biochar, definition of

Also known as Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), plug-in hybrids are similar in design to conventional Hybrids except their battery can be recharged from an external power source such as electric vehicle charging points.

As a result they can travel significant distances, typically 40 miles, using just their electric motor before their internal combustion engine kicks in.

They are being widely touted as a means of cutting carbon emissions and urban air pollution, while improving vehicle fuel efficiency to a level where cars can travel upwards of 250 miles on a single tank of fuel.

A range of new plug-in hybrids are expected to be launched over the next two years, including GM's Chevy Volt and a new version of Toyota's Prius.

Plug in hybrids are expected to be more expensive than conventional cars, however they will result in reduced fuel costs and a number of governments are offering tax breaks to try and increase consumer take up.

• Whats the fuss about Biochar?
  Biochar - what is it? This article explains what biochar is and how it will help us with carbon capture and improving the soil.

• What is the fuss with biochar??
  Given the sudden interest in the media on biochar one would think a way of really saving the world has been discovered...

• How do you deal with 9m tonnes of suffocating seaweed?
  Across the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, scientists are developing alternative sustainable solutions to the golden tide of Sargassum
• Bill Clinton Honoree Thrown In Jail Over "Biggest Clean Energy Scam In American History"
  From ZeroHedge One of three scam artists behind a $54 million ponzi scheme was sentenced to prison for her role in the biggest ‘green energy’ scams in US history, according to NBC New York...
• Negative emissions tech: can more trees, carbon capture or biochar solve our CO2 problem?
  As CO2 levels rise, controversial techniques including carbon capture and storage, enhanced weathering and reforestation may be solutions
• How All Power Labs’ gasifier technology could revolutionize clean energy production
  When the city of Berkeley kept shutting off power to his unconventionally-zoned artists compound, Jim Mason took matters into his own hands; he built a gasifier to turn plant waste into a source of off grid sustainable energy...
• Cool Planet: can biochar fertilize soil and help fight climate change?
  Although market information and long-term impacts remain unknown, a biofuel byproduct can store carbon and enhance soil quality and its market is growing despite higher costs
• Solar Powered Sol-Char Toilet Zaps Poop into Fertilizer Bricks
  Researchers at the University of Colorado designed a new toilet called the Sol-Char that zaps poop into biochar using nothing but the sun. Led by Karl Linden, the team installed fiber-optic cables that scorch waste deposited in the toilet to yield dainty    
• Carbon Cultures’ Biochar is a Safe Way to Keep Warm While Out in the Woods
  Are you an avid camper with woodburner's guilt? Carbon Cultures has come up with a much healthier and safer alternative to conventional wood fires with its cheap, lightweight and portable biochar. Biochar helps return a safe fire regimen to the forest...
• Beetle-Kill Pine is Fueling Wildfires and the Lumber Industry
  As climate change warms areas of Colorado, mountain pine beetles (Dendroctonus ponderosae) have infested lodgepole pines and drastically reduced their numbers...

Related Tags: climate change, carbon, environment