213 results for author: Joanna Campe

Restoring Soils in Kilimanjaro – Engineers Without Borders Seeks Funding to Fight Food Insecurity in Tanzania

This project contributes to Sustainable Development Goals Introduction David Paul Blessing examines volcanic rocks that will be used to produce a locally sourced, nature-based fertilizer for small-scale farmers in the Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania. David Paul Blessing, President of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) in Tanzania, has a science-backed plan to bring better outcomes to small-scale farmers, their families and communities in the Kilimanjaro region in northeastern Tanzania. Across Tanzania, agriculture employs 75% of the working population. Soils vary dramatically from region to region in their mineral and nutrient ...

Huplaso Grows: Natural Mineralizer from New Brunswick Quarry Making Inroads Across Canada, World

(Updated May 7, 2023) Jean-Paul Dubé The Huplaso quarry in Bathurst, New Brunswick, contains a rock that is rich in more than 57 minerals (macro, micro and trace elements) and is ideal for soil remineralization and organic plant growth. “It increases about 27% the health of the plant,” said Stéphane Losier, business development director. He added that the product, made from ultramafic basalt-type volcanic rock dust, improves yields by more than 35%, balances pH and increases soil paramagnetism levels.  According to Jean-Paul Dubé, Huplaso’s North American sales manager, paramagnetism produces a potentially beneficial ...

Call for Enhanced Weathering Projects for Google’s 2023 Carbon Removal Research Awards

Deadline for applications is April 28, 2023. Apply through their website. Diagram of the enhanced weathering process. In 2020, Google announced its goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2030. Google plans to achieve this target through reducing direct and indirect emissions (scope 1, 2, and 3) by 50% and investing in carbon removal technologies to offset any remaining emissions. As a way to propel technology-based carbon removal solutions forward and meet their own sustainability goals, Google has announced it is accepting proposals for its 2023 Google Carbon Removal Research Awards. Recognizing the need for further research into carbon ...

AG-USA: The Power of Sea Minerals and Microbes to Restore Soils

Paul Schneider Jr. showing a thick layer of topsoil and healthy grass developed over Georgia Red Clay (Ultisol) after treatment with MycorrPlus. “Healthy soil is soil that is alive. For farms and gardens, healthy soil is the key to almost everything, including greater availability of nutrients (less fertilizer), drought tolerance, weed control, nutrient dense plants and healthy livestock. For better yields and increased production, great soil is the answer.”  Paul Schneider Jr. on the AG-USA website Paul Schneider Jr. In the late 1960s, animal nutritionist Paul Schneider Sr. started the company Tech Ag to help farmers improve the ...

Engineers Without Borders is Addressing Food Security in Tanzania

David Paul and Pupils of Chagu Primary School fetching water from the lake with crocodiles. Click to enlarge photos and graphics. David Paul (standing, left) uses a groundwater detection electrode system to survey water resources Kilimanjaro region. This work is part of a project to supply clean, safe drinking water to the Maasai Community of this area.     David Paul Blessing, current president of Engineers Without Borders-Tanzania (EWB-Tanzania), sat in his hotel room in Nguruka township after a long day of work. He and his team were on-site helping to develop safe drinking water sources and sanitation facilities for ...

UNDO Matters: UK carbon removal company taking remineralization mainstream

The story of UNDO Carbon Removal began as the story of the Future Forest Company, says Jim Mann, cofounder and chief executive officer of both, with the former using enhanced weathering and the latter taking the reforestation route to ecological restoration in the United Kingdom. And so, UNDO spun out from Future Forest in mid-2022. Jim Mann, cofounder and CEO of UNDO “We were trying to move quickly with in-house rock weathering, trying to scale fast. Reforestation and ecological restoration are relatively slow processes. You might spend a year planning and then two years getting the appropriate permissions and signoffs from government ...

Puro.earth and Nasdaq in Partnership Propel a Green Economy Forward

A seminal breakthrough in the global carbon removal market came when Nasdaq  acquired a majority stake of Puro.earth in June 2021. This partnership between Puro.earth, described as “the world’s leading carbon crediting platform for engineered carbon removal,” and Nasdaq, a global electronic stock exchange, represents a huge opportunity to scale the marketplace as more companies look to offset their emissions.  Puro.earth and their innovative CORCs Antti Vihavainen took the first steps toward creating Puro.earth in a pitch to Scandinavian clean energy company Fortum. His goal was to create a business model to incentivize ...

Crash Course on Enhanced Rock Weathering for Carbon Removal

Rock dust delivered to agricultural fields for a terrestrial enhanced weathering field trial (photo courtesy of Lithos). Click photos to enlarge. Melting iceberg, Greenland (credits: NASA/Saskia Madlener). According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), without significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, the global temperature will increase by 3 to 4 degrees Celsius by the year 2100. This could have catastrophic consequences for human society. We are already living with the effects of the 1.1-degree increase that has occurred since the industrial revolution began around 1760. Major heat waves, wildfires, floods, and ...

AirMiners Panel Engages the Challenge of Verifying Carbon Removal for Enhanced Weathering

Across a landscape, weathering rates can vary widely due to differences in soil. These include properties such as moisture content, soil pH, temperature, soil mineralogy, and vegetative cover. (Credit: John Spencer) Mary Yap, founder and CEO of Lithos Carbon In November 2022, a panel of four AirMiners (those working to ‘mine’ atmospheric carbon and stabilize it in the ground) met to discuss the potential of Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) and associated challenges for establishing credibility and trust. In short, we need a way to prove that greenhouse gasses have been removed from the atmosphere. To help with this goal, the panel proposed a ...

The Science of Rock Dust and Carbon Removal with Enhanced Weathering

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the three main greenhouse gasses causing climate change, which is projected to increase global temperature by 5.7° F  by the year 2100. This may not seem like a large change, but the Natural Resources Defense Council warns that it can lead to serious consequences for the planet and humanity, including more severe weather, higher sea levels, crop loss, and more. As a planet, we need to prevent this. According to Professor Jason Smerdon of Columbia Climate School, the soil and oceans naturally remove CO2 from the air, making them what are called carbon sinks. However, existing carbon sinks are not currently ...