![](\"http:\/\/www.greenoptions.com\/files\/images\/farm_0.JPG\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
By Ecotality<\/a> writer Bill Hobbs. Originally published<\/a> May 22, 2007. <\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s not going to be the most scintillating beachside reading this summer, but a new guide coming out in June from Duke University Press could help prevent rising seas from obliterating your favorite beach.<\/p>\n It\u2019s called Harnessing Farms and Forests in the Low-Carbon Economy: How to Create and Verify Greenhouse Gas Offsets<\/em>, and is described as \u201cthe first how-to manual for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the United States through changes in land use and farming practices, and turning those reductions into verifiable credits for trading in carbon markets, is about to hit bookshelves.\u201d<\/p>\n John Grisham it ain\u2019t, but the book may help bring some rationality and credibility to the whole \u201ccarbon offsets\u201d business. The book is a technical guide for farmers, foresters, traders and investors. You can see a preview of the guide here<\/a>. According to the Duke University press release<\/a>, the book explains how farmers and foresters can convert their land\u2019s carbon dioxide storage capacity, and reduce emissions of potent greenhouse gases such as methane and nitrous oxide, into revenue-generating \u201coffsets\u201d that can be bought and sold in future carbon markets.<\/p>\n Duke\u2019s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions<\/a> developed the guide in collaboration with the nonprofit advocacy group Environmental Defense, with input from scientists at Texas A&M, Colorado State, Rice, Princeton, Kansas State and Brown universities.<\/p>\n More from the press release:<\/p>\n Lawmakers at the federal and state levels are paying increased attention to the role of such offsets as legislation to reduce U.S.greenhouse gas emissions is being developed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know land-use practices can give us more options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions over the next 20 to 30 years and flexibility for companies adjusting to a U.S. carbon cap once it is enacted,\u201d said Nicholas Institute Director Tim Profeta. \u201cBut farmers and foresters have needed specific guidance, and lawmakers need to know that the reductions can be verified. This book gives us that information and assurance.\u201d<\/p>\n A number of agricultural groups are realizing the potential for new revenue streams through greenhouse gas-sequestering alterations to farming practices, such as \u201cno till\u201d farming where soils are not turned up after every season and manure-management practices that capture methane and use it as an energy source. \u201cThis is a comprehensive road map that paves the way for agriculture as a verifiable, measurable carbon sink,\u201d said Dick Wittman, a member of the Agricultural Carbon Market Working Group and former president of the Pacific Northwest Direct Seed Association.<\/p>\n \u201cRecent studies by Kansas State University and others have indicated that carbon could be an $8 billion market for agriculture,\u201d Wittman said. \u201cThis document proves that specific agricultural conservation tillage practices are a legitimate method to store carbon. Should policy-makers embark on a cap-and-trade policy to curtail carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions, agriculture has the potential to be a cost-effective solution.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n By Ecotality writer Bill Hobbs. Originally published May 22, 2007. It\u2019s not going to be the most scintillating beachside reading this summer, but a new guide coming out in June from Duke University Press could help prevent rising seas from obliterating your favorite beach. It\u2019s called Harnessing Farms and Forests in the Low-Carbon Economy: How […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/salvaeco.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/salvaeco.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/salvaeco.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salvaeco.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salvaeco.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/salvaeco.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/salvaeco.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salvaeco.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salvaeco.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
<\/img><\/a><\/p>\n
<\/img><\/a>
<\/img><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"