These successful results sparked the
idea to use goats to graze and use na‐
tive seed to enhance the grassland
area. While the goats are eating and
walking through their enclosure, they
eat and press scattered seed into the
ground and create fertilizer for the
seed. Following next winter's rains,
Sandy Flat vegetation will be moni‐
tored for native species and to deter‐
mine overall success of the grazing
project.
With each grazing project, Sandy Flat
will be returned over time to Califor‐
nia grassland filled with native
grasses and forb species. With every
native grass or forb that comes back,
Graniterock expects to see more na‐
tive pollinators like birds, animals and
insects follow to make a new home. E
Climate Action Plan
On June 25, President Barack Obama
released the President's Climate Action Plan, outlining the administration's strategy to cut carbon
pollution. The initiative centers on
lowering carbon-dioxide emissions
generated by power plants, while
encouraging improved energy efficiency and promoting the use of renewable fuels.
The plan would seemingly hit the
coal industry hardest, calling on the
Environmental Protection Agency
to write rules limiting greenhouse
gases, and discourages foreign
countries from constructing coalfired plants.
Obama, however, appears dedicated
to promoting natural gas energy,
safe nuclear power, and clean coal
solutions in domestic and global
markets, although the methods for
doing so remain unclear. The Climate Action Plan includes international efforts to reduce climate
change through negotiations and
worldwide partnerships.
The president also made the surprising announcement that the
State Department's review of the
Keystone XL pipeline is in its final
stages and that he would move forward to approve the project if it
"does not significantly exacerbate
the problem of carbon pollution."
Though the president's statement
fell short of approving the permit
for Keystone, many in the energy
industry – recalling the State Department's March draft Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement, which found the project
would have "no significant impacts
to most resources" – saw the commitment as a positive signal.
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