Biochar can turn the problems of forest fire risk and water inefficiency from invasive species
into opportunities for carbon sequestration, renewable energy, water retention, improved soils, and rural jobs.
The WECHAR bill supports sustainable biochar implementation.
Do you want to see the WECHAR bill pass? If so, please sign the form below,
and pass this on to friends, family, and colleagues.
| 
| Fall 2009
Energy and Natural Resources Committee Office
304 Dirksen Senate Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-4971
Fax: (202) 224-6163
Re: Support for WECHAR, "Water Efficiency via Carbon Harvesting and Restoration Act of 2009"
Dear Energy and Natural Resources Committee:
We, the undersigned, are writing to express our organization's wholehearted support for the Water Efficiency via Carbon Harvesting and Restoration Act of 2009 (WECHAR). WECHAR is a bill to address two serious and growing problems in Western public lands: invasive weeds that rob watersheds of large amounts of water, and dangerous fuel load build-ups that pose particular fire threat to the Wildland-Urban Interface. The WECHAR bill aptly addresses these issues by supporting development and deployment of biochar technology.
Biochar is a nearly pure carbon charcoal product produced from waste biomass. When added to soils, biochar increases water retention and crop yields, reduces the need for fertilizer inputs, and provides useable energy during the production process in the form of bio-oil and syngas, which can be used much like petroleum based oil and natural gas as fuels. Biochar also represents a near-permanent carbon sink, thereby aiding other initiatives of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and helping the US to meet climate change goals.
By using Western invasive weeds and dangerous fuel loads as feedstock for biochar production, the bill seeks to match undesirable material on the landscape that is otherwise expensive to eliminate with a process that requires a large source of woody material to make valuable products. As either of these enterprises has the potential for profit on its own, the legislation uses loan guarantees as the incubating device to enable startup of such enterprises, which would also supply rural job opportunities.
The bill also includes a biomass assessment by the USGS, 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.
Biochar technology, catalyzed by the WECHAR policy, can turn the dual challenges of invasive biomass build up and water inefficiency into opportunities with multiple economic, environmental, and social benefits.
We strongly support WECHAR, and urge you to, too.
Sincerely,
(fill out the form below to electronically sign this letter)
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