ADVISORY/October 10 Event in Berks County, PA Brings Environmentalists and Farmers Together to Fight Global Warming.Assignment Desks/Environment Writers ADVISORY...for Friday (Oct. 10) KUTZTOWN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 9, 2003 More than two decades of data from one of the world's longest-running research trials proves definitively that organic farming organic farming, the practice of raising plants—especially fruits and vegetables, but ornamentals as well—without the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. counters global warming global warming, the gradual increase of the temperature of the earth's lower atmosphere as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution. . The Rodale Institute(R) will unveil the results of its groundbreaking Farming Systems Trial(R) Friday, October 10 at its 333-acre farm in Kutztown, Pennsylvania Kutztown is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, 18 miles (29 km) west southwest of Allentown and 17 miles (27 km) northeast of Reading. As of the 2000 census, the borough has a total population of 5,067. . The research presents new findings important for both the environment and the agricultural industry. The Rodale Institute's studies show an average increase in soil carbon of about 1,000 pounds per acre-foot of soil, or about 3,500 pounds of carbon dioxide carbon dioxide, chemical compound, CO2, a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is about one and one-half times as dense as air under ordinary conditions of temperature and pressure. per acre-foot per year sequestered se·ques·ter v. se·ques·tered, se·ques·ter·ing, se·ques·ters v.tr. 1. To cause to withdraw into seclusion. 2. To remove or set apart; segregate. See Synonyms at isolate. 3. . If multiplied over the 160 million acres of corn and soybean soybean, soya bean, or soy pea, leguminous plant (Glycine max, G. soja, or Soja max) of the family Leguminosae (pulse family), native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Asia, where it has been produced nationally, 580 billion pounds of carbon dioxide could potentially be sequestered using existing low input organic farming methods Organic farming methods combine scientific knowledge and modern technology with traditional farming practices based on thousands of years of agriculture. The distinguishing principle is an avoidance of synthetic inputs, such as manufactured fertilizers and pesticides, and for this .
WHO: Speakers will be The Rodale Institute's Chairman Anthony
Rodale, Secretary Dennis Wolff, Pennsylvania Department of
Agriculture; and Secretary Kathleen McGinty, Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection.
WHAT: The Rodale Institute will release the findings from its
23-year Farming Systems Trial. The data proves organic
agriculture fights global warming and offers other
environmental, agricultural and economic benefits.
WHEN: Friday, Oct. 10, 2003
--10 a.m. to 11 a.m.: Press conference
--11:00 a.m. to noon: Farm tour
--Noon: Luncheon buffet
--1 p.m. to 4 p.m.: Public open house
WHERE: The Rodale Institute - Northern Berks County 611 Siegfriedale
Road, Kutztown, Pennsylvania.
Directions: See map at www.rodaleinstitute.org/about/where_set.html or call (610) 683-1400. Advance Information: Please call Ann Meyers or Michael Straus (see contacts) for any additional background information, and to confirm your attendance at the event. |
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