It can hardly be called a new development or a scientific breakthrough; in fact, it’s been around for millennia. Nearly 2000 years ago, farmers in the Amazon basin used it to create terra preta, once regaled by explorers as the most fertile and beautiful of foamy, luscious soil.

Yes, it’s what we now call biochar and it’s been gaining popularity in the scientific community for years. Recently, it was brought back into international spotlight as Britain’s government commissioned a study on biochar’s potential, and the US released a study saying that widespread use of the additive could result in a 12 per cent drop in global greenhouse emissions.

The product is quite simple. It’s a charcoal-like soil additive that consists of cooked biowastes, like wood chips and animal manure. When it’s added to soil, the carbon dioxide released from plants is locked up for thousands of years, instead of being released into our environment. The soil is pitch black as a result of the high concentration of carbon, and is much more fertile.

According to an article in a 2006 issue of Nature, "terra preta contrasts strongly with normal soil and in colour and produces much more vigorous crops."

If further studies come back with positive results, the only thing left to determine would be whether creating terra preta would release more emissions than would be saved by its use. Many scientists argue that exact point, outlined in a letter sent last year by environmental groups to various policy makers. Of course, that would make biochar more of a problem than a solution.

However, according to the same 2006 Nature article, "a hectare of metre-deep terra preta can contain 250 tonnes of carbon, as opposed to 100 tonnes in unimproved soils…The extra carbon is not just in the char — it’s also in the organic carbon and enhanced bacterial biomass that the char sustains." The scientist who conducted these trials, Bruno Glaser, as well as his colleagues in the industry, feel that carbon-friendly ways of production can and should be discovered, so the world can reap biochar’s potential.

Many scientists remain skeptical, but if the products ends up being all it’s expected to be, it will decrease the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere and help produce crops in soils that were previously polluted and lacking proper nutrients.

If biochar’s use can somehow be implemented in farms in our world’s more under-developed areas, it could prove to be a literal live saver. In the same Nature article, the author cites the remarkable results of a biochar vs. regular soil trial.

"Bruno Glaser…estimates that productivity of crops in terra preta is twice that of crops grown in nearby soils."

Further studies will determine whether biochar can be produced in low-emission methods. If it can, the result would be a simple, natural product that can potentially reduce emissions and increase food production in the forgotten and ignored corners of our world.

Two of today’s biggest social, moral and political issues — global warming and hunger — could be partially reversed because of innovations by Amazon tribes thousands of years ago.

For more information, go to http://biocharfund.org/

This article was also published at http://hunger-undernutrition.org.

Hunger is one of the most urgent human rights issues of our time. It affects millions around the world, even in countries that are experiencing extraordinary economic growth during these tough economic times.

We all know of the hunger issues that plague Africa, however, there are states and areas in India where hunger is more widespread and severe than on parts of the African continent.

A few months ago I wrote a few posts about malnutrition in India. Ever since, I’ve been following that news religiously. As an Indian by ancestry, I feel a strong connection to India’s afflicted. I hope this podcast inspires you to do a little research and learn about the issues of hunger in India.

Take a listen.

TORONTO — Here is the third edition of the Terra Podcast, where Blast’s world news reporter Sachin Seth visits a food bank and learns about the people who work and are served there.

Many Food Banks around North America are in dire straits. Since the recession set in, many are finding it harder and harder to secure donations from those hit hard by the global economic downturn.

In major cities like Toronto, food banks have seen close to a 30 per cent increase in clients, but no major increase in donations. Those in need of food are turned away near closing time because supplies run out.

William Shane, a board member at Fort York Food Bank, one of the largest in Toronto, says he’s seen an almost 200 per cent increase in food hampers requested in just five years. The majority of that increase has come since 2007 – the beginning of the recession.

Fort York is by no means a spacious food bank. It’s one of the largest in Toronto in terms of population served, however not in terms of space. Still, Shane tells me it costs more than $90,000 just to keep the lights and heat running. That money comes primarily from donations, save for a small stipend from their mother company that amounts to just a few thousand per year.

Almost one third of Toronto’s entire population visits a food bank every year, an astonishingly large number for a developed North American metropolis. But if you look around, numbers in other major cities across Canada and the U.S. aren’t far off.

I went to Fort York with many questions in an effort to find out how the food bank copes with such large demand. But instead of coming away with answers, I quickly fell in love with the men and women who work there. Their pasts, in some cases heartbreaking, and their ambition, in some cases inspiring.

This is the story of three of the selfless women I met who turned their lives around to give back to the community.

This is the story of Trudy, Janice and Liz.

Hunger and malnutrition are serious issues in African society. Several African nations shamefully boast outrageous starvation and poverty rates, however there are parts of one nation that are in even worse shape. India.

Labelled as a “national shame” by its own prime minister, India’s malnutrition rates are rising during unprecedented economic growth. Perhaps that is the problem, the middle class and rich get richer, while the poor stay poor and in some cases, get even poorer.

Its neighbor, China, is experiencing a similarly remarkable economic advancement. But they’ve used their new money to help reduce malnutrition in several areas, reducing the number of children under the age of five who are suffering from starvation to seven per cent, one of the major forms of measurement of malnutrition.

In India, a shocking 42.5 per cent of children under the age of 5 suffer from malnutrition, a number that reveals a severe governmental failure.

As Somini Sengupta reports in the New York Times, there is no easy explanation for this problem. There are several contributing factors though: a disconnect between a large democratic government and the people who need it most, a lack of money being spent on children’s nutrition programs, and an overall negligent attitude towards health programs.

The Times reports that while India runs the largest child feeding program in the world, the program is severely flawed. India’s soup kitchens set up in low-income neighbourhoods help, but do not provide the nutrition necessary for pregnant women and children under two.

To its credit, India does ensure all children are immunized for preventable disease, however, malnutrition can make one more susceptible to diseases that could be prevented by nutrition. Malnutrition can also hinder development and growth for life, preventing Indian children from reaching their full intellectual and physical potentials.

India has a lot to do to fix its hunger problem, and it won’t happen soon. The first thing would be to make health a top priority among government again. The prime minister calls the situation a‚ ”national shame.” He can begin to reverse the trend, if only he could make his government operate like a democracy that acts on its words.