The Initiative

GLOBAL STEWARDSHIP FOUNDATION
FISH LAKE VALLEY BIO-CHAR & BIO- FUEL INITIATIVE

"Biochar may represent the single most important initiative for humanity’s environmental future”
-Tim Flannery, Author of The Weathermakers, 2007 Australian of the Year

LOCATION

Esmeralda County. Dyer, Nevada 89010
Fish Lake Valley is located midway up the western edge of the State of Nevada, bordering directly on the State of California

GEOGRAPHY

Elevation 5500 ft
Self-contained ecosystem with its own water table
Largest natural snow-fed aquifer in the Great Desert Basin
bounded by the White Mountain Range elev. 14,200' and Silver peak Range elev. 10,000'
Once a 400 square mile lake situated on the Pacific Flyway as a stop-over for migrating flocks
now a drained dry lake bed

(Geothermal potential, pilot wells produce steam at 300 Deg F)

POPULATION

300

MISSION STATEMENT

Establish a commercial kiln capable of processing and converting the yearly alfalfa crop into bio-char
Establish a 10 megawatt electrical power station fueled by bio-mass gases released during the bio-char process
Sequestrate the farm soil with 120,000 tons of carbon
This will reduce water consumption by 30%
Reduce artificial fertilizer use by 40%
Reduce herbicides and pesticides 100%
(Weed content in alfalfa an advantage in producing more woody mass for bio-char processing)
Erect double-framed geodesic greenhouses and gradually take all farming indoors.
Introduce organic mulch as a natural fertilizer
This will reduce water consumption 90%
Stop all airborne infestation
End all use of artificial fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides
Create increased employment opportunities

WHAT IS BIOCHAR?

Biochar is a 2,000 year-old practice that converts bio-mass into a soil enhancer that can hold carbon, boost food security and discourage deforestation. The process creates a fine-grained, highly porous charcoal that helps soils retain nutrients and water.

Biochar also improves water quality and quantity by increasing soil retention of nutrients and agrochemicals for plant and crop utilization. More nutrients stay in the soil instead of leaching into groundwater and causing pollution. It is a powerful new tool for combating climate change

"Alfalfa is a suitable bio-mass material for conversion to bio-char and bio-fuel"

-Erich J. Knight
Chairman Market and Business Opportunities Review Committee
US Biochar Conference at Iowa State Universality

US Senate passes "WECHAR" biochar bill

On Thursday, September 24, 2009, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, and four co-sponsors (Senators Max Baucus and John Tester of Montana, Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, and Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico), introduced the “Water Efficiency via Carbon Harvesting and Restoration (WECHAR) Act of 2009.” The bill establishes a loan guarantee program to develop biochar technology, initiates a program of biochar landscape restoration projects on public land, and authorizes a competitive grant program to fund research on biochar characteristics, impacts and economics. More information on the bill, including a bill summary, is available here on the IBI biochar policy pages.

FISH LAKE VALLEY CURRENT ALFALFA FARMING PRACTICE AND ECONOMICS

UNSUSTAINABLE ECOLOGICAL IMPACT

Petroleum-based fertilizers together with herbicides and pesticides have killed off much of the organic and bacterial life in the soil forcing ever increasing costs to maintain production levels
Spray irrigation looses most water to evaporation and is using more water than supplied by yearly precipitation. Water table sinking yearly (currently 200 ft below surface)

FUTURE ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY

Opportunities for Advanced Biochar Production

This rotary pyrolysis reactor from 3R
Agrocarbon produces biochar and syngas

http://www.3ragrocarbon.com/index.htm

Continuous feed pyrolyzers to improve energy efficiency and reduce pollution emissions associated with batch kilns.

Exothermic operation without air infiltration to improve energy efficiency and biochar yields.
Recovery of co-products to reduce pollution emissions and improve process economics.
Control of operating conditions to improve biochar properties and allow changes in co-product yields.
Feedstock flexibility allowing both woody and herbaceous biomass (like crop residues or grasses) to be converted to biochar.

Some technologies that hold promise for helping achieve these goals include drum pyrolyzers, rotary kilns, screw pyrolyzers, the flash carbonizer, fast pyrolysis reactors, gasifiers, hydrothermal processing reactors, and wood-gas stoves, all of which produce varying quantities of gas and liquids along with biochar.

CONCLUSION

A successful mission will gradually return a fragile desert ecology back to nature
Sequestration from 120,000 tons of soil carbon will help clean the atmosphere
By the 2nd year enrich the farmer’s profit margin more than 20 fold
In the 3rd year convert open-air spray irrigation alfalfa farming
to indoor greenhouse dried and canned fruit production
This will significantly reduced water use and gradually lift the water table
Eventually supply year round employment for an estimated 100 or more families

We have no clear idea of the scale of this initiative in comparison to others in the country, but feel that it has got to be among the larger of the present moment. It might well prove to be among the most important. Not only does it propose the manufacture and sequestration of over 20,000 tons of Bio-char in the first year of operation, it does so in a manner that directly addresses the political impasse that currently exists, between liberals and conservatives - over the question of the cost transition from current destructive practices into environmental sustainability. This initiative shows what can be done without losing production momentum or paying for expensive change-overs – and in fact – increasing profits ten fold as well as offering increased employment opportunities

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