In official greenhouse emission accounting terms (using the Kyoto Protocol standards), the global warming potential of 1 kilogram of nitrous oxide (N2O) is equivalent to the warming potential of 298 kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO2). Given that nitrous oxide emissions are the second biggest source of agricultural emissions (around 15 million tonnes out of total agricultural emissions of almost 90 million tonnes), and that there is such a high multiplier factor associated with calculating the warming effect of nitrous oxide emissions, it is obviously critical that any estimates of the sources of nitrous oxide are accurate. However, the Australian statistics that are relied on to calculate this estimate in Australia’s national emission accounts don’t provide a great deal of confidence that we really know how much of these emissions are produced in Australia. View the rest of the post here

The Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) has proposed cuts to a range of different Australian Government departments and programs, including completely cutting government funding for agricultural research and development. It seems the recommendation are based on a quick and dirty attempt to generate Australian Government budget savings rather than on any proper analysis. View the rest of the post here

There have been a number of instances recently of advocacy groups releasing new 'reports' which have gained significant and largely uncritical media attention and undoubtedly assisted the cause they were targeted at, but a closer look at the contents of some of those 'reports'  shows they are targeted at gaining media attention, rather than providing new information, and raises questions about the quality of media scrutiny. View the rest of the post here