美国奖励更生态的农业

维尔塞克宣布美国应对气候激变的新农业政策。

美国农业部长汤姆·维尔塞克（Tom Vilsack）最近宣布应对气候激变的新政策，鼓励农民减少使用化肥，处理动物粪便，多种植树木和重植树林，利用微生物制造肥料等，并给予奖励。

他说，农业在美国总碳排放量大约是占9%，如果农民实现政府的建议，每年可以减少120百万公吨二氧化碳，等于在路上减少25百万部汽车。

这是美国破坏环境之后，以生态和堆肥拯救经济的方案。许多国家还没有这样做。走了将近60年，我们依然为最老问题，最基本的问题惆怅。

美国改了，你改了吗？

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack unveiled the plans at Michigan State University, where Obama signed the sweeping farm bill into law last year. The efforts, many of which have their roots in that law, aim to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions, boost carbon capture and storage and come with various enticements, including grants, low-interest loans and technical assistance.

Vilsack said the agriculture industry accounts for about 9 percent of U.S. emissions, adding that compares favorably with the rest of the globe but can be improved.

"American farmers and ranchers are leaders when it comes to reducing carbon emissions and improving efficiency in their operations," he said in prepared remarks. "We can build on this success in a way that combats climate change and strengthens the American agriculture economy."

Before the event, Vilsack said officials "want to do this in a way that will help not only the environment but also improve agricultural productivity with improved yields, and we can also improve the bottom line of producers with greater efficiency."

Obama administration aides have said the issue of climate change became even more attractive after the November election, because the Democrat has considerable leverage to act without Congress. Such actions, though, have drawn fierce objections from Republicans and the energy industry.

Specific actions include reducing the unnecessary use of fertilizer and methane emissions from cattle and swine, reforesting areas damaged by wildfire and disease and encouraging tree planting in urban areas. For methane reduction in particular, the federal program promotes installing more anaerobic digesters, which use naturally occurring bacteria to break down organic waste to produce biogas, a fuel similar to natural gas.

Vilsack's department estimates that if all steps are followed, it would reduce emissions and enhance carbon sequestration by roughly 120 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent — akin to taking 25 million cars off the road a year.

Already, Obama has moved to cut U.S. emissions through tougher fuel economy standards and has set a target of reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions by up to 28 percent below its 2005 level by 2025.