S.E.E. the Science #2: Carbon emissions from federal lands
FUSEE sees a Wildfire Triad that inalienably links Safety with Ethics and Ecology. If expedient policy decisions cause unsafe outcomes for wildland firefighters, then most probably ethics and ecosystems become damaged. When captured processes yield unethical results then, no doubt, safety becomes compromised and wildland ecology becomes harmed. When wildland management strictures trammel ecosystems, then you can bet firefighter safety withers and our legacy of wildland ethics atrophies. Scientific analyses remain the best chronicles of this triad. In this series, we explore crucial articles, analyses, and reports that demonstrate the best in wildland fire research.
The report confirms that Federal lands remain major atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) polluters due to fossil fuels extraction and their endpoint combustion. Federal lands also release other polluting Greenhouse Gases (GHG) such as methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). Importantly, hidden in plain sight, this report puts wildfire smoke in perspective. ex
Wildfires account for about 1% of total annual CO2 emissions from Federal lands. One percent! Federal lands comprise about 28% of US total area and account for 24% of CO2 emissions mainly due to extraction and combustion of fossil fuels. In 2014, Federal lands CO2 emissions from extracted fossil fuel equaled about 2,280 Million Metric Tons of Carbon diOxide Equivalent (MMT CO2 Eq.) Nationally, we emitted about 5,400 MMT CO2 Eq from fossil fuels. Wildfires’ ten year average (2005 -14) released about 21 MMT CO2 Eq each year or about 0.4% of annual total national CO2 emissions from fossil fuels. That represents less than one-half of 1%.
Some other analyses estimate that wildfires make up 5% to 10% of annual global CO2 emissions each year. But these calculate CO2 emissions globally and seem to include agricultural-purposed slash-and-burn and fires on private land. On U.S. Federal lands, Wildfires produce less than half of the CO2 and GHG emissions derived from timber harvest and a little more than half of the CO2 emissions produced by other agricultural harvest and land use change. Wildfires produce 1.2% of the amount of CO2 and GHG that rotting plant material emit on Federal lands.
Annually, Federal lands sequester about 15% of the fossil fuel CO2 extracted from these lands and then combusted elsewhere. Federal lands remain great sinks for CO2, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. Oregon has the highest net rate of carbon sequestration at 30 MMT CO2 Eq/yr, and only loses 1 to 2 MMT CO2 Eq/yr through yearly wildfire emissions. But Oregon loses 7 MMT CO2 Eq/yr through timber harvest. Montana, Washington, California, Idaho, and Colorado are also big sequesters, gaining 19 to 14 MMT CO2 Eq/yr. Through wildfires, they lose 1 to 5 MMT CO2 Eq/yr. Alas, Alaska may be beginning to lose a lot of carbon. Alaska averages a carbon sequestering rate of 18 MMT CO2 Eq/yr, but averages a carbon emissions from wildfire of 46 MMT CO2 Eq/yr. Thanks to Climate Change, Alaska wildfires now cause a net loss of 28 MMT CO2 Eq/yr.
[note to editor: header or words like “FUSEE thinks that…] All of this leads to some sobering realizations. First, at current average rates of net sequestering of 177 MMT CO2 Eq, it would take 30.5 years for Federal lands to sequester one year of total US fossil fuel emissions and about 7 years to sequester one year of fossil fuels emissions from federal lands.
Second, wildfires produce a trivial amount of CO2 and GHG emissions compared to combustion and extraction of fossil fuels. Wildfires and prescribed burning may even increase carbon sequestering due to long distant fertilizing and release of nutrients that stimulate plant growth. Severe fire usually releases only about 15% of the carbon stored in plant material. However, a significant amount of stored carbon may become less prone to rot or fire when converted to soot, ash, cinders, char, and fire-hardened wood.
Third, we must reduce the amount of fossil fuels extracted and combusted from Federal lands because, for civilization to survive, we must reduce atmospheric CO2. Afterall, the evil breath of fossil fuel spawn megafires. We can and should improve net sequestering on Federal lands. During the industrial era we asked our Federal lands to provide natural resources such as fossil fuels, minerals, timber, grazing, water, and recreation. During our current Global Warming era, we should ask our Federal lands to provide water, recreation, and carbon sequestration -- things that don’t threaten our skies. Federal land Total Ecosystem Carbon has a stock of about 82,804 MMT CO2 Eq, and soils represent about 64% of that. At current rates of CO2 release from fossil fuels, we will release the equivalent of our Federal land Ecosystem Carbon stock in a little over 15 years.
Another reason calls for curbing fossil fuel extraction from Federal lands. Because Federal lands produce about a quarter of fossil fuels, often below private land costs, they distort the market. Private landowners lose billions of dollars and this may become more important as worldwide fossil fuels gluts greatly reduce prices. When high gas mileage cars, low fuel consumption, and Electric Vehicles significant penetrate oil markets, demand stagnates. Then oversupply spirals prices down. Despite propaganda about gobs of jobs, automation continues to quash fossil fuel jobs. Many analysts view the oil and gas fracking industry as built on unsustainable debt and perhaps little better than a gigantic Ponzi scheme (see Desmogblog.com). The oil bosses have decided that there’s no career here. Move along.
The Federal government can reduce fossil fuel extraction on federal lands several ways. First, it’s about time the Feds collect outstanding royalties from deadbeat extractors. This may get many oil and coal extractors to scamper away and hid behind the skirts of their lawyers, and it’s something that taxpayers will appreciate. Second, the Feds should withdraw fossil fuel subsidies. Priceofoil.org estimates US “fossil fuel subsidies range from $10 billion to $52 billion annually – yet none of these include costs borne by taxpayers related to the climate, local environmental, and health impacts of the fossil fuel industry.” Third, we must demand that lessees comply with lease contracts. To paraphrase President Obama, why should we give them more leases when they aren’t properly using the leases they have now? It also means extractors must mitigate pollution. When they realize they can no longer profitably dump their garbage into the great atmospheric externality basket, they may walk away. Fourth, as a landowner and landlord, the feds can evict bad tenants. When these extractors become viewed as bad actors and undeserving, they must go. Finally, if the Feds won’t act, smart entrepreneurs can use Qui tam procedures to collect money owed to the government that fossil fuel extractors did not pay. Such actions can encourage leaseholders to stop many unsavory extraction activities.