People prefer ‘natural’ strategies to reduce atmospheric carbon
May 26, 2021
Research co-led by Fellow Jonathon Schuldt (CALS) found that most of the U.S. public is supportive of soil carbon storage as a climate change mitigation strategy, particularly when viewed as ‘natural.’
“Soil carbon storage was among the top strategies in terms of public support from the survey. That seems to reflect—at least in part—that soil carbon storage is widely perceived as a natural approach to addressing climate change,” says Schuldt.
“The findings also suggest that policies advancing soil carbon storage may hold more bipartisan support than previously assumed. Even those we surveyed who identified as ‘a farmer’ expressed clear support for soil carbon storage, suggesting that this critical stakeholder group may be more accepting than hesitant when considering new practices.”
This work was co-led by Shannan Sweet (CALS Postdoc and 2016 Cornell Atkinson/TNC NatureNet Postdoc) and was co-authored by Deborah Bossio (The Nature Conservancy), Dominic Woolf (CALS), and Johannes Lehmann (CALS).
Rapid Response Fund support from Cornell Atkinson enabled researchers to obtain the high-quality, nationally representative survey sample at the heart of this project.
Read the full story in the Cornell Chronicle