US Seeks Cut In Greenhouse Gasses From Farms, Forests

The Obama Administration wants farmers and foresters to cut greenhouse gas emissions to meet climate change goal.

The Obama Administration is unveiling a plan to significantly cut so-called greenhouse gas emissions from US farms and forests.

The Administration launched the proposal at Michigan State University, where President Obama signed the landmark Farm Bill last year.

The policies, which are voluntary steps that do not require Congressional approval, range from cutting back on fertilizer and methane emissions from livestock on farms to using trees damaged by wildfires as building material.

Administration officials say the plan will help reach a goal set in a deal between the U.S. and China – the world’s biggest producers of greenhouse gases – to cut emissions almost by a third by 2025.

Critics call that target unrealistic.    

But U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack tells WDET’s Quinn Klinefelter the measures are ambitious, yet achievable.

Click on the audio link above the hear the full conversation.

Author

  • Quinn Klinefelter
    Quinn Klinefelter is a Senior News Editor at 101.9 WDET. In 1996, he was literally on top of the news when he interviewed then-Senator Bob Dole about his presidential campaign and stepped on his feet.