So, What the Heck is Carbon Sequestration Anyway?

While it may at first sound like what your mechanic does with the carburetor, Carbon Sequestration is actually a natural process that vegetation does as part of being vegetation. It’s in the plant’s job description.

At Encore Green Environmental, we are spreading info about Carbon Sequestration as part of The ‘Just Add Water’ Initiative. Carbon Sequestration is our future here in the oil producing states in the arid west and so we all need to be up to speed.

Here’s the quick version:

Vegetation naturally has a process called photosynthesis. You remember that from your science books, right? Plants use sunshine and water to do two things. 

o  They give off oxygen, which is very handy for us humans. 

o  AND they pull in carbon dioxide from the air. The carbon goes down into their roots and surrounding soil and is ‘sequestered,’ which is another way of saying it gets locked away in the roots and soil. 

So, it’s a very natural process that’s as old as dirt (and plants). Why do we care? 

Because  scientists are on record saying we need to get carbon out of our air for the sake of our environment. But, here in the ARID states, we don’t have much vegetation because we don’t have much water. So, we don’t have much Carbon Sequestration.

That’s where The ‘Just Add Water’ Initiative comes in.

Encore Green Environmental has a patent-pending process to take oilfield by-product water, clean it up to match the soil, and apply to the land, causing vegetation to grow. And, as you now know, vegetation creates Carbon Sequestration, which improves our environment.

This method also protects our aquifers, increases soil health, mitigates erosion and other benefits.

So, what is Carbon Sequestration? It’s our future.

Give us a call. We love to talk about this. 818.470.0285.

Do We Have an RFP With Your Name On It?

No, not RFD. RFP. We have a Request for Proposal to send to any of you who are in the oilfield by-product water cleaning business. We have multiple projects in Wyoming, Texas, and New Mexico. Ideally, you have an on-site water cleaning unit that can handle 5,000 or more barrels a day. 

Is that you? Give a shout because we’re on the move. There’s been a lot of talk about better solutions instead by-product water injection. We’re done talking and are looking for the right technology to move forward. Just Add Water – a new initiative to change our world.  

Give us a call or drop us a line:

818.470.0285

Jeff.Holder@EncoreGreenEnvironmental.com

Science! It’s Not Just About Lab Coats

Our view of a scientist is too limited. Sure, we picture an absent-minded genius in a lab coat standing before a blackboard filled with mathematical equations. Or we picture an Ivy League science lab with multi-million-dollar equipment, expanding theoretical horizons. We see science is something that is limited to the chosen few who live sequestered in the ivory tower. We believe that their science is true. They are at an east or west coast university and, well, they wear those lab coats and use big words. So, their scientific pursuits must be real. And there’s plenty of women and men like this, doing great work.

But we have discovered among some communities, especially those dealing with our environment, that these lab coated, Ivy League scientists are the only ones to be believed. Instead, at Beneficial-Use Water Alliance and Encore Green Environmental, we know that science is science.

In contrast to these images of the absent-minded professor, there’s an army of brilliant scientists, working in the real world of agriculture who conduct both theoretical and applied sciences to the field of agriculture and agronomy.

And at every meal, we enjoy their success. See, once upon a time, a grower was fortunate to grow enough for just his family. In the 1930’s the farmer could feed 4 people. By 1960, a farmer fed 26 people. Now, thanks to the theoretical and applied work of ag scientists, one grower feeds 155 people. This isn’t because we have better tractors – it’s because ag science has improved. 

We are pleased to work alongside brilliant men and women who lead us to make sure that all policies and procedures are grounded in science. Expand your mind. Drop your prejudices. Put on some boots and go do science in the dirt.

Let us know what you think.  Director@beneficialusewateralliance.

Yes, You In The Back! Let’s Hear From Mr. Ag

We’re having a lot of discussion about our lands, our energy, and our environment. But we’d like to call on the quieter member of our group here today. Yes, you in the back. Speak up! 

See, we haven’t heard from Agriculture too much in the midst of the near-constant duality of environmental concern vs. need for affordable energy. The American growers have just been sitting in the back, doing what they do best: grow things and mind their own business.

They put up with unreliable weather, political maneuvering, a fickle consumer, and a lot of long, hard days to give us a myriad of food choices at the supermarket. But we haven’t asked them to stand up in our forum to talk about energy and environment very much.

The Beneficial-Use Water Alliance is here to change that.

See, Agricluture knows more about land than the rest of us. They live on it and earn a living from it. Most every grower is the latest in a long line of ancestral growers. It’s in their blood.

So, let’s ask Agriculture what they think about all this, since every day for generations they have been the best stewards for our land and environment. Their track record speaks for itself. Agriculture always takes care of the land. 

Industry’s track record is not so great. In the past, Industry has been known to compromise sometimes on stewardship of the land to keep the wheels of industry turning. They care about the land, but only as a means to an end. 

The Environmentalists care for the land, for sure. But, they too, are sometimes after a means to an end, as well. There’re some voices that want to wall off the land and make it a sanctuary we can only look at from afar or maybe go on a hike with special permitting.

Agriculture has proved they take the middle position. We need to use the land to benefit people, but we also must do it responsibly.

It’s the middle way. The way of the land. The way we can all go forward. Want to talk about it? Leave a comment or give Beneficial-Use Water Alliance a call or email: 818.470.0285, director@beneficialusewateralliance.com.

Move Over Dyson, There’s a Better Cleaner

You probably haven’t thought of it, but what we need to help our environment is a vacuum cleaner. No, not to vacuum the earth, but to vacuum the sky.

Our sky has too much carbon, some scientists say. And we have to find a way to get rid of it. Well, when we have too much dust and dirt in the den, we use a vacuum cleaner to pull the offending elements into the machine and then lock away the dust in a trash can. We use what we should call Dust Sequestration. 

So, why not do the same thing with our sky? Why don’t we vacuum the sky and pull in the offending Carbon and lock it away somewhere safe? Before you picture a wind farm with suction, here’s a better solution: 

Let’s use plants and trees to vacuum out the carbon and lock it away in their root system. We could call it Carbon Sequestration. Hey, what do you know? Everyone’s been trying to figure out how to do Carbon Sequestration and the lowly plant has had the solution after all!

Plants use photosynthesis to release Oxygen and pull in Carbon Dioxide. That Carbon is then moved to their root system and surrounding soil. 

All we need to do is grow things. And we have a perfect solution of too much dry land and too much oilfield by-product water. If we clean up that water and apply to the land, then things grow. When things grow, they turn on their vacuum cleaners and get Carbon out of the air.

Let’s get busy cleaning. Give us a call. 818.470.0285

Relax, Mother Nature’s Got This

If the number of conferences and money spent on technology research is an indication, then stopping climate change is a priority. Some shrug it off; some are impassioned about it. But we don’t have to give more grants or fund more technology. We only have to let Mother Nature do what Mother Nature knows how to do – she’s pretty smart actually.

A major task for climate change researchers is how to get rid of the carbon in the air. They tell us that too many cars and other carbon emitting objects and systems, have put too much of Carbon into the air. 

But relax, Mother Nature’s got this.

You see if you were to grow more vegetation and trees, then those living things do what they inherently do: They give off Oxygen (which is handy for us humans) and they absorb Carbon. They pull the carbon into the plant and then lock it away in the root system and surrounding soil. They get rid of Carbon for us.

What’s our job? We only have to grow more things. And conveniently (don’t you love it when a plan comes together?), just where you have lots of arid land that can’t grow things, you have billions of gallons of water nearby. And one of Mother Nature’s principles is that if you add water to dirt, you can start growing things. And getting Carbon out of our air.

Mother Nature has this covered. Using Conservation By-Design, we can take this oilfield by-product water, clean it up, and apply to the arid land and start growing things, creating carbon cleaners. 

Let’s quit re-inventing the wheel and, instead, use the principles that Nature already has in place.

Give us a call. Let us design a solution for you. 

Soil is the Answer – What’s the Question?

When it comes to figuring out what to do with oilfield by-product water, there’s lots of questions. The answer to all of them is soil – which is dirt that has found a purpose in life. You see, dirt is all around us, and in most areas where oil is being pumped, the dirt is not encumbered with buildings and concrete. But in the major oil-producing states, that land is arid.  So, you have dry dirt that can’t do much. 

But since you have millions of gallons of by-product water coming out of these oil wells, the obvious solution is to clean that water and put it on the ground to make that dirt do what it’s made to do: grow things.

We say the solution is obvious, but it historically has been anything but that. Marvin Nash, the creator of Conservation By-Design, which is the method to transform industrial by-product water for agriculture and conservation, worked for over three years with an E&P company, fulfilling the usual method of “disposing” of by-product water, which is a nice way to say throwing the water away.

It was only a passing comment from someone about wishing there was a way to re-use this water, that Marvin’s thoughts went to alternate solutions. After he left the oil company, he realized the answer was right in front of him – or, actually, beneath his feet. 

Soil is the answer. Put water on it and you grow things. You heal the dirt. You stop erosion. You grow productive things. You get rid of CO2 in the air. And you don’t inject dirty water back into the ground.  All these benefits are because you add some water to the soil.

The answer is soil. Let us design a solution for you. Give a call. 818.470.0285.

Why Not Soil Carbon?

At Encore Green Environmental, we have been collecting white papers and scientific data that shows how carbon sequestration – which is just saying we remove carbon from the air – can be accomplished best through Nature’s own “technology,” photosynthesis. If you like to read scientific papers, here’s a link where you can read “Why Not Soil Carbon?” and others. If you don’t like scientific papers, stay tuned. We’ll be having resources for you as well!

Who You Calling Wastewater?

In the oilfield and manufacturing business, you often hear people talk about by-product water as “wastewater.” Really? We don’t think that’s accurate. If you ask a plumber, he’ll have a pretty clear definition of “wastewater” for you. And even THAT water is treated and eventually put back to good use.

Water that is a by-product of industry, like oil wells, is NOT wastewater. In fact, no water should be considered a waste because it’s too precious of a resource.

So, why don’t we call things what they are? 

The water from the oil well that comes up with the crude oil is NOT waste. It’s not even “produced” water, because you didn’t set out to drill for water – you were aiming for oil. So, let’s call it what it is, by-product water.

Why does it matter what we call it? Because if it’s wastewater, we want to get rid of it right away.  Just ask a plumber who answers a 2 a.m. service call. 

But if it’s by-product water, why don’t we clean it up and use it for conservation or ag? Heck, we could even turn an arid land into a grassland, grow something useful, get rid of carbon dioxide, and make sure the aquifers aren’t being drained for things this cleaned up by-product water can do. 

So, let’s call it what it can become – clean water that’s precious.

Got some “wastewater”? We’ll help you learn just what it could do for you

Rescuing Water – Who Thought It’d Come To This?

If you made a list of all the places in the United States that would “dispose” of water by throwing it away, you might think of rainy Seattle or the wet Southeast – places where there’s an abundance of water. You’d never think the desperate-for-water arid lands of the Western U.S. would just toss away billions of gallons of water. That’d be crazy, right?

But that’s what’s going on.

In just one year, over 70 billion gallons of industrial water was injected back into the ground – instead of being cleaned up and used to water the very thirsty surrounding land. AND THAT WAS JUST IN WYOMING! This is the practice in other arid states like New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, and many others.

So, Encore Green Environmental finds itself in the water rescue business. We’re trying to keep ourselves from continuing the wasteful and dangerous practice of injecting industrial water into the ground.

It’s wasteful because, well, it’s sticking the water in the ground instead of putting it to good use.

It’s potentially dangerous because we aren’t sure of the industrial water’s makeup that we’re putting into the ground and, industry ain’t telling. In fact, once it’s in the ground we aren’t 100% sure it stays put or starts to travel.

So, what should we do instead? We should rescue that water.

Let’s take it and evaluate it. Clean it up to match the surrounding soil. Then, apply it on the ground – telling anyone who wants to know what that water is made up of. There. Water is rescued. Green things grow. Carbon is sequestered. 

Let’s get in the rescue business. Give us a call.