An Agricultural Revolution to Fight Climate Change?


Cars and coal may get most of the attention, but one of the biggest contributors to climate change is the food industry. Globally, agriculture accounts for at least 25 percent of humanity's annual greenhouse gas emissions, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. But some think that this situation could be radically changed-instead of just cutting agriculture's carbon footprint, maybe we can use agriculture to reverse climate change. By harnessing photosynthesis' power, experts think we can turn a major part of the problem into a solution. But can we take this new way of thinking out of the lab and into the policy realm? Will American farmers, many of whom deny climate change is man-made, get onboard? Will Big Agriculture join in-or is it too focused on today's profits to worry about tomorrow's climate? Featuring Peter Byck, Director and Producer, Carbon Nation, Professor of Practice, Arizona State University; Mark Hertsgaard; Judith D. Schwartz, Author, Cows Save the Planet and Other Improbable Ways of Restoring Soil to Heal the Earth; Kate Sheppard, Staff Reporter, Mother Jones; Barry C. Lynn, Director, Markets, Enterprise and Resiliency Initiative, New America Foundation; Matthew Yglesias, Business and Economics Correspondent, Slate.
Date:
July 24, 2013
Run time:
1:18:54
Categories:
Science Policy
Location:
New America, Washington, DC
Presented by:
Future Tense and New America