In yet another example of slight of hand, Barry's Administration is now in the process of spending over $17 Million to do, of all things, explore how best to go about the establishing of a market for carbon credits. Ah, your tax dollars at work. More money well spent by Barry "Almighty." But then I guess that would depend on your point of view as well as your IQ. What this is, is but one more example of the rogue nature of this administration, with Barry's Department of Agriculture (USDA) announcing in a news release (see bottom) that it has awarded $17.4 Million for pilot projects that will begin exploring how to establish a market for greenhouse gas (GHG) credits, something that is a key component of a cap and trade system, to help reduce carbon and other emissions that apparently contribute to what can only be described as a fictional global warming. So apparently, no matter how much evidence is presented that this whole notion of man made global warming/climate change is nothing but a sham, these people intend to continue to operate as if it is a proven fact. Agriculture Secretary, and Barry stooge, Tom Vilsack said the projects were the “foundational work” for establishing an American carbon market. “This is really sort of foundational work that’s being done,” Vilsack told reporters on a conference call on Wednesday. Foundational work? What the Hell does that mean. I just don't trust any of these clowns as far as I can throw them, especially Barry. They just are able to lie way too easily.
This $17.4 Million in wasteful spending is all part of something called the Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) program, which, I guess, is something that's supposed to foster innovation in environmental conservation technology and business. Right! It's most likely nothing more than a very creative way to siphon off taxpayer money and direct it toward Barry's political allies. But let's suppose that that's not what's going on. In this case, the administration has received "special funding" to provide CIG grants for projects that demonstrate methods for establishing a GHG-offset markets in agriculture. Greenhouse gas offsets, more commonly referred to as carbon credits, are a key component of a Cap and Trade system, the ‘trade’ part of the scheme in fact. Under cap and trade, businesses with GHG offsets can sell them to other businesses that need the offsets to stay under some hypothetical emissions cap, which is the government established legal limit on carbon-dioxide and other GHG emissions. (Under cap and trade, in general, companies that exceed their “cap” on greenhouse gas emissions can “trade” (buy) credits as compensation, the money for which is applied to more environmentally friendly industries; you pollute, you pay, and the money goes to green companies.) The cost in jobs lost as well as in energy costs that the American people will be "forced" to endure, should any of this nonsense ever become a reality, will be nothing short of astronomical. Yet, onward we go!
As the theory goes, GHG offsets can come from anything that reduces the amount of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gasses that are emitted into the air, from a pledge to keep rural land undeveloped to planting trees to changing how farms handle animal waste or fertilizer. “We want to help farmers and ranchers make important and innovative contributions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Vilsack said. “These grants are designed to test and verify exciting new approaches to greenhouse gas reduction that other conservation-minded producers will want to put to work on their operations.” In other words, the CIG grants fund projects that attempt to measure the quantity of GHGs that are saved, by not farming rural land, for example, and how those savings affect the value of the offsets – how many GHG credits a particular action is worth. Have you ever heard of anything as insane as this whole cockamamie notion? It is pure drivel, being propagated via the highest levels of our government with to sole intent being that it's we humans who are responsible for something that has been proven to be a nonevent. It's pure, unadulterated lunacy, that has absolutely no basis in fact or science! Liberals assume that if they sound the alarm often enough and loud enough the rest of us will come to realize that yes, we are at fault of whatever climate change may be occurring. We cannot allow ourselves to fall into their insidious little trap that based on faux science.
In a cap and trade system, as it is currently being portrayed, farmers, ranchers, and other agriculture producers would theoretically stand to make money by selling credits to other, GHG-intense businesses such as manufacturers and power companies. Keep in mind here that this is all strictly "theoretical," with there being absolutely no basis in actual fact. Among the projects being funded with our tax money is a $1 Million program that stretches across eight states and is described as being done in an effort to show that beef and dairy farmers can be "incentivized" to change how they handle animal feeding and manure to produce less methane emissions. You gotta be kidding me. Supposedly there are scientists who believe cattails and tules may help to rebuild sinking islands in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and combat global warming. Another $1.2 Million grant has been given to an Indian tribe in Washington State for the purpose of examining how to value and trade GHG offsets for planting trees, improved forest management, and not developing forested lands in tribal areas. Does this whole thing sound screwy to anyone other than me? Each of the nine projects funded under the special CIG grants – totaling $7.4 Million – aim to develop ways to integrate conservation and agriculture reforms into a GHG offset market, the type of market that would be critical to a functioning cap and trade system.
The USDA will also disburse an additional $10 Million through what it calls its Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) grant program to further aid in these efforts. Vilsack said the reason the Agriculture Department was getting involved in the establishment of carbon markets, which currently exist only in states like California and the Northeast, was to better "integrate the federal government into regional cap and trade systems," so that the government has a better understanding of how GHG offset markets function. Ya, that's what we need to do, "better integrate the federal government" into this idiotic system. “[W]e’re hopeful that this would create opportunities for better collaboration for ourselves at USDA and the various states that are themselves establishing markets and that this would assist us in building the capacity within USDA to understand how these markets work and how we might be able to do more of this in the future,” said Vilsack. If the American people do not make their voice heard this completely bogus theory of man made global warming/climate change is going to shoved down our throats just as was healthcare "reform." Republicans in Congress, as well as our presidential candidates, Mitt Romney notwithstanding, are going to be counted on to lead on this issue and will be held accountable if they're unable, or unwilling, to bring this nonsense to a halt. They may very well prove to be our last line of defense in being able to stop this insanity.
News release follows in quotes:
"USDA Funds Projects to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions in 24 States
WASHINGTON, June 8, 2011— Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today approved about $7.4 million to fund nine large-scale greenhouse gas mitigation projects in 24 states through U.S. Department of Agriculture's Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG).
"We want to help farmers and ranchers make important and innovative contributions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions," Vilsack said. "These grants are designed to test and verify exciting new approaches to greenhouse gas reduction that other conservation-minded producers will want to put to work on their operations."
In addition to the $7.4 million, USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), which administers CIG, will provide $10 million through its regular Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to eligible producers to implement conservation practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
NRCS received 43 CIG proposals from 28 states. Nine projects were approved and will be implemented in 24 states. Grant recipients are required to provide matching funds—both cash and in-kind services.
CIG, a component of EQIP, stimulates development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies. NRCS uses CIG to invest in innovative, on-the-ground conservation technologies and approaches with the goal of wide-scale adoption to address water quality and quantity, air quality, energy conservation, and environmental markets, among other natural resource issues. Grants are awarded to state and local governments, federally-recognized Indian tribes, non-governmental organizations and individuals.
A summary of all selected proposals awarded in 2011 Conservation Innovation Grant is available below and at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/cig/2011ghgawards.html.
Adaptation of a Forest Carbon Protocol to Include Tribal Lands (Washington) – $1.226 million to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation to adapt and implement forest carbon sequestering practices and to develop protocols that overcome the legal and technical barriers faced by tribes in entering carbon credit trading markets.
Agricultural Soil Carbon: Developing a Large-scale Agricultural Soil Carbon Transaction in the Palouse Region (Idaho, Oregon, Washington) – $550,000 to Applied Ecological Services, Inc. to work with landowners to provide a roadmap for monetizing or determining a value for carbon credits arising from soil carbon enhancing conservation practices such as no-till and crop rotation on 1 million acres across the Palouse ecoregion.
Bringing Greenhouse Gas Benefits to Market: Nutrient Management for Nitrous Oxide Reductions (Illinois, Michigan, Oklahoma) – $400,000 to the Delta Institute and its partners to create a system that allows producers to earn greenhouse gas credits for their nutrient management and conservation practices on at least 60,000 acres.
Dairy Farm Stewardship Toolkit (California, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin) – $1.102 million to the Dairy Science Institute, Inc. to work with dairy farmers across 12 states to develop a decision support tool that helps those farmers enhance their conservation efforts to reduce greenhouse gases.
Demonstrating Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions in California and Mid-south Rice Production (Arkansas, California) – $1.089 million to the Environmental Defense Fund to develop and implement a first-of-its-kind initiative to demonstrate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in rice production.
Ducks Unlimited Avoided Grassland Conversion Carbon Project (North Dakota, South Dakota) – $161,000 to Ducks Unlimited, Inc. to develop tools for grassland producers to help them monetize or determine a value for the carbon storage benefit of retaining rangeland that may otherwise be converted to cropland on 10,000 acres in North Dakota and 15,000 acres in South Dakota.
Estimating Nitrous Oxide Reductions from Nutrient Management in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed (Maryland, Virginia) – $455,000 to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation to develop a tool for estimating Nitrous Oxide reduction from nutrient management in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and to reduce technological and financial barriers to certifying carbon offset credits generated by nutrient management.
Piloting Innovative Beef and Dairy Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Strategies in U.S. Feedlots and Dairies (Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Texas, Wisconsin) – $1.056 million to Unison Resource Co. to pilot test methodologies that qualify carbon offsets and that stimulate feed use efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, monetize carbon credits, and enhance economic viability in the beef and dairy industries.
Smart Nitrogen Application Program Demonstration Program Project (Iowa, Illinois) – $1.429 million with The Fertilizer Institute to develop a framework for delivering marketable carbon credits associated with Nitrous Oxide emission reduction when producers implement nutrient stewardship management practices on approximately 50,000 acres.
For more information about USDA's CIG, please visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/cig/index.html.
# USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202-720-6382 (TDD)."
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