Carbon sinks: Issues, markets, policy( SEPTEMBER 24 2008 -- With reducing c...)

SEPTEMBER 24, 2008 -- With reducing carbon emissions on the national agenda, a group of expert panelists will discuss methods, markets, testing and policy issues on how carbon sinks or carbon sequestration may be used to reduce atmospheric CO₂.

Carbon sequestration is the process through which carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere is absorbed by trees, plants and crops through photosynthesis, and stored as carbon in biomass (tree trunks, branches, foliage and roots) and soils. The term "sinks" is also used to refer to forests, croplands, and grazing lands, and their ability to sequester carbon. Agriculture and forestry activities can also release CO₂ to the atmosphere. So, a carbon sink occurs when carbon sequestration is greater than carbon releases over some time period.

The keynote symposium, "Carbon Sequestration: Methods, Markets and Policy," includes presentations by six experts. The symposium is being held on Wednesday, 8 Oct from 3:00 to 5:10 pm in the General Assembly Theater Hall C of the George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, TX, as part of the 2008 Joint Annual Meeting of five scientific societies.

According to a National Academy of Sciences 2001 report, "Greenhouse gases are accumulating in the Earth's atmosphere as a result of human activities, causing surface air temperatures and subsurface ocean temperatures to rise."

In addition to temperature, human-induced climate change may also affect growing seasons, precipitation and the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, such as fire. These changes can influence forests, farming and the health of ecosystems, and thus carbon sequestration.

Speakers at this session will environmental controls on the soil carbon cycle; forest carbon sequestration; testing commercial-scale geologic carbon sequestration; issues with ocean carbon sequestration; and legal and regulatory challenges facing carbon sequestrati
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