Alaska

While politicians around the world debate how to reduce human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, scientists are making some unsettling discoveries about another developing greenhouse gas problem: nature’s own emissions.

A study published this week shows that the amount of carbon locked in the Arctic permafrost is more than double previous estimates. Additionally, other research shows that the permafrost is thawing, meaning this enormous amount of carbon could be released into the atmosphere as the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane.

The thawing of the permafrost is especially dangerous because it could cause a domino effect of more warming that, for now, cannot be checked by human engineering or policy.

"We now estimate the deposits contain over 1.5 trillion tons of frozen carbon, about twice as much carbon as contained in the atmosphere", said Dr. Charles Tarnocai, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, and lead author of the study, published in Global Biogeochemical Cycles.

As long as permafrost is frozen, the carbon in the soil is locked up.

But when it thaws, the carbon becomes exposed, and microbes called methanogens break down the carbon and release methane, a greenhouse gas that is 20 times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide.

As you may have heard, Governor Sarah Palin announced an energy plan last week that includes an ambitious goal of getting 50 percent of Alaska's power from renewables by 2025. Yesterday, she touted it in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. But is it a real goal with real policy force behind it, or just green lip service?

For now, the answer -- it seems -- is the latter.

You see, Palin declared the 50 by 2025 objective at a press conference to announce the state's new report, Alaska Energy: A First Step Toward Energy Independence (PDF). The stated aim of the study is to provide local Alaskan communities with a list of available energy resources and to help them choose the cheapest options. Essentially, it's a 254-page energy guide to Alaska, with no trace of a renewables goal anywhere. Have a look for yourself. Download the PDF, search for the "50 percent" goal and you'll see:

No matches found.

The press release accompanying the report, however, tells a whole different story: