Agricultural Advances Slow Down Global Warming

An added plus for advances in high-yield agriculture is that they have helped slow down global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In a paper to be published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Stanford researchers estimate that over half a trillion tons of carbon dioxide have been negated when forests or grasslands are cleared for farming.

The researchers compared emissions in the theoretical scenarios with real-world emissions from 1961 to 2005. They estimated that "actual improvements in crop yields probably kept greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to at least 317 billion tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, and perhaps as much as 590 billion tons."

"Our results dispel the notion that modern intensive agriculture is inherently worse for the environment than a more 'old-fashioned' way of doing things," said Jennifer Burney, lead author and researcher of Stanford University.

The Stanford press release is at http://foodsecurity.stanford.edu/news/highyield_
agriculture_slows_pace_of_global_warming_say_fse_researchers_20100614