Calculating Carbon Footprints

To better know their carbon footprint, a group of Australian landowners are doing their own calculations on what climate change could mean for them. They're looking at ways to improve yields and efficiency in their respective industries while lowering emissions¹. Scientists are taking note.

Our reporter Li Dong has the details.

 
With climate change topping political agendas worldwide, the Australian farming industry is taking into account what it can do to lower emissions.

Agriculture produces around 16 percent of Australia's total emissions, making farmers a key part of the climate change solution.

Now one farmer has done his own greenhouse audit² to see how the industry can improve.

David Cattanach owns a farm in Riverina, New South Wales. He's doing everything he can to measure and reduce his farm's carbon footprint. But Cattanach says it's not all for the good of the land.

"I wasn't looking at it from an environmental point of view. To be honest, I was using it as another tool to flag areas where we could pick up on efficiency."

From livestock³ to transportation, farm machinery⁴ and fertilizer, all were thoroughly⁵ checked.

Cattanach says he was surprised to find that fertilizer contributes almost half the emissions produced on the farm, followed closely by diesel⁶ fuel at 38 percent and machinery at 7 percent.

"We were a bit concerned that we might have made a mistake with the audit. We expected to see diesel use fuel use to be the main contributor."

To reduce his footprint, Cattanach is changing the way he farms and changing the way he does business.

He now leaves corn stubble on top of the soil instead of burning it. This simple technique reduces surface evaporation⁷ and will enrich the quality of the soil in the long term.

Paying farmers to store more carbon in the ground is a solution currently under consideration in Australia. But Cattanach says it is simply not worth his time.

"For every ton of carbon I'll store, I'll tie up $190 (U.S.) worth of nitrogen phosphorous and sulfur⁸. It doesn't look like a very good investment, does it, if you're only going to give me 8 or 10 dollars a ton to tie it up for 100 years."

Cattanach was the first Australian to do an emissions audit on a working property. But now the Australian research group CSIRO is using those results to embark⁹ on a broader scheme working with 17 working groups across the country.

Scientists are testing new farming techniques like storing carbon in soil and producing higher yields while using less water. John Kirkegaard an agricultural researcher.

"All of our farmer groups were asked to benchmark their water use efficiency currently, and over the five years of the project they'll be looking to see how their innovations are improving. We know really that in many parts of Australia we're only achieving 60-70 percent of the efficiency that is possible, so there's lots of room for improvement."

Lowering inputs¹⁰, maintaining or increasing yields and lowering emissions are all factors working together. Kirkegaard says the scheme is creating a nationwide exchange of ideas.

"They share their challenges, they share their ideas, and I think, get a lot out of sharing those ideas to move their particular enterprise forward."

With a forecast for less rainfall in Australia in the future, the research findings will give farmers a head start on an ever-changing environment.

For CRI, I am Li Dong.

1 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

2 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。

3 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

4 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

5 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

6 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

7 evaporation   

n.蒸发，消失

参考例句：

• Be careful not to lose too much liquid by evaporation.小心不要因蒸发失去太多水分。
• Our bodies can sweat,thereby losing heat by evaporation.我们的身体能出汗，由此可以蒸发散热。

8 sulfur   

n.硫，硫磺（=sulphur）

参考例句：

• Sulfur emissions from steel mills become acid rain.炼钢厂排放出的硫形成了酸雨。
• Burning may produce sulfur oxides.燃烧可能会产生硫氧化物。

9 embark   

vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机

参考例句：

• He is about to embark on a new business venture.他就要开始新的商业冒险活动。
• Many people embark for Europe at New York harbor.许多人在纽约港乘船去欧洲。

10 inputs   

n.输入( input的名词复数 )；投入；输入端；输入的数据v.把…输入电脑( input的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Uncheck the inputs checked for optimization in the previous stage. 不测试那些已经测试过的优化了的以前步骤的inputs.（变量参数）。 来自互联网
• Just in case, save in a file the inputs obtained at the previous stage. 以防万一，保存以前步骤获得的inputs（变量参数值）到一个文件中去。 来自互联网