Agriculture is the biggest single green house gas polluter accounting for 25%of CO2 emissions, 60% of methane emissions and a whopping 85% of the nitrous oxide released into the atmosphere every year. It is only due to the importance of food production and food security that farmers have yet to be penalised for their premier role in global warming.
I am not suggesting that this will change in 2012. In fact, the industry is set to be rewarded for reclaiming some of the CO2 it has contributed (via carbon credits). The loss of 70% of our soil humus over the past 150 years has contributed 470 gigatonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere. All of mankind’s other enterprises, including industry and transport, have contributed 270 gigatonnes of CO2. Agriculture has been the big culprit and it will also prove to be the savior as no one else can save the day in time.