[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 161 (Friday, October 7, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1031]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING THE WORK OF UTAH STATE REPRESENTATIVE KEVEN STRATTON

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN R. CURTIS

                                of utah

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 7, 2022

  Mr. CURTIS. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record the following op-
ed:

                [From the Deseret News, Sept. 27, 2022]

        Opinion: This Utah Climate Action is a Win for All Sides

                          (By Keven Stratton)

       The recent divisive partisan fight in Washington over the 
     Democrats' controversial $369 billion climate legislation was 
     disappointing to watch.
       Equally troubling is how the climate and energy provisions 
     in the bill are being ``scored'' as a ``zero-sum game.'' 
     Renewable energy provisions are deemed a ``win'' for climate, 
     while provisions supporting fossil fuel use are viewed as a 
     ``loss.''
       A much better public policy approach is to develop the 
     broadest bipartisan consensus on as many issues as possible. 
     Utah has shown that on important climate questions not only 
     can we achieve this but that unanimity is even possible.
       In the last legislative session, we unanimously passed and 
     Gov. Spencer Cox signed HCR1, ``Concurrent Resolution to Work 
     Together to Address the Climate, Public Lands, and Carbon 
     Sequestration,'' which lays out a win-win strategy for 
     protecting and improving our natural resources and the 
     environment while also significantly controlling greenhouse 
     gases.
       The underlying approach in HCR1 is to protect the 
     atmospheric carbon now being stored in natural systems like 
     forests and rangeland soils while also sequestering 
     additional CO2 by better harnessing the processes nature has 
     perfected and proven throughout the ages.
       Everyone understands how forest fires massively contribute 
     to air pollution and produce greenhouse gases. Less well 
     understood is the importance of rangeland and soil health, 
     and HCR1 also highlights this. The proven potential here is 
     enormous, as several examples illustrate. Dr. Fred Provenza, 
     world-renowned emeritus professor at Utah State University, 
     and several colleagues have estimated that simply restoring 
     the soil health of the world's historic grasslands could 
     ``lower greenhouse gas concentrations to pre-industrial 
     levels in a matter of decades.''
       The Rodale Institute has done extensive surveys and 
     conducted field trials of organic and regenerative 
     agriculture practices in the U.S. and abroad. Based on this 
     they conclude: ``We have proven that organic agriculture and, 
     specifically, regenerative organic agriculture can sequester 
     carbon from the atmosphere and reverse climate change . . . . 
     With the use of cover crops, compost, crop rotation and 
     reduced tillage, we can actually sequester more carbon than 
     is currently emitted, tipping the needle past 100% to reverse 
     climate change.''
       This approach is also a win-win because these natural 
     sequestration processes also generate many valuable ``co-
     benefits.'' These include improved water quality and 
     quantity, better fish and wildlife habitat, increased 
     biodiversity, improved food and commodity yields using far 
     less chemicals, better drought resiliency, reduced flooding 
     and danger of catastrophic wildfire, as well as stronger and 
     more prosperous rural economies, among others.
       HCR1 focuses primarily on improving federal forest 
     management to better prevent catastrophic wildfires but its 
     basic principles are broadly applicable. While the federal 
     government is beginning to incorporate some of its 
     recommendations in managing forests and rangelands, these 
     efforts are pitifully inadequate in light of the magnitude of 
     both the problems and the potential for remediation.
       One of HCR1's most significant recommendations is that the 
     federal government adopt a ``social benefits of carbon 
     control'' test to rank climate policy options. Since many 
     different policies can lower greenhouse gas levels, it is 
     only common sense and responsible policy-making to choose the 
     most co-beneficial ones. Applying this test would allow us to 
     transition to the energy sources of the future more 
     gradually, rationally, economically and responsibly while 
     still addressing climate concerns. It would mean we could 
     still provide the affordable, abundant and reliable energy 
     that is so essential to improving and maintaining our quality 
     of life. Rather than engaging in a zero-sum game, we could 
     choose a win-win solution. HCR1 passed unanimously because it 
     incorporates such a ``climate-smart'' approach. It teaches an 
     important lesson that, sadly, Washington has yet to learn.

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