| PRESS
RELEASE
POC:
CRST Public Relations
Rock
LeBeau
(605)964-8308
For
immediate release March 25, 2005
AB RESOURCES AND CARBON CREDITS
Carbon credits are units of measure that represent
the natural ability of plants and soil to absorb
carbon, in the form of carbon dioxide, from the
air. One carbon credit is equal to one ton of carbon
being absorbed by plants and soil.
International environmental laws require polluters
who dump carbon dioxide into the air to buy or
lease “carbon credits” to prove that
they are doing their part to take carbon from the
air.
When we lease carbon credits, we are leasing products
that happen naturally on the land, not the land
itself. It’s like selling a lease on sunshine’s
ability to heat the land. It is already happening,
and it will still happen whether we lease it or
not, but some company somewhere is willing to pay
us for it in order to satisfy our environmental
laws. Leasing “carbon credits” is getting
money for nothing.
In 2003 tribal member Lyle Anderson, partnered
with two men in Wyoming, Paul Baker and Rueben
Ritthaler, to start AB Resources. The company uses
very precise computer modeling to measure exactly
how much carbon our Tribal lands absorb. They also
promote grazing rotation, which maximizes carbon
absorption, thus maximizing the Tribe’s carbon
credits.
This agreement leased the carbon credits from
Tribal land on the Reservation to AB Resources
until 2008. AB Resources now acts as a broker for
the Tribe. They lease the carbon credits to companies
who need them, and give the Tribe 85% of the net
income, after taking 85% of AB Resources’ expenses
out of the gross income. The agreement also requires
AB Resources to submit quarterly reports on their
progress and activities to the Chairman’s
office, which they have done.
The agreement also allows AB Resources and its
agents, meaning Lyle Anderson and his employees,
to take carbon samples of Tribal land in order
to measure the rate of carbon absorption. A carbon
sample is a tube of soil about an inch and a half
wide and six inches long. However, to date AB Resources
hasn’t done any sampling because data from
the Farm Service Agency and the Department of Agriculture
has been good enough for their computer models.
Other than carbon sampling the agreement does
not affect the land at all, except that if the
Tribe maximizes the amount of carbon in the soil,
the soil will hold moisture more effectively. This
will help farmers and ranchers make it through
drought years. Carbon-rich soil will grow the same
crop on half as much rainfall as carbon-depleted
soil.
The AB Resources agreement does not lease any
Tribal land or any other land on the Reservation.
It only leases “carbon credits” which
is a measure of the land’s ability to absorb
carbon. It does not allow anyone other than AB
Resources and its agents, meaning formal representatives
or employees, to enter Tribal land for any reason.
To date, not much has happened. AB Resources is
negotiating one general lease of 100,000 carbon
credits to a company in New York, but it’s
not finalized. The price of carbon credits vary
from $1 to $7 per credit. Lyle hopes that the precise
computer modeling will help AB Resources get a
higher price per carbon credit. The Tribe will
receive 85% of the lease revenue after deducting
AB Resources’ expenses. Lyle Anderson is
happy to explain his business to Tribal members
or have them observe his work. He also expects
to hire and train a few people as the business
gears up.
AB resources have nothing to do with Canada. “AB” is
the abbreviation for the Canadian Province of Alberta,
so a search on the Internet for “AB Resources” will
bring up information about Alberta. AB Resources
is a Tribal member-owned business that has nothing
to do with Canada. It’s called AB Resources
because the main partners’ names are Anderson
and Baker.
Furthermore, AB Resources has nothing to do with
radioactive material. AB Resources’ runs
its computer models with plant, soil, and weather
data from the Farm Service Agency and the Department
of Agriculture. Lyle does not bring anything on
or off the Reservation, and although Lyle is allowed
to sample the carbon level in the soil on tribal
lands, he has not yet done so and expects he will
not need to.
The Tribe’s Environmental Protection Department
has checked out several rumors put out by Kevin
Meagher, and so far there has been no truth to
them. First of all, the radioactive material buried
in Cherry Creek turned out to be an old cistern.
Second of all, the two stock dams filled with barrels
of nuclear waste built in the middle of the night
turned out to be a dugout dam, and a stock dam
built during regular work hours under the supervision
of Tribal engineer Jayme White Eyes. Last but not
least, radiation testing of the Upper Elementary
School and the Oti Kaga housing project by an independent
company came up negative.
If a Tribal member has a concern, please contact
the Tribal Environmental Protection Department
at 964-6558 or your Council Representative.
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