I'm a writer and applied scientist.

Natural gas is a C emission delivery technology that directly contributes to climate change which is a National security risk. A question begs asking:
 It is in Australia's National interest to promote and develop alternative renewable energy sources that don't emit C emissions into the atmosphere which warm the Planet and ocean surface temperature causing coral bleaching, temperature stratification and also eventually gets sucked up by the ocean, the major C sink on the Planet and acidify it further destroying the marine web of life?

5 forseeable options with the E coast natural gas crisis
- natural gas reserve (owned by the Gov)
- fossil C export tax
- electrification and biomass to biochar TLUD campaign

- no natural gas disconnection fees (price gouging)
- natural gas industry dogma is called out for what it is...methane is not a transition fuel...it's an old and obsolete fossil energy source that won't go away anytime soon unless public policy turns on it's head

BUT here we have a problem. No major political party will launch a 'Just Green Transition' for a consistent renewable energy agenda for harvesting wild energies that are everywhere and stored with battery storage using green chemistry for grid firming (as opposed to inappropriate baseload power eg.nuclear)

The problem is science literacy. It's easy to be surrounded by political propaganda and disinformation but reality bites - although the Hon Peter Dutton believes in nuclear fission energy, it's out of date (unless you're talking about submarines and some spacecraft) tech and too many potholes. I'm tuning out of the mass media. Do we really need to be talking about this until the next election? Waste of everyone's time. Delay and more delay with no renewable energy target. Renewables win on cost, budget blow outs and are shovel ready. The only thing that will change with solar is increases in efficiency, which may end up being a tandem perovskite/Silicon cell configuration but needs a green chemistry and simple fabrication, possibly roll to roll. Battery chemistry is also being updated on almost a daily basis - but the concept of the battery is solid and probably solid state in the future. We need them for grid firming. Wind is evolving too. Biomass to biochar is Carbon negative. Running out of time for more action in the best direction we can possibly take it.

Here we go again - only different this time...the 'Desert Rose' 4WD - basically, an updated  'Troopie' for diesel-free driving in 'The Outback'
- Oz electric engine
    - efficient

    - modular (so you can pull it apart and put it back together and replace 3D printed parts if needed)

    - lightweight

    - small form factor

    - durable
    - Oz metal powders for 3D printing
    - ?Oz electronics
    - easily maintained with some training
- massless/structural C fibre battery (using hemp Biochar feedstock) https://sinonus.com/#Solution with C based 2D/3D perovskite flexible solar PV cells overlaid
- Oz structural steel for the exoskeleton
- separate circuit for comms
- similar form factor to a 'Troopie' but less top heavy
- compatible with a solar perovskite blanket for additional (and faster) PV charging while stationary
- Biochar filled rubber tyres
- hemp filler for panel insulation
- roof racks (no changes)
- front coil or leaf and rear leaf suspension (no changes)

Alternatively, maybe there's an electromodding sweet spot for an old electronics-free Land Rover 4WD but it might not come cheap...

https://www.jauntmotors.com/series

A large fossil Carbon 'Export tax' for 'Greentech' manufacturing

• more wealth kept in Australia from our fossil resource (rather than transferring wealth to regions or Countries with Carbon import taxes eg. EU and more to come)
• a reboot of Oz manufacturing (in decline since 2007 according to ASPI) for the climate, renewable energy and housing emergencies
• a more sustainable, resilient and future proofed economy for War and Peace
• a reduced business case for the fossil mining export model which will also shore up domestic supply (short of a National reserve for coal or natural gas)
• more finance for Greentech startups, manufacturing apprenticeships, Industry 4.0 machinery (which we could possibly manufacture in the future), possible wage subsidies for manufacturing operations
• more finance for materials research, development and commercialisation that can feed into a range of industries
• • priority plant industries with multiple economic uses, low or no freshwater growing requirements, low or no agricultural inputs, fast growing, fast and high CO2 sequestration such as hemp, macroalgae (kelp), microalgae and bamboo for 'Carbon neutral' and 'Carbon negative' (biochar based) building materials and many other applications
  • Carbon/biochar based materials and use of Oz minerals eg.doped biochar, for a range of Greentech applications eg.solar PV panels, batteries, water treatment, Hydrogen storage, Carbon fibre (transport, massless/structural batteries) etc.
  • With more funding for chemical engineering at Oz Universities, learning issues like these could be answered:
  • • What would be the best metal eg.Mn to dope (?'high Silicon' bamboo) biochar for a Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) to store and release Hydrogen at room temperature and pressure?
    • What would be the best ?quantum C based 'new material' to simultaneously convert sunlight to electricity and store it? Basically, a massless/structural solar panel and battery all rolled into one material.
  • If the above two questions could be answered, with more funding for mechanical and electrical engineering at Oz Universities, a learning issue like this could be asked
  • • What electrical engines could be built for:
    • • Hydrogen fuel cells?
      • The 'new material'?
  • I'm at the biochar hardware backend. Who wants to move this forward?

Climate change is a time war. It's main opponent is the fossil industry 'extinction machine' but still pretty handy in some applications where there are no affordable green alternatives during the 'Just green transition' ATM. This can change! So, how much time left do we have to build a 'Fossil Free Civilization'? What could it look like? How much will it cost? Who will pay for it?

Here's some discussion points

      -fossil fuel is the main source of C pollution warming the Earth's climate system leading to the 6th Great      Mass Extinction event
    - most Countries are dependent on fossil as their main energy source
    - more Countries, mainly developing ones, are getting hooked on a fossil future which Australia is helping (We're the world's third largest fossil exporter). We need to help these Countries, including our own, to leapfrog fossil addiction and build renewable energy solutions

    - a climate Exodus is expected. A billion climate refugees for every 1 degree Celsius increase of average global atmospheric warming since 1850-1900. Are we ready to play our part?

    - https://www.unicef.org/wash/water-scarcity

How much do we value our future groundwater resource? The expanded water trigger is now in doubt with recently proposed watered down environmental laws...
    - renewable energy sources are everywhere
    - many renewable energy technologies are mature
    - many more renewable energy technologies are in the pipeline
    - many of these technologies will fail commercially
    - Gov subsidies are best spent on startups and not spent propping up existing fossil or renewable energy companies that would otherwise have been commercially uncompetitive. However, I'm not opposed to PPP's with renewable energy companies providing grid energy products

     - liquid fossil fuels and green fuels for transport should not be Gov subsidized or taxed. Let the market decide for a level playing field for logistics which is disruptive but could heal the divisions. Who knows, maybe better electrified alternatives will be found?

- domestic fossil fuel production shouldn't be subsidised...if the fossil Corporations need our money, they should be out of the game
    - large tax increases on domestic fossil fuel production could subsidise manufacturing for and building of green housing (an economic CPU), with many materials built from biochar feedstock

  - value adding the 'critical' mineral and plant (hemp, bamboo, macroalgae (kelp), microalgae and acacias) industries could be a manufacturing and economic winner, especially for green housing but also for food and nutrition products

    - A CO2 import and export industry proposed by AEP with ALP interest is the most ridiculous and unsustainable idea I have ever heard (CCS doesn't work, CO2 can be converted to or added to other products and materials, CO2 aquifer storage acidifies groundwater, logistics of moving CO2 around the world has a high C footprint)
    - time is of the essence to Research, Design, Build, Test, Develop, Commercialise renewable tech
    - Australia can be an energy thought leader and manufacturing model with supportive policy and effective incentives and disincentives

    - Green energy supply is only half the problem. The other half is energy demand implying that energy efficiency should also take a prominent role as well in the future of energy policy for pragmatic action. But, there are many excellent DIY options on the ground independent of policy, such as an energy efficient and unpowered 'Carbon negative' TLUD stove eg.Navigator stove 'Backpacker' or Kon-Tiki kiln eg.KTE that both produce biochar -> a 'critical' material and feedstock for other C based materials
    - trade imbalance is here aka we import more than we export
    - economic complexity/diversity is immature
    - The Trans-Pacific Partnership will increase imports and increase the chance of Gov litigation (ISDS clauses) if we block imports and affect Corporate bottom lines BUT there could be some advantages if we fire up manufacturing BUT it would need to be top tier because the Oz cost of labour can't compete with most of Asia
    - the space industry needs a lot more moula if we want to take that top tier advantage but sustainable solutions need to be built from the grassroots and up too
    - the fun stuff...the apptech and greentech that has, is and could be deployed

There's definitely options which may be inconvenient for some parties. What more can I say? The smartphone revolution has increased transparency across the board. Anyone worth their salt knows Carbon neutrality is political fantasy (though initally galvanised some climate action after Paris) given how much C has been released into the atmosphere by three consecutive Industrial Revolutions. C removal is now becoming the main agenda with new CRM operations popping up all around the world. Maybe Industry 4.0 can get it right for a 'fossil free Civilisation' but there's a lot more to it than just industry. Every energy transaction counts.

In 1989, H.T.Odum, an American ecologist, described humans as playing a central role on the Earth and that the "human is the biosphere's programmatic and pragmatic information processor for maximum performance". 

Go figure...

Normally, people bet on the future - not the past but sometimes the old ways are the good ways too.

Biochar Carbon Removal (BCR) could be at the core of a 'regenerative circular economy' with 'circular integration' - the old and the new.

So, here we go...

- 'Ancient Sunlight lever' (blogged previously) pulled for kicking off the Federal Gov 'Just Green Transition' visionary firmware with a comprehensive climate plan announced in the 2024 Budget - I think not. We're talking about a political system that has mostly been captured by the fossil industry. Fossil fuel Corporations are locking us up (including the Minister for Resources of Australia, the Hon. Madeleine King) and they seemed to be invisible in the 2024 budget. Would the LNP do any better?

https://reneweconomy.com.au/labor-caves-in-to-fossil-fuel-cartel-as-it-locks-in-gas-beyond-2050-amid-deepening-climate-crisis/

We need to slow down C pollution and remove it at the same time - both can be done.
    - End of fossil subsidies for coal and natural gas producers in Oz eg.Fracking the Beetaloo Basin

https://reneweconomy.com.au/australian-fossil-fuel-producer-subsidies-jump-31-pct-to-14-5-billion/
    - Prof Ross Garnaut and Prof Rod Sims model for Fed Gov fundraising to pay for more housing and a lot more besides...since they're broke and have been for a number of years. A billion bucks doesn't buy very much nowadays - especially for a Country/Continent with high Cultural and Ecological complexity (and low economic complexity which needs more cash if we want to increase the diversity and stability). That could be changed!

    https://theconversation.com/ross-garnaut-and-rod-sims-have-proposed-a-100-billion-a-year-fossil-fuel-tax-and-its-a-debate-australia-should-embrace-223722
- Housing and rental crisis (the big one for a green industrial ecology)
    - Green Manufacturing
    - Hemp Industry
    - Bamboo Industry

    - Kelp industry
    - Charcrete
    - Biochar value adds eg.lime replacement (more research), render, flooring, roof tiles, productive greenery etc.
    - solar: vertical to horizontal spaces including driveways, courtyards, rooftop gardens, windows and roofs
    - Green insulation with high R value eg. hemp waste
    - self-powered buildings with microgrids
    - rainwater collection
    - greywater recycling (with biochar)
    - Atmospheric Water Harvesting (AWH) machines where needed, possibly as a backup water supply
- Canada model for weed, growing system agnostic eg.biochar plus massive tourism dollar
- Regenerative farming eg. Agroforestry
- Indigenous Stewardship for 'Conservation' eg. Half Earth Project
- Green transport
    - Public eg.MagLev trains connecting major Capital cities (with Charcrete)
    - Civilian/Military/other eg. Carbon-based Perovskite Solar Cells embedded in hemp bio-composite chassis + solid state batteries (Biochar-MnO2 anode + ceramic polymer electrolyte + ?Cu cathode)

     - I should mention a caveat here - batteries are a self-fulfilling Prophecy. Australia controls roughly 47% of world Lithium production. Great for Oz but resources take a long time to develop and I believe Lithium is on the way out but if we develop the resources Li will be locked in for batteries for a very long time. To break this nexus, a lot of R&D in sustainable solid state batteries are needed - that, in my opinion is a better and more ethical bet - which could also slow down the salty brine operations in Chile and Bolivia which use an enormous amount of water for tiny Li yields and destroy the ecosystems where the Lithium is mined. Gaia doesn't respect Nation state political boundaries and neither do climate-related disasters.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis

I believe the Earth works on the Karma principle - but is non-specific in her response to polluting regimes. Do we want to be part of the problem or part of the solution, to use an old cliche?

    -Our mining economy is deeply connected to just about everywhere else on Earth one could assume. 'Greener' 'critical' (very debatable) mineral mining plus 'critical' C removal/mining in the form of biochar (the debate is over- it's the most sustainably produced, C-negative, versatile and democratised base material on the Planet using mainly biomass waste streams as feedstock) for green materials for green manufacturing of green technologies that can be upcycled or even composted at the end of service could be the key to unlock the Country and make more friends. It's an almost circular economy argument (with linear/subsidised (WTF) 'vertically integrated' 'greener' mineral mining plugged in) where ideally different specialised businesses could network around the circles, at different scales, for 'circular integration' and build industrial to local ecologies that are potentially regenerative/self-healing (if biochar or biochar-based materials are composted (as opposed to inert sinks in some cases) at the end of their use cascade and used to grow more biomass for biochar from plants with multiple economic functions). Circles within circles - holarchies, if you like. One for Tim Winton's 'Pattern Dynamics'. Looks like a research team in 2019 had a similar idea:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1364032119301753

That's worth a PhD, if anyone's interested, using biochar as the protagonist rather than biofuels, that was used for the conceptual modelling in this paper. The diagram below provides an interesting conceptual idea of the above linked research for 'Circular Integration':

The atmosphere is a Carbon quarry waiting to be mined and turned into Inertinite after more than 250 years of industrial Carbon pollution. This can be done at different scales of pyrolysis technology. Start small and aim high!

A bit of biochar kiln history - might want to copy and paste this one guys

Biochar kilns
    - small scale
        - batch:
        - Kon-Tiki

             -Introduction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o0QqePtNM4&pp=ygUVa29uIHRpa2kgYmlvY2hhciBraWxu

           - Water tight:
            - 1.6m deep cone kiln https://www.thebiocharrevolution.com/biochar-production-in-kon-tiki-australia/
            - KTR https://www.permachar.net/kon-tiki-biochar-kiln/
            - KTE https://www.permachar.net/kon-tiki-essential-kte-biochar-kiln/
            - Compact-Standard-Stretch https://www.terrapretadevelopments.com.au/
            - Flatpacked:
            - Carbon V3 https://www.permachar.net/flat-tiki-carbon/
            - Nepali 1000L https://www.biochar-journal.org/en/ct/46
        - Pyramid https://www.permachar.net/resources/
        - Oregon (design on internet), Oregon Hybrid https://www.permachar.net/resources/
        - tube eg.Ring of Fire https://wilsonbiochar.com/, Moxham Kiln http://backyardbiochar.blogspot.com/2014/11/moxham-kiln-from-charmaster-dolph-cooke.html?m=1
        - moki https://www.moki-ss.co.jp/en/biochar-kiln
        -  trough kilns eg.Bamboo Biochar Kiln https://www.permachar.net/bamboo-biochar-kiln/, Warm Heart Foundation https://www.warmheartworldwide.org/flame-cap-trough.html
        - TLUD kiln eg. Permachar https://www.permachar.net/stockpot-tlud-biochar-system-stbs/, Warm Heart Foundation https://www.warmheartworldwide.org/biochar-training-videos.html
        - trench kiln https://www.warmheartworldwide.org/biochar-training-videos.html
        - pit kiln eg. Lu'au pit (Josiah Hunt) https://pacificbiochar.com/how-to-make-biochar-with-only-a-match/
        -retort: BBB https://www.hpbiochar.com/boulder-biochar-barrel
    - medium scale
        - batch:
        - Kon-Tiki (multiple units)
        - tube (multiple units)
        - the Big Roo (design available)
        - Joey's NZ vineyard kiln (under trial)
        - Power Pallet (power and bc)
        - https://www.allpowerlabs.com/product-overview/powerpallet
    - large scale
        - batch:
        - Earth Systems Bioenergy 'Charmaker'
            - MPP https://www.esenergy.com.au/
        - continuous:
        - rotary eg. China, Japan, US, Pyreg https://pyreg.com/
        - Energy Farmers Australia
        - https://www.energyfarmers.com.au/organic-waste-solutions/
        - ByGen (activated biochar) https://www.bygen.com.au/
        - Earth Systems Bioenergy 'Charmaker'
            - CPP (feedstock drying, wood vinegar, bc)
         - ECHO2 (power, heat and bc)
        - https://www.rainbowbeeeater.com.au/what-we-do
        - Pyrocal https://www.pyrocal.com.au/
        - Charman (hearth tech from BiG) https://charman.com.au/about/

REFERENCES

An ageing list of biochar companies - some may be defunct
    - http://biochar.bioenergylists.org/company

https://biochar-international.org/about-biochar/how-to-make-biochar/biochar-production-technologies/
https://biochar.international/guides/biochar-reactor-to-meet-needs/

And for some additional reading:

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2024/04/11/new-quantum-solar-cell-material-promises-external-quantum-efficiency-of-190/

-could this be the beginning of my fictional 'new material' blogged a few years ago?

https://cnevpost.com/2024/04/03/talent-unveils-battery-cell-ultra-high-energy-density/

-too good to be true? Predicted 2000km range for EVs! But - buyer beware. This is a global battery war and it's not unusual for a company to overstate the performance specs...sounds interesting though.

Maybe the safest move is betting on 'Permaculture plants', coined by Jeff Nugent. I would bet on hemp, micro and macro algae and bamboo - all multi-functional plants and fast C sequesters for biochar. ?Palms and ferns? Copper is probably a sure bet too with electrification happening around the world though biomass is being reinvented with biochar. Lithium takes up too much water to mine, environmentally destructive in some regions eg. Salar de Uyuni, and may even be obsolete in 10 years if Quantum Carbon tech has it's way eg.solar and storage in the same material. I'm imagining unlimited range in EVs and self-powered buildings. Atmospheric mining has great potential too - C (for biochar via plants), N (for fertiliser), H2O (for potable water and potentially agriculture).

A free undergraduate degree, whatever the University, with modules from all of the university undergraduate offerings
Specialty pathways
Compulsory units: Problem Based Learning, Design, Start Ups
Rental HECS scheme
Some TAFE integration where it's needed
Hybrid and online

Before a Military education

Whatever happened to the student unions that worked like clockwork and gave students a voice and breathed life into University campuses?

18 year olds, myself included back in the day, think they know what they want for a career but realistically don't know what they want after liberating their minds in a 'Liberal arts degree' - which could include STEM and whatever else they want to study in a free undergraduate Bachelor degree.

Until you undertake a Bachelor degree, you don't realise how little you were taught in Secondary/High School
Post graduate: PELS, CSP, accessible with a completed degree, hybrid or online

Until you undertake Post-graduate education, you don't realise how little you learned in a Bachelor Degree.

However, many Masters Degrees, which could be an entry point to a PhD, cost around AUD$50k.

Fortunately, there's a good alternative to University education - Permaculture. An ecological design system for now and the future. Start with a PDC and if you love it, convert to a Diploma. You won't regret it. I certainly didn't and it's provided a great foundation for life and business.

The 'Tree of Knowledge' knows no limits and shouldn't be restricted in any way.

Down the track - it's not just who you know but also what you know - many people can impress HR in an interview if you know what you're talking about! But - a well conceived Resume can make all the difference to your application in order to get an interview.

Coursera Plus, or, whatever else is suitable, can fill in the gaps where it's needed, earn LinkedIn badges or even start earning credit for a Bachelor or Masters degree.

A 'Carbon Valley' could accelerate Carbon negative technology Research, Design, Development and Commercialisation for Start Ups. Maybe somewhere between Mt Gambier and the ocean in South Australia, which would have a variety of feedstocks eg.pine, sea kelp etc. and could be the perfect region, roughly 5 hours between Adelaide and Melbourne. and provide a sweet lifestyle for people living there.

The mind boggles - many possibilities are out there - find what's right for you and for the Planet which needs our help.

I had the idea today that a Carbon negative factory could be built using Carbon negative building materials, based on biochar, and powered by biomass to biochar kilns eg.ECHO2, for heat and power, to power the kiln, provide factory space heating when needed and provide power to production line equipment. The biochar produced from the kilns could be used to fabricate C-based ?quantum perovskite PVs and thermal energy blocks made from biochar to Graphite to store electricity from rooftop PVs and despatch electricity, via 40%+ efficient thermal PVs (Antora Energy), on demand for a variety of applications -including more Carbon negative factories!

There are a number of thermal energy storage media, some more developed than others
- water

https://newatlas.com/energy/varanto-seasonal-thermal-energy-storage/
- molten salt

   Used widely in earlier Concentrated Solar Power plants
- graphite

https://antoraenergy.com/
- sand

https://newatlas.com/energy/sand-battery-finland/
- gravel

https://www.pv-magazine-australia.com/2023/11/03/storing-renewables-with-landscaping-gravel/
- biochar

  Green fields research!

Research suggests that biochar has suitable physical properties for energy storage and release - with the added advantage that it's produced from biomass (waste) and isn't a finite mining resource which graphite is. There's also a possibility of producing graphite from biochar or even directly from biomass, which I am currently researching.

REFERENCES

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-46620-1

https://antoraenergy.com/

https://www.rainbowbeeeater.com.au/