Alternative Policies to Address Emissions in U.S. Dairy Farming - See more at: http://www.choicesmagazine.org/choices-magazine/submitted-articles/alternative-policies-to-address-emissions-in-us-dairy-farming#sthash.OYP0YWJc.dpuf

A sharp build-up of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) levels in the atmosphere has coincided with a general change in the earth’s ecosystem that is characterized by an increase in global average temperatures. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), average temperatures have risen 1.5°F over the past century and are projected to rise to 0.5°F to 8.6°F over the next one-hundred years (EPA, 2016a). Increasing temperatures have been accompanied by rising sea levels, flooding, extreme heat waves, drought, and frequent and intense storms. Scientists who study the myriad issues associated with these extreme weather events, such as their frequency, intensity, duration, and timing, have been able to draw a causal link between these severe weather events and climate change (IPCC, 2014; EPA, 2016). The Dairy industry is already subject to some environmental regulation. Agricultural operations where livestock are kept and raised in confined situations, defined as Animal Feeding Operations, are required to apply for and be issued permits from a designated regulatory authority within their state. Due to the risk of animal waste and wastewater being discharged into water bodies, such facilities are regulated under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). The NPDES is a program created under the Clean Water Act (1972) that seeks to protect the quality of groundwater and public health.