Monday, May 24, 2010

The Soil Carbon Data Register & Casebook

The Soil Carbon Data Register & Casebook

Hi,

I would like your opinion on the following. Would you contribute data?

We are sitting on an unleveraged advantage - all the case study data gathered routinely in the course of business. On their own they may not carry much weight - but as a body of work - cases from every state, every type of farming and grazing - the sheer weight of numbers begs the question - why the gap between scientific reaility and on-farm reality?

This is very important now as the voluntary carbon standard is being finalised.

Cheers!

MIchael Kiely
Convenor
Carbon Coalition Against Global Warming

Why should the other side have all the data?
After the Farm Institute’s Mick Keogh delivered yet another damning presentation on the prospects of soil carbon trading recently, we asked him could he find one positive thing to say about it. He replied: “Show me the data.”
WE have data – lots of it. IT’S TIME we showed it to them.
Send your data to the Soil Carbon Data Register…

The Soil Carbon Data Register is a central database of results from on-farm trials and routine sampling commissioned by farmers.
It aims to highlight the performance of farmers who can increase soil carbon levels in their soils faster and higher than the science community has achieved.
The sheer weight of numbers of cases showing higher results would raise the question: why?
Scientific studies fail to reproduce the results farmers can achieve because they lack the farmer’s skill in managing soils and because they have yet to study biological practices which are delivering dramatically higher results than ever before.
As a result, the only ‘science’ that is presented to politicians and decision-makers is that which ‘proves’ that soil carbon can only be increased extremely slowly, if at all.
This issue is important in the next few months because the details of the National Carbon Offset Standard (which will allow the soil carbon offset market to commence) are being finalized.
The Soil Carbon Data Register will be used to support the reality of soil carbon.
The following information will be needed:
Name of Farmer:
Name of Property:
Location:
Area Involved:
Soil Management Practices:
Soil Carbon Results:
Name of Soil Laboratory:

By contributing you data you are giving us the ammunition we have been needing for so long.
For more information, call (02) 6374 0329 or email michael@carboncoalition.com.au

Monday, May 03, 2010

Soil Offsets Scheme to Launch 1 July 2010 - without CPRS

A senior member of Penny Wong's management team told us this morning that the National Carbon Offset Standard would be going ahead despite the shelving of the CPRS. Director of Strategic and Technical Analysis in the Offsets Office of the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Kath Rowley, confirmed that the following text from the background papers for this Wednesday's Soil Carbon Workshop for Research, Industry, Policy and Market Stakeholders is an accurate statement of the Government's position:
"Provided there is sufficient progress on international climate action, the Government will legislate the CPRS in 2013. The National Carbon Offset Standard will support additional voluntary action to reduce emissions, and commences on 1 July 2010."
"Agricultural emissions including soil carbon will not be liable under the CPRS. Instead, subject to the development of robust methodologies, offsets will be able to be generated for soil carbon abatement (both sequestration and avoided emissions."

Saturday, May 01, 2010

CSIRO optimistic, but Malcolm T set the pace for passion

Several delegates to the invitation-only Soil carbon Workshop for Research, Industry, Policy ad Market Stakeholders in May referred to the Carbon Coalition in their brief position paper they were asked to submit. We stand accused of formenting 'unrealistic expectations', using 'a lot of rhetoric', making 'over-optimistic claims', and being 'dogmatic and anti-scientific'.
We make no apology for shaking the sleepwalkers. In 2006 Mike Steketee could not have written what he wrote in today's Australian about the CSIRO:

"Perhaps the government will get serious about exploring the potential to offset carbon emissions by putting carbon into the soil through improved land management and innovations such as biochar. The CSIRO has estimated that an extra one billion tonnes of carbon can be stored in Australian soils and vegetation each year for the next 40 years, which alone could offset all of Australia's annual emissions."

We were also described as 'passionate advocates'. But the person with a passion for soil carbon who turned the tables for Agriculture is Malcolm Turnbull. Welcome back, Mr T.