Aug. 2--LOYAL -- State farmers are being enlisted in the global warming fight, and new programs seek to help them make money in the process.
You can see the results here at Bill Pope's farmland in Loyal, northwest of Kingfisher.
In addition to sprouting cash crops, this rolling prairie also drinks in carbon dioxide. No shock there, since basic science says that all plants suck down carbon. They store it in their bodies and ultimately in the soil.
What's new is that Bill Pope is getting paid for that service -- since carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.
About a dozen Oklahoma farmers -- far fewer than in other states -- are being paid to use environmentally friendly farming methods that "sink" carbon into the ground, according to the three largest carbon brokers in the country.
This counteracts emissions from power plants other industries that pull carbon-based fuel out of the ground and burn it -- so that it becomes part of the atmosphere.
The so-called "carbon offsets" are traded on a market in Chicago.
This year, Bill Pope will earn $3,600 for offsetting about 1,200 tons of carbon, said his son, Clay Pope, who works on the family farm and also serves as executive director of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts.
Connecting Oklahoma farmers with similar opportunities has proven difficult, but new programs seek to help.
Trading carbon offsets
A new program will be unveiled in August to help farmers in Oklahoma cash in on carbon offsets.
The Oklahoma Carbon Initiative will be the first group in the state to buy carbon offsets from farmers and sell them on a market in Chicago.
Previously, farmers here had to work through brokers in other states.
The nonprofit group will announce its first deal at a ceremony on Aug. 28 in Geary.
Landowners there are planting trees along a stream, and the practice is earning a $100,000 carbon purchase from Western Farmers Electric Cooperative, said Sarah Love, the Oklahoma Carbon Initiative's director.
A Web site designed to educate farmers on practices that will earn them carbon payments will be up in late August at okcarbon.com, Love said.
The group takes a 10 percent cut of all transactions and uses that money to fund conservation projects, she said.
On NewsOK.com
See a video showcasing the Pope family's efforts and hear a podcast about carbon credits. Visit the Go Green blog at blog.newsok.com/gogreen.
Politics: tax vs. cap
The current market rate for a ton of carbon is about $4 per ton on the Chicago Climate Exchange.
That's because the market is voluntary. In some other countries, like those in the European Union, governments have placed mandatory caps on carbon emissions. Companies must trade emissions credits to stay legal.
In those regulated markets, the price of carbon is much higher than in the United States. Carbon is at nearly $40 per ton on the European market, for example.
Both presumptive presidential candidates favor a similar cap-and-trade regulatory scheme as a way to reduce greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere.
That leaves Clay Pope and others hopeful that farmers in Oklahoma will be able to profit from the programs.
Some economists and other politicians say a tax on greenhouse gas emissions would be more effective than a cap-and-trade scheme. Others say all of these efforts would hurt the economy more than the effects of global warming.
Soil ripe for carbon
For all of the efforts to offset greenhouse gas emissions now, agriculture is still a net emitter of carbon dioxide. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, agriculture accounts for about 6 percent of greenhouse gas emissions nationwide.
In Oklahoma, the soil has been sapped of carbon over the years.
More than 100 years ago, when Oklahoma was opened for settlement, the organic content of the soil was about 3.5 percent, said Mike Thralls, executive director of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission.
Now, the carbon content is down to 1 percent, he said.
That goes to show that there's room in the soil for farmers to put some of the carbon back, he said.
What's been holdup?
Oklahoma farmers have been far slower than those in other states to join carbon markets.
A number of factors may be at play.
Farming practices that result in carbon offsets aren't as popular here as they are in the northern Great Plains.
Further north, the soil is less sandy and it rains more often, which means farmers can sink more carbon into the ground.
There's also more rain, and the soil is less sandy, which means it holds more carbon.
Carbon brokers in other states said education is the key.
Farmers must become aware of the carbon market and offset programs, and then adjust to the idea that carbon is a new cash crop, they said.
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