ANAHEIM, Calif./EWORLDWIRE/March 31, 2004 --- A new method for producing a safe fertilizer, good for the environment and homeland security, was announced at the American Chemical Society national meeting today. A new method was shown to produce a replacement for potentially explosive ammonium nitrate and simultaneously reduce greenhouse gases.This novel material has an interesting history as it begins with a special type of charcoal developed over 2000 years ago by the Ameri-Indians in the Amazon to create a type of soil called terra preta. Many archeologists studying the Amazon concluded no large civilizations existed in the Amazon rainforest because of the poor soil fertility. Large populations require intensive agriculture. However, attempts at modern farming there have resulted in massive rainforest destruction through slash and burn techniques. Unfortunately, rain washes nutrients away and the process must be repeated every few years.
Recent archeological activity has uncovered hundreds of terra preta sites where potentially millions of people once lived. In the 1400's, European explorers wrote of huge cities. As they explored and traded, small pox and other communicable diseases decimated the defenseless population. Cities just disappeared as jungle reclaimed the deserted landscape. Today, terra preta sites are found all over the Amazon like islands of the fertile soils in a sea of poor quality farmland. These soils can produce three times as much food per acre and are highly valued.
The technical details of today's announcement are being published in an upcoming issue of the journal, Energy. The fertilizer is non-explosive, non-flammable and provides the same benefits as terra preta but with the added benefits of essential nitrogen using captured greenhouse gases and producing large amounts of renewable hydrogen for fuel.
Danny Day, Eprida founder explained, "The indigenous population of South America developed a truly sustainable agricultural system. Their fields were maintained for hundreds if not thousands of years, each season making them more and more fertile. In the process, they covered an area the size of England with a layer of carbon rich soil equal to millions of tons of carbon dioxide, much of which is still in the soil."
A symposium is being sponsored by the University of Georgia on June 10-11, 2004 for researchers interested in energy with agricultural carbon utilization. (http://www.georgiaitp.org/carbon)
This is an important break through; a safe fertilizer made while capturing CO2 from other sources and restoring our soils with a stable carbon. Dr Peter Cox, from the Hadley Center for Climate Studies in the UK, has reported that models show soils will become a large producer of greenhouse gases as the earth warms, potentially even more than fossil fuels. The earth's soil contains 4.2 times more carbon than the atmosphere and any changes in its ability to store carbon could make it harder to slow climate change effects. This development points toward a future where carbon is both stored and stabilized for many generations. It is a no risk solution, which could be benefiting our ancestors thousands of years from now.
For more information contact:
Elaine Wilson (678-467-2286) or Bill O'Keefe (706-316-1765)
EPRIDA
University of Georgia Bio-Conversion Center
1155 E Whitehall Rd
Athens, GA 30602
http://www.eprida.com
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