Global Warming

The Rodale Institute has begun a collaborative program with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation that will bear global and regional benefits. Support for an interactive leadership symposium will help vulnerable communities in many nations to mitigate the impact of climate change, while an on-farm research network will advance knowledge of soil-building techniques for farmers and agriculture Extension professionals in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Biodiversity isn't just a nice thing under attack that threatens some charismatic critters and lots of other minor things that really don’t matter so much to modern civilizations. Its loss is a massive threat to human food security and, ultimately, to our species' survival, as well as to that of the millions of plants, animals and bacteria.

The Kerry-Lieberman climate bill establishes an agricultural and forestry offsets program, which the EPA has predicted could provide annual net benefits to farmers as high as $18 billion -- an amount that could fundamentally change the way America farms. The bill includes both certified organic practices, as well as more questionable conventional no-till farming which uses fossil-fuel derived chemical fertilizer and herbicides.

The much-anticipated climate bill, called the American Power Act, was rolled out earlier this week addressing everything from clean vehicles to nuclear power. Agriculture is also as a component, but how to get practical results from public policy is something yet to be addressed. Rodale Institute's research director Alison Grantham says it will require detailed lifecycle accounting to truly capture carbon impacts associated with particular farming practices. In the meantime, Jeff Moyer, farm director at the Institute, has some production tips for farmers interested in "carbon farming."

No soil carbon enhancement claim is credible without an effective way to measure it. Research at the Rodale Institute is seeking the best methods to assess soil carbon (C) levels and the effect of farming practices on these levels. In this second of two stories on carbon sequestration at the farm level, we look at the complementary technologies being arranged to track carbon changes in ag soils.

From the opening scenes of “Dirt: The Movie,” which point out that soil is comprised of the same elements as the stars, plants and animals and that “dirt is very much alive,” the viewer gets the firm idea that dirt isn’t just this stuff that collects in the corners of the garage; it is a living, breathing entity, says a reviewer

A high-powered mix of specialists in environmental health, sustainable systems, public medicine and food-based economic development will gather April 9 and 10 in Cleveland, Ohio, for a conference titled “Greening the Community: Green economy, organic environments and healthy people.”

Shifting to grain-based meat substitutes to avoid the eco-damage of factory farming also can have a high environmental toll.

Research indicates that forests in the northern hemisphere have grown faster than at any time over the past 225 years. A 22-year study concludes that the growth appears tied to higher concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and longer growing seasons.

Converting wastes such as chicken manure into biochar holds benefits for farmers, as soil is enriched, heat energy is produced and carbon is stored underground. Biochar is created by heating and charring biomass- things such as manure, yard waste and crop residue.