Meet the Black Phantom, the Huge Microwave Oven That Fights Climate Change

A climate scientist in England has invented a new process for turning wood into charcoal with giant microwaves, and says that the technique may be the best tool humans have for sequestering carbon and slowing global warming. The "biochar" created in the process locks in carbon from the wood, and sequesters it for thousands of years before the charcoal finally decomposes. Biochar received new attention recently when researchers ranked geoengineering schemes based on their ability to slow global warming, and listed biochar as one of the most effective (and cheapest) approaches. The English scientist, Chris Turney, is eager to move from theory to practice, and has founded a company called Carbonscape that