Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels is essential to reducing climate warming, but this alone will not be enough to curb the warming trend. We need to remove carbon already in the atmosphere to avoid the worst-case scenarios of climate change.
That’s where carbon farming comes in. Carbon farming involves implementing practices that improve the rate at which carbon is removed from the atmosphere and safely stored, for the long-term, in soils.
The Marin Carbon Project, a pilot of carbon farming practices, found that if compost made with manure was applied to just 5 percent of the state’s rangelands, it would offset carbon emissions from 6 million cars. Eco-Cycle has pushed for carbon farming pilot projects in Boulder County that would adapt the science used in Marin County for the Rocky Mountain climate. As a result, carbon farming pilot projects are now underway on Boulder County and City of Boulder agricultural open space.
