Coconuts Used to Capture Carbon

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Coconuts used to Capture Carbon In the article ‘Coconuts used to Capture Carbon by Soroj Pathirana, the writer talks about how the people of Maldives use coconuts to make fertilizer for their plants. On the island of Maldives, their soil quality is so poor; the government spends lots of money to import fertilizers from India. In order to capture carbon from coconuts, the process is to reuse materials already found on the island, along with coconut shells burn them thereby creating a substance known as biochar. Biochar is a charcoal with a high carbon content that decomposes over a long period of time. Biochar is made by slow cooking plant wastes until it becomes a carbon-rich char that is mixed with soil and buried underground. This process keeps the carbon created by the plant waste in the soil instead of being released into the atmosphere. Charcoal has positive effects on plant life. It adds a source of carbon to plants, speeds water drainage, allows good air flow in the soil and stops the growth of bacteria and fungi. The company Carbon Gold who will help to create the product, states that it is an effective way of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The decomposing charcoal is used as a fertilizer to nourish the soil. This process will also help to get rid of unwanted waste, and helps make the Maldives people less dependent on imported fertilizers. The president of Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed stated that his country wants to be carbon neutral by the year 2020. Although this project is creating positive result, many people are still not sure of the value it would bring to Maldives. Some scientists have argued that just because there is carbon buried in the soil the nutrients will not stay there for any measurable amount of time. George Monbiot, a UK environmental commentator, stated that burying the carbon rich product in the soil will not at all

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