American Power Act: The Key Points

From the Huffington Post (May 12, 2010): John Kerry and Joe Lieberman are rolling out the much-anticipated details of their climate bill, now called the American Power Act, this afternoon. Here's a rundown of some of the key details outlined in the act, which emerged earlier today. The bill addresses everything from clean vehicles and nuclear power to greenhouse gas emissions and manufacturing--what do you think is the most worthwhile investment for America? 
Full story

Alison Grantham, Rodale Institute research manager, had this to say about the key details briefed in the Huff. Post and and what any agricultural component of the bill will need to include to encourage and support actual improvements:

“RI has observed that organic farming systems support robust soil carbon increases as they produce healthy crops. For public policy to have practical results, any credits for carbon sequestration need to be based on both complete measurements (of soil carbon change tied to management practices) and full lifecycle accounting (of the carbon impacts associated with farming practices).”

Jeff Moyer, farm director at the Rodale Institute, gives this context for what individual farmers can do to be better carbon stewards:

“Farmers everywhere are being bombarded with carbon language, whether through print media or presentations at farm meetings. Figuring what is true and what is false in the diverse numbers being thrown around is confusing at best. Here’s what we know:

• Soil benefits from crop rotations that include diverse crop species mixed with cover crops to sequester nitrogen, improve soil tilth, and build soil organic matter.
• Farms that integrate livestock into their mix of enterprises, or include pasture and sod crops into grain rotations can greatly enhance their soils ability to sequester carbon and improve the soil’s health.
• Reducing agricultural chemicals and eliminating chemical based nitrogen fertilizer can hold sequester carbon and improve the microbial life in the soil.

Research at our facility and from collaborators across the country shows that organic systems, or farms that use these production strategies, increase the soil’s ability to sequester carbon. While these production strategies are built into every organic farm, they are also available to any farmer who wishes to improve their soil and sequester more carbon.”