The capture of methane from mines and the sequestration of carbon dioxide through rice cultivation to offset heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions will be discussed Aug. 19 at a California Air Resources Board workshop in Sacramento.

Under CARB's economywide cap-and-trade program, offset credits may be used by companies to meet greenhouse gas emission caps through reductions occurring outside their facilities.

Each CARB offset credit is equal to one metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent. Credits may only be generated through implementation of an offset project for which CARB has adopted a compliance offset protocol. 

The board already has approved protocols for quantifying offset credits for forestry management, urban forestry, dairy methane digesters, and the destruction of existing refrigerants in old refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment.

The board is expected to vote on the offset protocols for methane from mines and rice cultivation in the fall.

Little Hoover Commission to Meet on Adaptation

California's Commission on California State Government Organization and Economy, known as the Little Hoover Commission, will hold a hearing Aug. 22 in Sacramento to review governance and legal structures needed to implement measures to adapt to climate change.

An independent state oversight agency created in 1962, the commission's mission is to investigate state government operations at the request of citizens, legislators, and other sources and offer recommendations through reports and legislative proposals. 

At the hearing, Charles Lester, executive director of the California Coastal Commission, will discuss the implications of a rising Pacific Ocean and Ann C. Chan, deputy secretary for the California Natural Resources Agency, will discuss climate change and energy issues.

Other speakers include Daniel Mazmanian, a professor on governance structures at the University of Southern California; Susanne Moser, director and principal researcher of Research & Consulting; Robert Verchick, a professor of disaster law at Loyola University in New Orleans; and Stephen G. Bushnell, senior director of the Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company.

Energy, Climate Webinars on Agenda

The Energy Department's Wind Powering America program will host a webinar Aug. 21 to discuss the 2012 Market Report on U.S. Wind Technologies in Distributed Applications.

Speakers include Alice Orrell, energy analyst at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Heather Rhoads-Weaver, principal consultant at eFormative Options, and Jennifer Jenkins, executive director of the Distributed Wind Energy Association.

The Joint Fire Science Program, a federally funded research program, will hold a webinar Aug. 20 on "Fire Management, Fuels, and Climate Change Tipping Points." Bob Keane, research ecologist with the Department of Agriculture's Forest Service, will present results of research based on possible climate change scenarios.

 Sustainability Event in Washington, D.C.

The Women's Council on Energy and the Environment will hold a brown-bag luncheon Aug. 21 in Washington, D.C., on "Risky Business: How Can a Company Minimize Its Exposure to the Expanding Scope of Risk?"

The lunch will feature Bob Pojasek, sustainability leader at Exponent Inc., and Jane C. Luxton, partner in the environment and energy practice group of Pepper Hamilton LLP.