350 Humboldt

350 Humboldt and Climate Action California have a joint committee on agricultural methane, especially from dairies. Dairies are the only large source of methane in California that is not regulated.

Below is an invitation/request for members of 350 Humboldt/CAC to participate in the CARB workshop being held Thursday on zoom and submit comments in favor of regulation. We are having a prep session tomorrow at noon. If you want to participate and can’t make the prep session send me an email at [email protected] and I will fill you in.

Thanks for helping.

Dan Chandler, Steering Committee and Chair of Joint Ag Methane Committee

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Next week is a big one for 350 Humboldt and Climate Action California’s continuing efforts to impel the California Air Resources Board to regulate methane from agriculture—our state’s biggest source of this super-potent, short-lived climate pollutant.

On Thursday, August 22, we’ll be speaking up for regulation at a California Air Resources Board (CARB) Dairy Sector Workshop. On Tuesday the 20th at noon, we’ll present a webinar that will fill people in on this critical climate issue, and prepare us to give public comment in person at the workshop, or later during the public comment period.

Join our Tuesday prep session for Thursday’s public workshop, or sign up to send a written comment urging CARB to do its job!

Some background: In March, Climate Action California formally petitioned CARB to regulate methane from agricultural sources, which by law they are required to do (SB 1383, 2016).

CARB staff  denied our petition, apparently hoping that continued reliance on incentives for the largest dairies to use anaerobic manure digesters will meet California’s statutory deadline for emissions reductions. Read the petition, a summary of our requests, and CARB staff’s response here.

As part of their response to our petition, CARB scheduled next Thursday’s public workshop, 10am-5pm in Fresno and on Zoom. The stated purpose of the workshop is to share and discuss CARB’s continuing data collection activities around California’s dairies. The unstated purpose may be to convince CARB board members that regulation is unnecessary.

Please join us on Tuesday to learn all about it, and then tell CARB to do what’s right for the climate and regulate methane from agriculture!

Photo: The Riverview Dairy Digester in Pixley, California receives manure from roughly 3,000 cows, plus replacement stock. (Photo courtesy of Maas Energy Works)