Forbes student Angus Webb has issued an online challenge to business magnate, investor and inventor Elon Musk inviting him to back the Soil C Quest 2031 Project.
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Angus, an 11-year-old Forbes North student, is concerned about climate change and increasing levels of carbon in the atmosphere.
His dad, Forbes agronomist Guy Webb, is co-founder of the not-for-profit research organisation Soil C Quest, which is looking at “ways soil can soak up this excess carbon” and boost the productivity of our farming soils too.
Their catch-cry is “turning farmers into carbon-capturing climate super heroes”.
Angus has launched a video petition through change.org to reach out to Mr Musk.
He was inspired by Mr Musk - the Tesla and SpaceX founder who has plans to visit Mars by 2031 – as he hopes to pursue a career as an astronaut.
“Our planet needs carbon removed from the atmosphere or the future won't be good,” he said.
“My dad is part of a soil carbon research institute trying to find a way to do just this.
“I reckon Elon Musk is an amazing man, and I reckon he would want to help, don’t you?”
Mr Webb presented the Soil C Quest concept – a not-for-profit research institute – to Forbes Shire Council at their September meeting.
The Soil C Quest team is made up of volunteers who believe it provides a win for farmers and the climate – reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere and increasing it in our farming soils.
Soil C Quest is undertaking a series of trials to develop a seed inoculum that will ‘fix’ carbon in the soil by capturing and concentrating atmospheric carbon into plant sugar and in turn, converting some of that carbohydrate flow into fungal melanin.
This stable form of carbon is deposited inside soil microaggregates, capturing carbon in the soil for the long term and increasing the resilience and productivity of farming land.
“The implications are profound, potentially monumental,” Mr Webb told Council.
Soil C Quest will launch a crowd-funding campaign at the NSW Landcare and Local Land Services State Conference in Albury on October 26.
If you would like to support Angus’ petition, find the link on the Soil C Quest website at www.scq.net.au, or find it on Facebook or Twitter.
