Auto farm graveyard in Nebraska Photo: GR Meyers

“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) have unveiled the first national standards to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve fuel efficiency of heavy-duty trucks and buses. The new proposed standards are for three categories of heavy trucks: combination tractors, heavy-duty pickups and vans, and vocational vehicles.

“The EPA and DOT sent draft rules to the White House in August.

“The program, proposed by EPA and DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), is projected to reduce GHG emissions by about 250 million metric tons and save 500 million barrels of oil over the lives of the vehicles produced within the program’s first five years.

“For combination tractors, the agencies propose engine and vehicle standards that begin in the 2014 model year and achieve up to a 20 percent reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and fuel consumption by 2018 model year.

“For heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, the proposal calls for separate gasoline and diesel truck standards, which phase in starting with 2014 model year and cut emissions and fuel consumption 10 percent for gasoline vehicles and 15 percent for diesel vehicles by 2018 model year (12 and 17 percent respectively if accounting for air conditioning leakage).

“For vocational vehicles, the agencies propose engine and vehicle standards starting in 2014 model year, which would reduce CO2 emissions and fuel consumption 10 percent by 2018 model year.

“Overall, the heavy-duty national program would provide $41 billion in net benefits over the lifetime of model year 2014 to 2018 vehicles, together with the potential for fuel efficiency gains, ranging from seven to 20 percent.”

Colorado Carbon Fund Advisory Committee Meeting

The Colorado Carbon Fund’s Advisory Committee meets Monday, March 1 from 2-4 pm at the GEO office.

The Agenda includes:

• An update on Colorado Carbon Fund marketing and plans for 2010.
• An introduction to Ben Vitale, the new president of The Climate Trust, our partners in managing the Fund and finding high quality projects.
• An Executive Session review of proposals received during the RFP for solar hot water systems. This portion of the meeting will be closed to the public.

If you’d like to listen in by webinar, please register online.

To attend in person, please contact
Susan Innis

We applaud the development of alternative energies but add this caveat for all supporters: it will be an extraordinary feat if the percentage of alternative energy powering the world’s grid comes anywere close to reaching five percent of supply in the next 20 years.

That brings us to the subject of power plants. Here are some power plant facts, according to the PowerPlantCCS website: 

“There are over 50,000 power plants in the world. These power plants constitute the single largest emitting industry for CO₂ emissions.”

One solution for solving this problem: carbon capture and sequestration, one of the reasons the PowerPlantCCS website was launched. The site provides a report, starting with CO2:

“Carbon dioxide is the most common greenhouse gas after water vapor. Burning fossil fuels, land clearing and other activities of modern industrial society have caused the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to climb from about 280 parts per million to 380 parts per million, causing warming and other climate changes.

“From 1991 to 2000, CO₂ accounted for 82% of total U.S. GHG emissions in terms of its global warming potential. About 96% of these carbon emissions resulted from the combustion of fossil fuels for energy. With the increased emphasis on GHG abatement, it is imperative that these power plants undertake serious efforts to cut down their CO₂ emitted and sequester it.”

Now comes an argument for carbon capture:

“Energy efficiency improvements and switching from fossil fuels toward less carbon intensive energy sources were once seen as the only realistic means of reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. In recent years, however, analysts and policymakers have begun to recognize the potential for a third option—the development of “end-of-pipe” technologies that would allow for the continued utilization of fossil fuel energy sources while significantly reducing carbon emissions. “

Whether pro or con, there are numerous developments in this field — some that appear to provide plausible solutions that may help abate global warming. To help with the development of technologies like these, one of the best tyools available will be active involvement from a population that understand far more about global warming than it presently does.

Auto graveyard - Nebraska farm Photo: Glenn Meyers

The following clips come from  Matt Cawood, writing on a study from the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists at farmonline:

“Agricultural land could be the focus of an “economic opportunity of unparalleled scale”, according to the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, which has called for a re-write of emissions trading legislation to properly recognise “terrestrial carbon”.

“In a discussion paper released earlier this week, the Group argues that by focusing on terrestrial carbon sequestration as a solution to climate change, Australia can simultaneously address many of its most pressing environmental challenges.

“Terrestrial carbon includes carbon stored in forests, woodlands, swamps, grasslands, farmland, soils, and derivatives like biochar and biofuels.

“We’re about to create a multibillion dollar terrestrial carbon market, and that has the potential to radically change our rural landscapes,” said Wentworth Group director Peter Cosier. “We have to maximise the benefits and minimise the consequences.”

“According to the paper’s introduction, global warming science now regards it as impossible to avoid dangerous climate change solely through emissions reduction. Positive change in the carbon balance can only be achieved if parallel efforts are made to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.”

The Wentworth Group sees much potential for managing carbon. “At a global scale, a 15 per cent increase in the world’s terrestrial carbon stock would remove the equivalent of all the carbon pollution emitted from fossil fuels since the beginning of the industrial revolution,” the paper says.

“A recent CSIRO study that examined Australia’s capacity to sequester terrestrial carbon suggested that carbon-friendly grazing practices could be capable of storing 100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents per year (Mt Co2-e/yr) for the next 40 years.”

To review this article and related papers, go to http://qcl.farmonline.com.au/news/state/agribusiness-and-general/general/farm-carbon-offers-unparalled-economic-opportunity/1655404.aspx

The video is available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYZ9I_aYYb4