What structure is this sentence? what activities warrant carbon offset credit?

Question

So, given how much is at stake for them, how are farm states working to shape climate legislation? In response to agricultural demands, the Waxman-Markey bill exempts the agricultural industry from emission caps and cedes control over what activities warrant carbon offset credit to the Agricultural Department, not the EPA. The bill also allows offsets to be granted for no-till farming, a practice in which farmers control weeds with pesticides instead of tilling (tilling releases CO2 from the soil into the atmosphere). But numerous studies, including ones conducted by the Department of Agriculture, show that in some soils, no-till farming increases emissions of nitrous oxide—a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent—so much so that it's actually worse for the environment.

Hi, dear teachers. I am reading an article concerning climate changes at

http://www.newsweek.com/how-climate-change-will-affect-farms-79333

But I don't understand the sentence both structure-wise and meaning-wise.

Could you help me understand it? Thank you.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

How are states in the US with large farm areas involved with legislation regarding climate issues, given that agriculture is so affected by climate? Well, apparently not in a positive way, as shown by the Waxman-Markey bill, which was prompted by agricultural states: the bill exempts agriculture from limits on emissions into the environment, and gives control over what agricultural activities are eligible for carbon offset credit (that is, environmental exemptions), to the agriculture-friendly Agricultural Dept., rather than to the neutral EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). The bill also allows offsets (environmental exemptions) to be granted for no-till farming, that is, allowing weeds to be controlled with pesticides, instead of by tilling (tilling releases some CO2 - a so-called "greenhouse gas" - from the soil to the atmosphere). But studies, including some by the normally agriculture-friendly Dept. of Agriculture, show that, in certain soils, no-till farming increases emission of nitrous oxide into the atmosphere. Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent in its "greenhouse effects" than the greenhouse gas CO2, and therefore much more detrimental to the environment.

BillJ · Answer

In response to agricultural demands, the Waxman-Markey bill exempts the agricultural industry from emission caps and cedes control over what activities warrant carbon offset credit to the Agricultural Department, not the EPA.

The underlined expression is a subordinate interrogative clause (embedded question) .

The meaning is "... cedes control over the answer to the question 'What activities warrant carbon offset credit to the Agricultural Department, not the EPA?"'

What structure is this sentence? what activities warrant carbon offset credit?

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