From 7d1874386281a44a52bd926649770cb9a020ccce Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: louisemauro38 Date: Sun, 12 Jan 2025 02:39:07 +0800 Subject: [PATCH] Add Desert 'carbon Farming' To Curb CO2 --- Desert-%27carbon-Farming%27-To-Curb-CO2.md | 44 ++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 44 insertions(+) create mode 100644 Desert-%27carbon-Farming%27-To-Curb-CO2.md diff --git a/Desert-%27carbon-Farming%27-To-Curb-CO2.md b/Desert-%27carbon-Farming%27-To-Curb-CO2.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3a95852 --- /dev/null +++ b/Desert-%27carbon-Farming%27-To-Curb-CO2.md @@ -0,0 +1,44 @@ +
Desert 'carbon farming' to curb CO2
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1 August 2013
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By Matt McGrath
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Environment correspondent, BBC News
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Scientists say that planting great deals of jatropha trees in desert areas might be an effective method of curbing emissions of CO2.
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Dubbed "carbon farming", scientists state the concept is financially competitive with modern carbon capture and storage projects.
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But critics state the concept could be have unanticipated, negative impacts consisting of increasing food prices.
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The research study has been released, external in the journal Earth System Dynamics.
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Seeds of change
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Jatropha curcas is a plant that came from Central America and is very well adjusted to extreme conditions including very arid deserts.
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It is currently grown as a biofuel, external in some parts of the world because its seeds can .
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In this study, German researchers revealed that a person hectare of jatropha might catch as much as 25 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the environment every year. The researchers based their estimates on trees currently growing in trial plots in Egypt and in the Negev desert.
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"The outcomes are overwhelming," said Prof Klaus Becker, from the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart.
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"There was excellent development, a great response from these plants. I feel there will be no issue trying it on a much bigger scale, for example 10 thousand hectares in the beginning," he said.
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According to the scientists a plantation that would cover 3 percent of the Arabian desert would absorb all the CO2 produced by vehicles and trucks in Germany over a twenty years period.
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The researchers say that a critical aspect of the plan would be the schedule of desalination centers. This means that initially, any plantations would be restricted to seaside locations.
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They are wishing to develop larger trials in desert locations of Oman or Qatar. Prof Becker states that unlike other schemes that simply balance out the carbon that people produce, the planting of jatropha might be a good, brief term solution to climate modification.
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"I believe it is an excellent idea since we are actually extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere - and it is entirely different between extracting and preventing."
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According to the scientist's estimations the expenses of suppressing carbon dioxide through the planting of trees would be between 42 and 63 euros per tonne. This makes it competitive with other strategies, such as the more high tech carbon capture and storage, external (CCS).
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A variety of nations are presently trialling this technology, external but it has yet to be released commercially.
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Growing jatropha not only absorbs CO2 however has other benefits. The plants would assist to make desert locations more habitable, and the plant's seeds can be gathered for biofuel say the scientists, providing a financial return.
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"Jatropha is perfect to be developed into biokerosene - it is even better than biodiesel," said Prof Becker.
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But other specialists in this area are not persuaded. They point to the reality that in 2007 and 2008 great deals of jatropha trees were planted for biofuel, especially in Africa. But many of these ventures ended in tears,, external as the plants were not really effective in handling dry conditions.
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Lucy Hurn is the biofuels project supervisor for the charity, Actionaid. She says that while jatropha was once viewed as the great, green hope the truth was really different.
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"When jatropha was presented it was viewed as a wonder crop, it would grow on scrubland or marginal land," she stated.
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"But there are typically individuals who need limited land to graze their animals, they are getting food from that area - we wouldn't class the land as marginal."
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She mentioned that jatropha is highly harmful and can pollute the land it is grown on, even in a desert. And she likewise had issues about the fairness of the idea.
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"It is still somebody else's land. Why enter and grow these massive plantations to handle a problem these people didn't actually trigger?"
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Follow Matt on Twitter, external.
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More on this story
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1 July 2013
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Biofuels are 'illogical strategy'
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Published
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15 April 2013
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Related web links
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Universität Hohenheim
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European Geosciences Union
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