ORGANIC FARMING TACKLES GLOBAL WARMING

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ORGANIC FARMING TACKLES GLOBAL WARMING Agriculture is responsible for approximately 30% of global warming, mainly through carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (NOx) emissions. It is generally agreed that about one quarter of the main greenhouse gas (CO2) stems from agricultural sources. According to the UK government and others organic farming avoids the very significant carbon

dioxide and nitrous oxide greenhouse gas emissions involved in manufacturing, transporting and spreading nitrogen fertilizer and pesticides. Numerous studies have shown that carbon dioxide emissions from organic farming are 40-60% lower per hectare than conventional systems. This is mainly because organic farmers do not use synthetic nitrogen fertilizers. Research has found that the very nature of organic farming not only makes it less of a contributor to greenhouse gas emissions but it can also act as a valuable sink for carbon dioxide. Vegetative material decomposes and adds to the soil organic matter levels in the soil, thus storing carbon dioxide. Soil contains about twice as much carbon as the atmosphere. However, this level is reducing and research has shown that soils have on average diminished in organic matter content by about a 50% in the past 20 years. In the US conventional farming adds 419 billion kg of carbon dioxide pollutant to the atmosphere each

year. Agriculture is the main land use in Australia and soils under conventional farming management have, as in the US, been contributing to increased atmospheric carbon levels in recent decades. Every kg of carbon locked up in soil organic matter is one less in the atmosphere. If only 10,000 medium sized farms in the US converted to organic production, they would store so much carbon in the soil that it would be equivalent to taking 1,174,400 cars off the road, or reducing car miles driven by 14.62 billion miles. The full article including references was published in Qld Conservation Council newsletter Spinifex vol 26 ed 2. www.qccqld.org.au

 

 

 

Caroline Collard

 

World's first fully certified organic skin, body, oral and health care products

www.happyandhealthy.org.uk

 

 

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