THE CALIFORNIA GOLF CARBON
PROJECT
CREATING SUSTAINABLE FUNDING
FOR RESEARCH FROM CARBON
SEQUESTERED BY TURFGRASS
GOLF GRASS NATURALLY REMOVES CO2 FROM THE AIR.
Scientists call it “turfgrass carbon sequestration” but don’t let that
language confuse you. It’s just a fancy phrase for pulling carbon dioxide
out of the air and into the soil. Grass and plants need CO2 to grow. As
they pull carbon out of the atmosphere and into the ground, they
generate the oxygen needed for life on planet earth. It’s a win-win.
Our research with Colorado State University and the US Department of
Agriculture has recently demonstrated that golf course grass is
removing and permanently storing large quantifiable amounts of
carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the ground. It’s time we
recognize the service turfgrass is providing.
PARTICIPATING GOLF COURSES DONATE THEIR CARBON TO THE
COORDINATOR OF THE PROGRAM, GOLFPRESERVES®, TO START THE
PROCESS.
Golf courses in California are sitting on a sustainability funding
resource that can fund research and positive public relations for golf
and turfgrass in the state. All they have to do is donate the carbon
removed from the air by their grass. Signing up is free and easy. As an
example, sixteen golf courses in Colorado donated more than 2,000
acres of turfgrass to start the project in their state.
GOLFPRESERVES® QUANTIFIES AND VERIFIES THE AMOUNT OF
CARBON STORED UNDER EACH GOLF COURSE.
Golfpreserves® quantifies and verifies the amount of carbon stored
beneath each golf course by using digital aerial photography,
management information supplied by the golf course superintendent,
weather data, soils information, topographic mapping and the Century
Model for the determination of carbon sequestration in the soil at the
specific site.
GOLFPRESERVES® AGGREGATES THE CARBON FROM PARTICIPATING
COURSES INTO A MARKETABLE CERTIFICATE.
The carbon from one course is too small to market by itself.
Golfpreserves® provides a valuable service by aggregating the carbon
assets into a viable quantity and arranging the sale of certificates.
So what’s the difference between carbon credits and our carbon
certificates?
A carbon credit is a document that is used to “offset emissions” of
carbon dioxide and could be seen as a “license to pollute” since the
net amount cleared from the atmosphere is zero. A “carbon
certificate” documents carbon dioxide removed from the air and
stored permanently. It confirms the environmental benefit of the
practice as a totally positive reduction of pollution.
GOLFPRESERVES® MARKETS THE CARBON CERTIFICATES TO BUSINESSES
AND THE PUBLIC AND THEN DONATES THE PROCEEDS TO FUND RESEARCH
AND PUBLIC RELATIONS TO MAKE GOLF MORE SUSTAINABLE.
When a certificate is purchased, it documents the year and amount of
carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere and the exact place where
it is stored confirming the measured environmental benefit of less carbon
dioxide in the air. The certificate has no time limit and is useful to
demonstrate environmental activism, participation and stewardship by
the owner. The funds generated from the sale of certificates go to the
organizations selected by California golf to distribute to California’s Land
Grant Universities and others to support research to develop processes
and grasses that are much less resource intensive, evolving golf to
become more sustainable. A portion is also dedicated to public relations
and to operate the program.
The USGA is proud to lead the effort to make golf into a “greener”
sport. They’ve shown their dedication by being the first to purchase a
carbon certificate of 1,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide removed
from the atmosphere (one metric ton of carbon dioxide is released by
a car burning 114 gallons of gasoline). It is the hope of the USGA that
both golfers and non-golfers alike would continue this effort to make
the game more sustainable. Together, many small contributions will
produce a larger financial sum to demonstrate an industry wide effort
to protect the environment “For the Good of the Game.”