Gloria Flora's posts

9 Apr 2009 2:37 AM

Don’t throw out the biochar baby with the bathwater

When penning his stinging rebuke of biochar and all who support it, George Monbiot not only threw out the baby with the bath water but blew up the bathroom just to ensure no one ever considered bathing again. Admittedly he got in a few good blows but the rest just blows hot air. Biochar is simply the charcoal that remains after burning any kind of biomass in a closed oven with limited or no oxygen (pyrolysis). The gases and oils that are emitted are either captured for energy production later or co-fired in the process, maximizing the output of heat. …

this story continues

Gloria Flora

In 2000, Flora made national headlines again when she resigned as Forest Supervisor for the largest national forest in the lower 48 states -- the Humboldt-Toiyabe in Nevada and eastern California -- to call attention to antigovernment zealots engaged in the harassment and intimidation of Forest Service employees.

Today, Flora is the Director of Sustainable Obtainable Solutions, a nonprofit dedicated to the sustainability of public lands and of the plants, animals and communities that depend on them. She speaks on ecosystem stewardship, forest and public land sustainability, people's relationships to landscapes - cultural, historical, social, and psychological, and on the critical role of leadership that strives to make a difference.