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Source:
Charles Rice, 785-532-7217, cwrice@k-state.edu
http://www.mediarelations.k-state.edu/WEB/News/MediaGuide/cricebio.html
News release prepared by: Steve Watson, 785-532-7105, swatson@k-state.edu
Tuesday,
December 19, 2006
K-STATE
RECEIVES MAJOR NEW GRANT FOR CLIMATE CHANGE EFFORT
MANHATTAN
-- The department of agronomy at Kansas State University has received
a one-year grant of $1 million from the Robertson Foundation, New
York, for outreach and research efforts into the role of agricultural
soils in reducing global warming.
The
grant will be used to fund the ongoing efforts of the Consortium
for Agricultural Soils Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases, a consortium
of the nation's top researchers and educators in the areas of soil
carbon and greenhouse gas mitigation in agriculture, said Chuck
Rice, K-State professor of agronomy and national director of the
consortium. The grant will enable the group's work to continue for
one year while other sources of funding are explored to support
the consortium beyond that time.
"This
grant comes at an especially critical time for the environment and
agriculture," Rice said. "The rapid buildup of atmospheric
carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in recent years has created
increasing concern about the implications on our climate and the
environment. Agriculture can help mitigate these problems in a cost-effective
and environmentally sound way, but we need to start measuring and
crediting agricultural practices that reduce global warming gases."
Research
over the past several years has proven that agriculture can become
a key player in helping to mitigate global warming and climate change,
Rice said.
"With
proper management, such as no-till, organic carbon levels in soils
can be increased. Increasing soil carbon levels -- a process called
'soil carbon sequestration' -- helps reduce carbon dioxide levels
in the atmosphere. Soil carbon sequestration is one of the most
cost-effective ways available now of reducing greenhouse gases,"
he said.
"The
timing of this grant is critical," said Sara Hessenflow Harper
of Environmental Defense, a nonprofit environmental group. "There
are several climate policies being written for the upcoming Congress
– and several states are beginning to implement their own climate
policies. As it stands now, agriculture is likely to be left out
of these key policy discussions. Research like that being conducted
at K-State and the Consortium for Agricultural Soils Mitigation
of Greenhouse Gases network will be vital to ensure that agriculture
is credited for what it can do to reduce global warming."
Agriculture
also can help mitigate climate change through practices that use
less fossil fuel and by producing bioenergy crops to replace fossil
fuels. The agricultural practices used to mitigate climate change
have the added benefit of also improving soil and water quality,
Rice said.
"The
effects of these practices are beneficial in many ways and will
have long-term impacts," he said. "Our goal is to encourage
the implementation of these practices within agriculture so that
society can realize the benefits within the coming years and beyond."
The
Consortium for Agricultural Soils Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases
received funding in 2003 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture
through the efforts of Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. It consists of a
consortium of scientists and educators at 10 institutions throughout
the nation. The participating institutions are K-State, Colorado
State University, Iowa State University, Michigan State University,
Montana State University, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
Purdue University, Texas A&M University and the University of
Nebraska.
Research
by consortium scientists has been used as a basis for the first
national pilot project for carbon credit trading in the U.S. The
project, established by the Chicago Climate Exchange, offers producers
the opportunity to sell soil carbon credits from no-till fields
and new plantings of field grasses to participating buyers. This
kind of market mechanism by the exchange group and others will likely
be an important part of any future cap-and-trade system for greenhouse
gas reductions in the U.S., Rice said.
Cap-and-trade
is a market-based system in which a mandatory cap on greenhouse
gas emissions is established by the government. Industries that
emit greenhouse gases can choose to achieve part of their mandated
emission reductions by trading payments for excess "carbon
emission credits" from entities that are reducing carbon more
than required.
The
original funding for the Consortium for Agricultural Soils Mitigation
of Greenhouse Gases expired in November. The new grant funding from
the Robertson Foundation will allow the consortium to continue its
work and focus more on education and outreach to the agricultural
community, industry and policymakers, Rice said.
"The
overall goal of the Consortium for Agricultural Soils Mitigation
of Greenhouse Gases is to provide the tools and information needed
to successfully implement soil carbon sequestration and greenhouse
gas reduction programs in agriculture, and this funding will go
a long way toward helping us achieve this goal," he said.
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