RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

Amid the bad news of the pandemic and the struggles we are having on so many fronts, there is some good progress in regard to mitigating global warming. Our federal legislators have introduced a bipartisan bill, The Growing Climate Solutions Act, which would establish a U.S. Department of Agriculture program to help farmers, ranchers and foresters implement carbon sequestration on their land. Sustainable farming practices, such as no-till, and conservation measures can help reduce the amount of greenhouse gasses going into our atmosphere. This program would recognize those efforts and give credit for them, which eventually could be monetized in a market.

The plan includes staff to offer assistance and a website to serve as a clearinghouse for information. Virginia’s U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th — who introduced the bill in the House of Representatives with U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb. — recently tweeted, “By incentivizing sustainability, we can help more family farms stay afloat.” Interestingly, the bill has wide support from farmers, the dairy lobby, environmentalists and from corporations such as McDonald’s and Microsoft. Our elected officials need to support this bill and keep it moving forward. Solutions to the climate crisis require this kind of innovation in all spheres of our society. This bill is a step in the right direction.

Monica Lewis
Richmond