Under the right conditions, nature can play a substantial role in eliminating our climate change crisis. For hundreds of millions of years, the photosynthesis process in trees, shrubs and grasses has taken carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and turned it with water into sugars as basis for plant material. A large portion of the sugars is transported through the stems into the roots and provided to microorganisms in exchange for nutrients. In this way the plant captures atmospheric carbon dioxide and pumps the carbon into the soil.
When plants degrade over time or are consumed, part of the carbon eventually returns to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. This is the Earth’s natural carbon cycle – a cycle that is now out of balance due to humans emitting CO2 at unprecedented rates. One way to restore this balance is to protect, enhance, and expand the natural ecosystems that capture and store carbon dioxide. |
Over 40% of America’s land – over 650 million acres - is devoted to grazing animals and growing their feed. If different grazing methods were used on half of our grasslands, we could store 25% of all US CO2 emissions every year.
Many ranchers utilize these techniques profitably, but they are not common practice. We aim to change that by supporting landowners and preserving their rights. We and designing a system with terms that work for both landowners and carbon buyers. |