Nation's Agricultural Industry Has Potential To Help Reduce Global Warming

[jpak]

http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_46913.shtml

Changes in agricultural practices across the nation could offset up to one-seventh of current greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and has the potential to further reduce emissions by replacing fossil fuels with biofuels made from agricultural crops, according to a Colorado State University researcher's recent Pew Center on Global Climate Change report.

According to Keith Paustian, professor and senior research scientist at Colorado State's Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, and fellow co-authors of the report, "Agriculture's Role in Greenhouse Gas Mitigation," a combination of carbon sequestration in agricultural soils and a reduction in nitrous oxide and methane emissions from agricultural sources would allow the United States to reduce its current greenhouse gas emissions by 6 percent to 14 percent.

Additionally, as the development of agricultural biofuels is pursued and further developed, another 14 percent to 24 percent of current emissions in the country could be eliminated by substituting biofuels for fossil fuels. Potentially, the agricultural industry in the nation could reduce emissions by 20 percent to 38 percent.

"There are no simple solutions to the global warming problem, but the agricultural community can make a major contribution, which is often overlooked," Paustian said.

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