Farmers are an Important Part of Solving the Climate Crisis

By Pam Knox

Rising temperatures from increased greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane are affecting many aspects of life, including sea level rise, rising costs of utilities, and production management for agriculture. Agriculture is often blamed for the increase in greenhouse gases, although in reality there are other factors that contribute just as much. But agriculture has not been provided with as many tools to help curb the production of greenhouse gases as other industries like power production, leaving them to be attacked for their practices.

In reality, farmers have a lot to contribute to the conversation about how to reduce greenhouse gases and slow the rise in temperatures, and they will be an essential part of the process to solve the climate crisis. This blog post from my colleague Dr. Jonathan Foley from 2019 describes a number of ways that farmers can help sequester carbon in the soil and trees as well as reduce emissions from livestock.