fraud,, Mantria Industries were taken to court by the Securities and Exchange Commission which accuses the company of running a ‘Ponzi scheme' involving fraudulent investment deals targeted at elderly people.1 The company has been marketing biochar through a joint venture with Hawaii-based company Carbon Diversions Inc. Biochar is fine-powdered charcoal which advocates claim will combat climate change by sequestering carbon when added to the soil. Scientific studies, however are inconclusive and there are concerns that biochar could potentially make climate change worse.2 Nonetheless, biochar advocates, whose main lobby group is the International Biochar Initiative (IBI), are calling for US subsidies and carbon offsets as well as international carbon credits. Since news about the lawsuit broke, the IBI appears to have been eager to distance itself from Mantria Industries. However the company had been given a promotional page on the IBI's website3, and Mantria's chair, who is among four individuals to appear in court, was invited to present on the topic of ‘Bringing Biochar to Markets' at a recent IBI conference in Boulder.
Anne Petermann of Global Justice Ecology Project says: "This fraud investigation against a leading biochar company highlights the dangers of the current push to fund unproven climate change techno fixes or ‘geo-engineering schemes'. Biochar is one of several unproven climate ‘solutions' pushed by entrepreneur and start up companies. If their lobbyists succeed in getting subsidies and carbon offsets for biochar, the potential for abuse and serious negative impacts will be even greater."
Rachel Smolker of Biofuelwatch adds "In the quest for quick big money, biochar advocates ignore both the concerns that their claims are unscientific and unproven, and warnings that corporations and investors, including unscrupulous ones, not small farmers and communities, are most likely to profit not just from private investments but also from carbon offsets for biochar and other techno-fixes.
Carbon offsets for biochar have been proposed in the Senate "Clean Energy Partnerships" bill recently put forward by Senator Stabenow3 and a separate WECHAR bill4 proposes mandatory subsidies. Earlier this year, over 150 organisations worldwide urged caution over biochar and warned against biochar carbon offsets. The potential for large-scale biochar plantations at the expense of communities, forests and other ecosystems and the climate has raised particular concern.
Notes:
1) On 16t November, the SEC charged four individuals and two companies, Mantria Corporation and Speed of Wealth LLC over allegations that they had encouraged mainly elderly people to liquidate their pensions for ‘green investments', offering fraudulent securities.
www.sec.gov/news/press/2009/
2) Biochar dust can become
airborne, contributing to "black soot" - a major cause ofwarming.
Its effects on soils are also highly variable, in some cases causing
emissions from breakdown of soils organic carbon, In addition, the production
of biochar requires large quantities of biomass, and like demands for
biofuels, threatens to force conversion of natural ecosystems. Mantria's
biochar, called "Eternagreen" was made using tires, plastics and
other materials which can result in concentration of dangerous toxins.
For more info: www.biofuelwatch.org.uk/docs/
3) A copy of a promotional webpage by Mantria Industries (which has recently been removed from the IBI's web pages about their network) can be obtained by contacting info@biofuelwatch.org.uk
4) Senator Stabenow's bill (S.2729 ) contains proposals for forestry and agricultural offsets, and (unlike the House climate bill) includes biochar as an eligible technology, a proposal on which the Senate is expected to decide early next year.
5) The "WECHAR" bill (S.1713 / H.R.3748) proposes mandatory financial support for biochar developments.
2 Comments so far
Show AllBiochar Soils.....Husbandry of whole new orders & Kingdoms of life
Biotic Carbon, the carbon transformed by life, should never be combusted, oxidized and destroyed. It deserves more respect, reverence even, and understanding to use it back to the soil where 2/3 of excess atmospheric carbon originally came from.
We all know we are carbon-centered life, we seldom think about the complex web of recycled bio-carbon which is the true center of life. A cradle to cradle, mutually co-evolved biosphere reaching into every crack and crevice on Earth.
It's hard for most to revere microbes and fungus, but from our toes to our gums (onward), their balanced ecology is our health. The greater earth and soils are just as dependent, at much longer time scales. Our farming for over 10,000 years has been responsible for 2/3rds of our excess greenhouse gases. This soil carbon, converted to carbon dioxide, Methane & Nitrous oxide began a slow stable warming that now accelerates with burning of fossil fuel. Agriculture allowed our cultural accent and Agriculture will now prevent our descent.
Wise Land management; Organic farming and afforestation can build back our soil carbon,
Biochar allows the soil food web to build much more recalcitrant organic carbon, ( living biomass & Glomalins) in addition to the carbon in the biochar.
Biochar, the modern version of an ancient Amazonian agricultural practice called Terra Preta (black earth, TP), is gaining widespread credibility as a way to address world hunger, climate change, rural poverty, deforestation, and energy shortages… SIMULTANEOUSLY!
Modern Pyrolysis of biomass is a process for Carbon Negative Bio fuels, massive Carbon sequestration, 80%-90% Lower Methane & N2O soil emissions, and 2X Fertility Too.
Every 1 ton of Biomass yields 1/3 ton Charcoal for soil Sequestration (= to 1 Ton CO2e) + Bio-Gas & Bio-oil fuels = to 1MWh exported electricity, so is a totally virtuous, carbon negative energy cycle.
Biochar viewed as soil Infrastructure; The old saw;
"Feed the Soil Not the Plants" becomes;
"Feed, Cloth and House the Soil, utilities included !".
Free Carbon Condominiums with carboxyl group fats in the pantry and hydroxyl alcohol in the mini bar.
Build it and the Wee-Beasties will come.
Microbes like to sit down when they eat.
By setting this table we expand husbandry to whole new orders & Kingdoms of life.
This is what I try to get across to Farmers, as to how I feel about the act of returning carbon to the soil. An act of penitence and thankfulness for the civilization we have created. Farmers are the Soil Sink Bankers, once carbon has a price, they will be laughing all the way to it.
Legislation:
Senator Baucus is co-sponsoring a bill along with Senator Tester (D-MT) called WE CHAR. Water Efficiency via Carbon Harvesting and Restoration Act! It focuses on promoting biochar technology to address invasive species and forest biomass. It includes grants and loans for biochar market research and development, biochar characterization and environmental analyses. It directs USDI and USDA to provide loan guarantees for biochar technologies and on-the-ground production with an emphasis on biomass from public lands. And the USGS is to do biomas availability assessments.
WashingtonWatch.com - S. 1713, The Water Efficiency via Carbon Harvesting and Restoration (WECHAR) Act of 2009
Individual and groups can show support for WECHAR by signing online at:
http://www.biocharmatters.org/
Please don't throw the Biochar baby out with Mantria's Snake Oil bath water.
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2009/2009-247.htm
The thermal conversion technology that they got hold of nefariously, is a solid, important innovation for the capture of energy from waste and low cost sequestration of carbon in soils. http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org/taxonomy/term/93
All political persuasions agree, building soil carbon is GOOD.
To Hard bitten Farmers, wary of carbon regulations that only increase their costs, Building soil carbon is a savory bone, to do well while doing good.
Biochar provides the tool powerful enough to cover Farming's carbon foot print while lowering cost simultaneously.
Another significant aspect of bichar is removal of BC aerosols by low cost ($3) Biomass cook stoves that produce char but no respiratory disease emissions. At Scale, replacing "Three Stone" stoves the health benefits would equal eradication of Malaria.
http://terrapretapot.org/ and village level systems http://biocharfund.org/
The Congo Basin Forest Fund (CBFF).recently funded The Biochar Fund $300K for these systems citing these priorities;
(1) Hunger amongst the world's poorest people, the subsistence farmers of Sub-Saharan Africa,
(2) Deforestation resulting from a reliance on slash-and-burn farming,
(3) Energy poverty and a lack of access to clean, renewable energy, and
(4) Climate change.
The Biochar Fund :
Exceptional results from biochar experiment in Cameroon
http://scitizen.com/screens/blogPage/viewBlog/sw_viewBlog.php?idTheme=14&idContribution=3011
The broad smiles of 1500 subsistence farmers say it all ( that , and the size of the Biochar corn root balls )
http://biocharfund.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55&Itemid=75
Mark my words; Given the potential for Laurens Rademaker's programs to grow exponentialy, only a short time lies between This man's nomination for a Noble Prize.
This authoritative PNAS article should cause the recent Royal Society Report to rethink their criticism of Biochar systems of Soil carbon sequestration;
Reducing abrupt climate change risk using
the Montreal Protocol and other regulatory
actions to complement cuts in CO2 emissions
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2009/10/09/0902568106.full.pdf+html
There are dozens soil researchers on the subject now at USDA-ARS.
and many studies at The up coming ASA-CSSA-SSSA joint meeting;
http://a-c-s.confex.com/crops/2009am/webprogram/Session5675.html
The Clean Energy Partnerships Act of 2009
The bill is designed to ensure that any US domestic cap-and-trade bill provides maximum incentives and opportunities for the US agricultural and forestry sectors to provide high-quality offsets and GHG emissions reductions for credit or financial incentives. Carbon offsets play a critical role in keeping the costs of a cap-and-trade program low for society as well as for capped sectors and entities, while providing valuable emissions reductions and income generation opportunities for the agricultural sector. The bill specifically identifies biochar production and use as eligible for offset credits, and identifies biochar as a high priority for USDA R&D, with funding authorized by the bill.
To read the full text of the bill, go to: http://www.biochar-international.org/sites/default/files/END09F94.pdf.
Senator Baucus is co-sponsoring a bill along with Senator Tester (D-MT) called WE CHAR. Water Efficiency via Carbon Harvesting and Restoration Act! It focuses on promoting biochar technology to address invasive species and forest biomass. It includes grants and loans for biochar market research and development, biochar characterization and environmental analyses. It directs USDI and USDA to provide loan guarantees for biochar technologies and on-the-ground production with an emphasis on biomass from public lands. And the USGS is to do biomas availability assessments.
WashingtonWatch.com - S. 1713, The Water Efficiency via Carbon Harvesting and Restoration (WECHAR) Act of 2009
Individual and groups can show support for WECHAR by signing online at:
http://www.biocharmatters.org/
Congressional Research Service report (by analyst Kelsi Bracmort) is the best short summary I have seen so far - both technical and policy oriented.
http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/R40186_20090203.pdf .
United Nations Environment Programme, Climate Change Science Compendium 2009
http://www.unep.org/compendium2009/
Al Gore got the CO2 absorption thing wrong, ( at NABC Vilsack did same), but his focus on Soil Carbon is right on;
http://www.newsweek.com/id/220552/page/3
Research:
The future of biochar - Project Rainbow Bee Eater
http://www.sciencealert.com.au/features/20090211-20142.html
Japan Biochar Association ;
http://www.geocities.jp/yasizato/pioneer.htm
Carbon to the Soil, the only ubiquitous and economic place to put it.
Cheers,
Erich