7 results for tag: basalt

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 ...

Hurricane Pummels Equinox Farm, but Remineralized Cannabis ‘Orchard’ Resurges

Hurricane Isaias brought 60-mile-an-hour winds to the Berkshires that toppled trees around Equinox Farm in Sheffield, Massachusetts, beating down much of this year’s outdoor cannabis crop in the process. Fortunately, says Ted Dobson, general manager and farmer-in-chief, cannabis is vigorous, like growing an “annual orchard,” and soon after seeing the devastation of Mother Nature’s wrath, he was back at work, having trellised 3,300 plants less than three weeks after the storm. The crop is recovering nicely. “The average plant size is six feet tall, and it’s like being in a marijuana forest, really. That is not an exaggeration. To have ...

Basalt Rock Dust Increases Carbon Capture Fourfold

A research team within the Leverhulme Centre for Climate Change Mitigation has demonstrated basalt rock dust as a method of improving crop yield and sequestering carbon.

New Research Examines Rock Dust’s Impact on Nitrogen Cycle

The nitrogen cycle is perhaps one of the least understood and most complicated of nature’s cycles, especially when basalt is added to the system, according to Rock Dust Local founder Tom Vanacore. He adds, this makes it a topic worthy of further investigation. Vanacore notes scientists in the U.S. Midwest have observed changing nitrous oxide levels when NPK and basalt were spread across conventional farms, indicating rock dust does interact with the nitrogen cycle. “They looked at water and saw an increase in nitrate concentrations in the bio-water. This is out in Illinois where there is black dirt and they’ve been farming conventionally for ...

Growing Movement of Remineralization and Agroecology in Brazil

Edinei Almeida is an agroecologist and PhD student currently working to bring awareness and understanding of agroecology to small family farms in rural Brazil. As part of the Brazilian NGO, AS-PTA (Assessoria e Serviços a Projetos em Agricultura Alternativa), whose mission is to promote ecological methods of agriculture that question conventional industrial practices, Edinei works with 500 family farms in Southern Brazil to show the benefits of adding rock dust to soil. Suzi Huff Theodoro, PhD, one of the main organizers of the 2nd Brazilian “Rochagem” Conference, described Edinei as one of the foremost agroecologists in Brazil and Joanna Campe ...

Outstanding Results of Dr. Goreau’s Rock Dust Trials in Panama at SER2011

Dr. Thomas Goreau's research study showing an 8-fold increase in biomass volume of trees remineralized with basalt rock dust, was presented at SER2011 by RTE's executive director Joanna Campe. Click "read more" to view and download the presentation. (more…)

Success in Brazil with Citrus and Ornamentals

In 1992, as a young citrus consultant and agronomist, I observed in an orchard that was doing very poorly in Dourado (SP), Brazil that on a particular parcel the orange trees developed more quickly and had more fruit than the other trees on the property. In the area where the citrus trees were thriving, the ground was very flat with splintery "rusted" rocks that had a dark, almost black color. On researching further I did mineral analyses and began to do practical experiments in the field. I began to research various rock deposits in the region and studied variations in their mineral constituents. (more…)