||The economics of ECOSS do not depend on carbon
credits. Instead the concept of sequestering carbon should be
replaced by capturing and returning natural carbon cell structures into
the ground in a way that allows plant and microbial communities to
flourish. Buckminister Fuller taught us that the Earth knows no
waste. It is all valuable chemistry. Our job is to discover
ways that these molecules can be utilized for the benefit of life in
sustainable ways. For mankind, that benefit returns as food, income
and quality of life.
The economic opportunity of ECOSS comes from helping to maintain or develop soil fertility while converting the trapped solar energy of plants into the clean energy carrier of hydrogen. Across the world the soil has been viewed as a resource we take from rather than share with. Farmers in some parts of the world have stripped the fertility of the soil through mismanagement which then requires more expensive chemical and nutrient supplements. The need for proper soil management and the potential value of increased crop yields and decreased farm management cost, offer an opportunity for entrepreneurs.
The concepts presented by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins, in their book Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution, convey principles that point to new business services which reward resource productivity. The service business of managed (or outsourcing) soil fertility can reward entrepreneurs, agri-businesses and farmers. The increase of crop yields and greater farm income offer tangible methods of realizing gain for this fertility supply chain.
The need for CO2 credits will drive many business opportunities but few can compete with the public good derived from long term increases in the health of our soils, the development of a renewable hydrogen infrastructure and the removal of chemicals which pollute the atmosphere but are essential for plant growth.