Carbon Offsetting??Please show me the theory in practice.

[Lazy Sod]

You just say to Mr Large Scale Polluter:

"Come and visit my carbon credit shop where I can show you our range of beautiful fig leaves, available in various sizes, also we have a wonderful range of new clothes, as supplied to the Emperor. We will charge you an annual fee and we will carry on doing what we were doing already. You will then be able to sleep at night with a clear conscience, and be assured that your activities will harm nobody."

 

[farmerm]

No one is arguing that they have, but the three key issues are: 1) Cattle are on of the biggest producers, and 2) we are topping up what is already their, it's not an annual total it's a rolling accumulation. 3) Cattle are the low hanging fruit.

In most developed regions cattle numbers are falling, however in developing areas (Africa, Asia) they are sky rocketing. (and pigs)

There is no rolling accumulation or topping up from cattle because methane does not persist. Todays cattle emissions only replace what was emitted by the cattle 10 years ago, who replaced the methane released by cattle 10 years before that! Methane emmisions from todays cattle only serve to maintain historic methane emmsions from cattle, there has been no increase. So yes we need to work out how to avoid increasing cattle numbers globally but the narrative being spun about how our nations cattle contribution to global warming is simply false. UK agriculture can help with solutions but why should UK beef producers be demonised as being a big part of the problem when the increased in methane has come from just about everywhere except British cattle.

 

[Lazy Sod]

UK cattle numbers have fallen from a peak of 15 million in 1975 to about 9 million now.

Source: @Cowabunga

 

[Kiwi Pete]

Never much pressure on to reduce the number of cars, globally or otherwise.

Again, "they" appear to have the idea that humanity can quietly adapt away from all the stuff we do that consumes resources and pollutes

it's never the catastrophic "you must stop" message that red meat gets, you must redesign your diet but nothing else will need redesigned, go back to sleep dear

 

[egbert]

One hears a lot about the theory of Carbon Offsetting in many industries including Agriculture.As Co2 is something I can’t see or touch how where can I get practical proof that carbon offsetting works in practice.
In theory if my tractor supposedly omits “x”amount of Co2 a year ,am I meant to think that the crops, permanent grass and woodland on my theoretical farm are meant absorb a certain amount of Co2, that may be more or less Co2 than the amount my tractor omits?
The trouble is I can’t see anything happening so how do I know the theory of Carbon Offsets work and it is not just a load of an unworkable Theory.
I am sincerely sceptical of Carbon Offsetting actually doing what scientists would have us believe.

It's a scam.

Yes, hedges/woodland/PP sequester carbon to grow.
Sadly, they quickly reach a ceiling, above which it's very difficult indeed - in UK conditions, to hold any more.

Imagine planting an oak woodland. In 100 years +/_ your mighty oaks will start shedding branches and rotting from the inside.
(And I know a lot about this) Hence, they're not sequestering any more.

Hedges? Give me a break....where is any extra carbon being held?
Grassland? It becomes increasingly unstable, the more carbon you sock away.

Meantime, the CO2 released by burning fossil fuels was previously locked away for about 350 million years, having taken millions of years to lay down in a world that no longer exists.
Dwell on those numbers.

I'm prepared to take their money - we're all going to carry on burning fossil fuels anyway- AS LONG AS the contract doesn't hold my successors to showing the carbon gain.

 

[thesilentone]

UK cattle numbers have fallen from a peak of 15 million in 1975 to about 9 million now.

Source: @Cowabunga

Maybe in the UK, however we alone will have little impact on global emissions, the World figure is around 1.0Bn.

There are some interesting stats, like a dairy cow in India produces 1/12 th of the milk produced by one in the USA per year. India has almost 20% of the World Population, and is the Worlds largest dairy producer. Doubling the production of dairy cows in India would cut global emissions of CH4 significantly.

 

[thesilentone]

There is no rolling accumulation or topping up from cattle because methane does not persist. Todays cattle emissions only replace what was emitted by the cattle 10 years ago, who replaced the methane released by cattle 10 years before that! Methane emmisions from todays cattle only serve to maintain historic methane emmsions from cattle, there has been no increase. So yes we need to work out how to avoid increasing cattle numbers globally but the narrative being spun about how our nations cattle contribution to global warming is simply false. UK agriculture can help with solutions but why should UK beef producers be demonised as being a big part of the problem when the increased in methane has come from just about everywhere except British cattle.

As per the previous post, we are not seen in isolation, and global emissions of CH4 have increased dramatically, of which cattle are a big a contributor and an easy target.

 

[DaveGrohl]

UK cattle numbers have fallen from a peak of 15 million in 1975 to about 9 million now.

Source: @Cowabunga

Christ alive, how many times? We need credible sources.

 

[DaveGrohl]

UK cattle numbers have fallen from a peak of 15 million in 1975 to about 9 million now.

Source: @Cowabunga

 

[farmerm]

As per the previous post, we are not seen in isolation, and global emissions of CH4 have increased dramatically, of which cattle are a big a contributor and an easy target.

As per previous post CH4 emissions have indeed dramatically increased but cattle have not contributed to this increase.

 

[DaveGrohl]

GB/UK cattle numbers since 1866. Sometimes Google is a good thing.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjXqsfkrqL0AhUGgFwKHTDWDpYQFnoECAIQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fuploads%2Fsystem%2Fuploads%2Fattachment_data%2Ffile%2F967998%2Fstructure-june-ukkeyresults-22dec20.ods&usg=AOvVaw3d2trV8N98afL38zDlHN0X

 

[DaveGrohl]

As per previous post CH4 emissions have indeed dramatically increased but cattle have not contributed to this increase.

Indeed, it's crucially important to distinguish between current increases in methane globally from ALL sources and comparatively flat emissions from farmed ruminants.

 

[Muddyroads]

Can someone who knows their figures better than me come up with the amount of co2 emitted globally annually compared to the amount which can realistically be expected to be absorbed by the earths soil and trees?
My guess is that no amount of offsetting will compensate for annual emissions.

 

[DaveGrohl]

Can someone who knows their figures better than me come up with the amount of co2 emitted globally annually compared to the amount which can realistically be expected to be absorbed by the earths soil and trees?
My guess is that no amount of offsetting will compensate for annual emissions.

Well quite. Sorry, I don't have those figures, I doubt they exist.

 

[Hindsight]

There is evidence out there that the secret 'New World Order' or whoever you want to call them (those who actually call the shots, behind the scenes) have been slowly implementing their plan for decades.There's a document somewhere, the minutes of a meeting from the 90s that shows the global plan is to split industry around the world ie farming - US, heavy industry China and the East, Finance Europe / UK. The tool put forward for doing this : climate change.

I don't wear a tinfoil hat but you do sometimes have to wonder.

What do the Africans do? Asking for a friend (a Ghanaian)

 

[egbert]

Can someone who knows their figures better than me come up with the amount of co2 emitted globally annually compared to the amount which can realistically be expected to be absorbed by the earths soil and trees?
My guess is that no amount of offsetting will compensate for annual emissions.

I chewed out the UK figures, working on publicly available CO2 release, and a tonne of carbon for a tonne of tree growth - which isn't quite right, but I didn't have the numbers to hand.

I quickly got to .....UK CO2 emissions would take 150% of our landmass in new well managed conifer plantation to counter.
IE...we can't do it.
And anyway, what happens in 50-60 years when growth rate slows and the trees blow over and start to rot?
soil? Good functional peat hereabouts is growing at 10 cubic meters per hectare per annum - according to the peat fetishists I have to endure.
IE 1mm upwards growth
Regrettably, almost all of it is water/void. Actual carbon...far less

 

[Kiwi Pete]

I chewed out the UK figures, working on publicly available CO2 release, and a tonne of carbon for a tonne of tree growth - which isn't quite right, but I didn't have the numbers to hand.

I quickly got to .....UK CO2 emissions would take 150% of our landmass in new well managed conifer plantation to counter.
IE...we can't do it.
And anyway, what happens in 50-60 years when growth rate slows and the trees blow over and start to rot?
soil? Good functional peat hereabouts is growing at 10 cubic meters per hectare per annum - according to the peat fetishists I have to endure.
IE 1mm upwards growth
Regrettably, almost all of it is water/void. Actual carbon...far less

Holy crap!

150%??

the solution is right there.... invade France

 

[Pilatus]

Although the British Antarctic Survey do a lot of supposedly essential scientific work to help us understand how we can reduce Global Warming,I have to ask how they can justify the Carbon Omissions that the Sir David Attenborough research ship will omit on its journey to Antarctica, and in due course the omissions it makes when it goes to the other end of the planet the Arctic?
It never ceases to amaze me how organisations can justify their Carbon Omissions by saying, “it all in the name of science “.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

A good question is why anyone feels the need to justify anything, any of it?

 

[BrianV]

Do hedges really sequester much carbon ? sure they absorb loads of co2 throughout the growing season but come the autumn the majority get flailed by a tractor burning fossil fuel and all the trimmings decompose and release all the co2 back into the atmosphere.

Perhaps we should remove all these carbon producing hedges then, it would save all that diesel trimming them & make our life far easier!