LEA Virtuous Bonds Challenge

This Challenge is posed to students in economics and finance areas in World's universities. Please think in a novel way to achieve this new Carbon Bonds to develop Biological Projects that, at the same time will sequester CO2 and would generate opportunities in regions with economical and social difficulties.

 

Carbonate, Lignin and Cellulose Bonds to control CO₂ accumulation in the Atmosphere. 

Ideas to prevent Poverty, Hunger in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

 

Elguezabal, Mikel & Acosta, Yaile.

 

LEA Foundation, Cumaná, Venezuela

 

Introduction

            Since scientist does not agree on the causes of Global Climate Change (GCC) by arguing that only human activities contribute to increased CO₂ levels in the Atmosphere or that volcanoes in geological times had contributed to this rising of carbon dioxide, we propose different new ideas to control the fact of an Atmosphere richer in this reductive gas.

            The Earth atmosphere has evolved from high proportions of CO₂/O₂ ratios around the Proterozoic era (Cloud, 1968) to very high proportions of O₂/CO₂ since life developed within the ‘Great Oxidation Event’ exposed in Reddy & Evans (2009), this, creating the Biosphere (the major modulator in Atmosphere chemical and physical conditions). Because of the first apparition of an oxygenic unicellular organism, a photosynthetic Cyanobacteria ancestor whom metabolism is known to use CO₂ from ancient Atmosphere saturated on volcanoes activities gases and converts it into Cell material with releasing of Oxygen. The latter, is almost a paradigmatic fact accepted by several Schools of Biological thinking, and is visible in actual times in the Stromatolithes founded in Western Australia, e.g.

            The high levels of carbon dioxide in actual Atmosphere are the presumably effect of 200 years from Industrial Revolution and use of fossil fuels of increased human population with abuse of land agriculture  and deforestation, contamination of coastal waters and over consumption behaviour of individuals.

            The effects of concentration of CO₂ in Earth Atmosphere acts in different human interests like global warming acceleration that increase weather disasters, acid rain deteriorating soils, respiratory and others health issues,  and the ethical considerations involved, but, there are also evidence of stimulated growth rate on plants, like Siberians forests (Yazaki et al., 2004) that could be seen as an opportunity for others human concerns like food production and distributions of revenues by food international trade among emergent nations.

            If reducing industries that uses fossil fuel originated energy to minimal in a mid-term time will cost an enormous quantity of jobs  and productivity, the social effects on the Planet could equalize the worst scenario in a drastical GCC (that would affect very poor nations first: flooding, droughts, hurricanes, typhoons, famines, pandemics disease) and then the riches ones. Shorting CO₂ producing industries could cost more on social stability in developing nations like China, India, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Indonesia, even Russia, that, in a cascade effect could affect the World economy and then, its Ecology again.

      Ethical issues arises on which action or decision to take, leave the contamination of human activities gases to increase with real possibilities on GCC, then social problems development, or, cutting productivity so fast that global economy could collapse and the human pressure on natural resources will increase with caresty of jobs, food, equipments, manufactured products, that could cost us the Era of this civilization, we like it or not?

       Since the Rio and Kyoto, and Copenhagen (and Paris, soon) conferences had took the humanity attention on GCC, various attempts had been made to permit Industry that uses fossil fuel or contaminating energy, to continue working and producing and employing while they buy a “moral permission” in acquiring Carbon Bonds, that invest this in Projects that sequester CO₂ (the major Greenhouse Gas: GHG) or generate carbon sink, preventing a known and calculated volume or mass of this gaseous molecule from the Atmosphere, maybe generated by the same industry that bought the specific project in a Bond of the Chicago Stock Exchange, e.g.

Since GHG mitigation projects generate credits, this approach can be used to finance carbon reduction schemes between trading partners and around the world.

            The kind of Projects placed Worldwide that are sell in the Chicago, London or Montreal Carbon Bonds Bourses consist in a majority of Biogas projects,  Carbon gases injections in expensive installations, and reforestation.

            A new generation of Carbon Bond dealers is growing and real intentionality could be put in observation on ethical, moral perspectives.

            We propose new kinds of Bonds to reduce, at the same time, Poverty, Hunger, CO₂ levels and encourage individuals from underdevelopment nations to gain economic, social and political independence and liberty by the stimulation of familiar micro enterprises in areas where this new Bonds will act as a financial tool in neuralgic, medullar, key socioeconomic chains like food production, house and clothes material, biological agriculture and water decontamination.

Carbonate Bonds

            Based in historical biological scientific data available we can put in practice theorical approaches well fundamented like Carbonate formation in shells of many animals, mostly invertebrates, like the Phylum of Molluscs, and among these, the Bivalve Class that produce from its tissues, shells made on carbonates available from marine environment that, indirectly are produced by CO₂ reactions in Sea water, thus producing a conversion of gaseous Carbon molecules into solid Carbon mineralized in the shells (very stable if well used as House construction material in poor nations instead of expensive imported cement). Bivalves at the same time serve as one of best source of protein and could be commercialized with grand revenues to aquacultures of the Carbonate Bonds Projects. With development of familiar enterprises in adequate regions of emerging and poor nations like small laboratories of hatchery and nursery of bivalves with production of larvae and “seeds” to distribute in the geographical nearby region among others familiar enterprises of aquaculture. The minimal production cost with these animals who filter plankton from the water environment, will redounds on maximal economical benefits to this families, who can sell the produce, consume the high quality proteins, glycogen and fats of its tissues (from the Carbon of plankton cells!), provide with non expensive cement substitutes to built houses in deficit habitat zones, and, with bivalve biology, reduce a part of CO₂ in the Atmosphere, via the diffusion of this gas in the Global Ocean and continental waters and two well known paths, i) like the CO₂ used by phytoplankton and some kinds of prokaryotic cells in autotrophic processes and, once in the Trophic Webs, feed the Bivalves for soft tissues growth and converting plankton cell organic material (lipids, proteins and carbohydrates) into biomolecules of an animal edible tissues; ii) like the CO₂ converted into carbonate, bicarbonate, carbonic acid equilibrium in the water and assimilated in the shells of Bivalves in the form of carbonate and in other several organisms, by controlling the mantle (the organ that secretes the shell) pH witch generates the deposition of this mineral from the mantle-sea water interface.  

Lignin Bonds

            Another type of Project that would, at the same time, fix gaseous CO₂ on plant tissues riches in very stable molecules as the Lignin of wooden plants, e.g. Pines, Acacias, Palms and several others that uses Photosynthesis to take CO₂ from the air and convert it in cellular material as leaves, roots and stems. The stem of various tree species develop an important mass of lignin and cellulose (and others carbon molecules) that last for several years in the ecosystems without total microbial degradation, and would last much more if used in the construction of wooden houses or buildings.

Beneficiaries from the Lignin Bonds would receive financial support for: i) culturing wooden trees in recovered problematic soils like the Sahel, Atacama, Gobi, Sonora, Kalahari, and other situated in socially difficult areas. ii) Stimulation of familiar farms to produce seeds and plantulae of wooden species ubiquitous to the local environment and provide local farmers to develop these sylviculture projects. iii) Use of waste water, sterilized with solar technologies, to culture wooden trees and prevent this type of water to alter riverine and maritime habitats in nations without an adequate treatment system to wastewater and, at the same time, avoid the production of methane and CO₂ by bacterial decomposition (with oxygen consumption and eutrophization problems) and mid-term recovery of very poor soils in sites without water to cultivate anything. iv) Development of familiar industries using wood provided by local farmers to produce House construction material in deficitarian habitat solutions regions of the Rural Country.

Cellulose Bond           

        The last type of Bond is the Cellulose Bond, meaning the Cellulose of Cotton used to confection clothes in Tropical Nations. Using the wastewater of major urban congregations in poor nations and treating it with solar cheap disinfection technologies, we would: i) prevent coastal contamination, ii) start poor soils recovering and iii) produce large amounts of commodities to generate local economy to grow by stimulation of familiar industries in textile areas. The CO₂ is sequestered by photosynthesis of Cotton plants and other fibrous plants with textile uses like Agaves, Palms, and the Cellulose rich carbon macromolecule being a long period used as clothes that could be subsequently recycled and always be a solid mass of Carbon material.

References

Cloud, P. E. 1968. Atmospheric and hydrospheric evolution on the primitive Earth. Science, 160, 729–736

Reddy, S. & Evans, D. 2009. Palaeoproterozoic supercontinents and global evolution: correlations from core to atmosphere. Geological Society, London, Special Publications; 2009; v. 323; p. 1-26.

Yazaki, K.; Ishida, S.; Kawagishi, T.; Fukatsu, E.; Maruyama, Y.;  Kitao, M.; Tobita, H.; Koike, T. & Funada, R. 2004. Effects of elevated CO2 concentration on growth, annual ring structure and photosynthesis in Larix kaempferi seedlings. Tree Physiology 24, 941–949


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Idea

Biology

            Shell production

            Lignin production

            Cellulose production

Case Examples of Projects

Haiti: Shells: biocement for housing Blocks

Sahel: Lignin: Wood for housing; Cellulose: cotton for clothing  

Needs 

1. Modelling amounts of CO₂ (metric tons/ year) will fix with each project.

2. Calculate how many people can start their small business (seed production, shell, wood, cotton production, connected industries downstream).

3. How to sell and create the Bonds? A6, LEA Foundation, new brand? Chicago, Montreal?

4. How and where print this book?

   

Strategy must be taken; this is a simple idea, that with smart and clever marketing we can save people from poverty, infrahuman conditions, and finance LEA Foundation to other several ideas to get a better World to our children.
Prof. Mikel de Elguezabal
LEA Foundation
Cumaná, Sucre, Venezuela
Huarte, Navarra, Spain
0034 601312297
@virtuous_earth