Hi all:
The real moderrtor of both lists is/was Tom Miles - but when I’m not being kicked off for my server having sent back a junk mail notice, I was/am the ‘'biochar’ list helper to Tom. So I am here only adding to Nando’s explanation
The Google version simply morphed into the io version. For most of us the change was not noticed at all.
Thanks to both Alex and Nando for their kind words - that are well deserved - by Tom
For the sake of history, let me add that there haa been considerable char-list morphing - since 1996.
a. In 1996, Tom asked me to be a co-cordinator of a new list to be called “stoves” - because I was talking in late 1995 about charcoal-making stoves on a Tom Miles list he called ‘“bioenergy” (or similar)
(those early year records are lost - but I believe we are up to 2 char lists by 2000)
b. About 2000, Andrew Heggie replaced me as Tom’s helper and still is doing so. About 1000 members there now. I think - with considerable list overlap.
(Still some serious stove/char literature there. i sent one today responding to newly reported great new char-making stove work in the Philippines.)
c. In 2005, Tom started a new list to be called ’Terra Preta”, after we heard of a new group forming called “agrichar”
(I’m not sure - but I think most early biochar list discussion stayed with stoves - as today’s 200 or 250 biochar papers per month was then probably 100 times smaller)
d. In 2007 in Australia, that young ‘agri” group morphed into today’s IBI. Tom Miles is the most recent past-chair of IBI. )
(The ‘Terra Preta “ list soon (2007?) morphed into today's Biochar list - with several now-disappeared sub-parts (policy for one) I think we can say maybe 8 biochar lists by 2007.
e. Now in 2021 ( 25 years after the first discussion of charcoal on a Miles list), we are up to about 1000 members I believe - and happy at “IO”. So (for historians), IO is about Miles-Biochar list #10
(IBI has no similar list; daughter group USBI (Miles as its long-time chair) loosely claims this IO list)
5. I guess there are maybe 10 more non-Miles lists covering only biochar topics regularly.
(guess their total membership is still under 1000)
6. There must be another 10 lists where biochar is a major sub-part.
(I have chosen to follow the google list called CDR for short. Long form is carbon dioxide removal. The CDR list itself broke away from an earlier list called “geoengineering”, but the word “biochar” still occurs occasionally (and importantly) on the “geo’ list. Must be an average of 2 or 3 CDR messages per day containing the word “biochar”. In the early days of GEO, there were about that many per month.)
Anyone care to correct or add to this short biochar list history? Or on how many biochar list subcategories there will be in anther 10 and 25 years? I predict maybe 5 and 10 doublings. This roughly the same as the biochar production doublings at the 10 and 25 year marks.
Apologies for getting so far off the list name topic.
Ron
;
Ron