July 13, 2010: Dr. Johannes Lehmann, to Discuss Biochar at US Congress | International Biochar Initiative

July 13, 2010: Dr. Johannes Lehmann, to Discuss Biochar at US Congress

Cornell University Invites You to a Briefing on Carbon Sequestration Practices, Hope or Hype? The Science Behind Using Geologic Formations and Developing Biochar to Lock Carbon in the Earth and Out of the Atmosphere

US House of Representatives: Tuesday, July 13, 2010
10:00 - 11:00 am
2325 Rayburn HOB

US Senate: Tuesday, July 13, 2010
3:00 - 4:00 pm
SVC 201, Capitol Visitor Center
The entrance to the Capitol Visitor Center is on the east side of the U.S. Capitol Building. Please allow extra time to go through security.

Cornell Professors Johannes Lehmann and Teresa Jordan will discuss state-of-the-art carbon sequestration practices in climate mitigation strategies. One of the world's authorities on biological carbon sequestration with biochar, Professor Lehmann will discuss how heating biomass creates renewable energy and a charcoal co-product, biochar, which when applied to soils, captures carbon and improves crop performance. Biochar has the potential to mitigate climate change impacts and enhance soil quality.

Professor Jordan's groundbreaking team in the Northeast focuses on geologic sequestration, a process injecting carbon dioxide underground for long-term storage. She will address practices, risks, costs and uncertainties associated with sequestration in saline aquifers and emptied oil and gas reservoirs.

For more information, contact (202) 434-8035.

Click here for more information on the presentations.

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Johannes Lehmann, Cornell associate professor of soil science and a leading authority on biochar, will explain how heated biomass can create renewable energy and a charcoal co-product called biochar. This biochar product is similar in structure to the Amazon region’s “terra preta,” which when applied to soil, captures carbon and improves crop performance. Lehmann says biochar may mitigate climate change and reduce fossil fuel consumption, but understanding the science of sequestration is critical to policy decisions.

Teresa Jordan, Cornell professor of geology, examines carbon injected underground for long-term storage. She will address practices, environmental risks, costs and uncertainties associated with sequestration in saline aquifers, the most widely available potential carbon reservoirs. Jordan’s current work in the Northeastern United States has implications for current legislative efforts to expand geologic sequestration as a climate mitigation strategy.