E. coli has been in the news again of late thanks to the Chipotle outbreak in the Pacific North West. Not only are such outbreaks expensive to business but they can sometimes prove deadly to consumers. E. coli, the pathogenic variety … Continue reading
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This academic year I am very excited to be working with two different engineering teams from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). One team is looking at how to optimize heat capture while carbonizing biomass. The other is prototyping the … Continue reading
One would think that the sight of a river of gold would fill one with awe. But the recent golden rivers that flowed in Colorado carried toxic ghostly remains from abandoned gold mines inspired horror, not awe. Of course people … Continue reading
For the past several years I have been very focused on upcycling organic waste streams through carbonization but lately the question of inorganic or synthetic waste streams has begun to interest me as well. This is due in no small … Continue reading
There has been a lot of buzz, so to speak, in the past year about using biochar to grow marijuana, but I’d like to address biochar usage with a far more common herbaceous ‘weed’. I am talking about grass, the … Continue reading
I’ve been asked more than once recently how landscapers could incorporate the use of biochar into their businesses. Not being in the biz myself, I decided to do some investigating to understand a bit more about the specific services landscapers … Continue reading
Acid rain has been on my mind of late for a few reasons. Firstly, the recent Supreme Court case ruling against regulating power plants means that power belchers may continue to pollute our air ad nauseum -and I mean that … Continue reading
A new biochar friend of mine from Western NY has just started manufacturing a nifty little retort for making biochar called the ‘Biocharlie’. I’ve used it a few times now and I have to say it is the easiest way … Continue reading
Rain, rain, go away! I hate to say this too loudly especially since so many areas are suffering from drought, but we are under water siege in the Finger Lakes these days. One of the worst climate change impacts for … Continue reading
In the last few weeks no fewer than five new biochar projects/companies have come to my attention that have the capability, or are in fact are already producing thousands, or in a few cases, tens of thousands of tons of … Continue reading