Global warming – are we missing the big one? 

Now here is fact which may make you think.  Man-made emissions are only 3% of the total emissions.  We, quite rightly, are trying to minimize our 3% but what about the other 97%.

The expansion in the newly developed countries like China means that the chances of achieving balance simply by reducing emissions is minimal.  So what do we do?  We go after the 97% we currently ignore.  This is not difficult, almost anyone can do it. And it makes carbon trading acceptable by enabling people to offset the inevitable increase in fossil fuels costs. 

Plants absorb thirty times more than all man made emissions. Photosynthesis converts the simple and stable carbon dioxide molecule into complex but unstable long chain molecules.  In the open air in direct sunlight the deadly combination of UV and oxygen will rapidly oxidize any soft organic materials lying on the surface. This releases carbon back into the atmosphere. This can happen within weeks; only the hard lignin woody parts survive for any time.  

Slowing the rate at which these complex organics break down will create a huge revolving store of carbon.  We need to slow down the rate at which plant carbon re-enters the atmosphere and balances it against the rate at which we are adding carbon by burning fossil fuels.   

We can do this wherever plants grow, in our garden, in public green areas, in our natural bush land and by changing our agricultural system. 

Under the surface, protected from sunlight, bacteria and fungi will slowly break down damp organic material retaining much of the carbon in the soil. When working in Ethiopia looking for ways to provide sustenance food in time of drought, I developed a system called the wicking beds.  These harvests rain and incorporate waste plant material in the soil and so improve both its water and nutrient holding.  

Wicking beds can be incorporated into a carbon trading scheme.  This will enable any individual, institution or farmer to earn money from the carbon they capture.  

The scheme can be simple and widely available. People would enter basic information about there wicking beds into a web based computer program and receive direct payment.  This will help to offset carbon in a politically and ethically acceptable way.

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