Agriculture

Today's Top 5

Trump to Sign Executive Order Undoing Obama's Clean Power Plan

Donald Trump will on Tuesday sign an executive order to unravel Barack Obama’s plan to curb global warming, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency said on Sunday, claiming the move would be “pro-growth and pro-environment”. - The Guardian

Trump Megadonors Also Back Group That Casts Doubt On Climate Science

The Mercers’ attendance at the two-day Heartland conference offered a telling sign of the low-profile family’s priorities: With Trump in office, the influential financiers appear intent on putting muscle behind the fight to roll back environmental regulations, a central focus of the new administration. - Washington Post

Drought and War Heighten Threat of Not Just One Famine, But Four

For the first time since anyone can remember, there is a very real possibility of four famines — in Somalia, South Sudan, Nigeria and Yemen — breaking out at once, endangering more than 20 million lives. International aid officials say they are facing one of the biggest humanitarian disasters since World War II. And they are determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past. - The New York Times

'Human Fingerprint' Found on Global Extreme Weather

The fingerprint of human-caused climate change has been found on heatwaves, droughts and floods across the world, according to scientists. The discovery indicates that the impacts of global warming are already being felt by society and adds further urgency to the need to cut carbon emissions. A key factor is the fast-melting Arctic, which is now strongly linked to extreme weather across Europe, Asia and north America. - The Guardian

In California, Salt Taints Soil, Threatening Food Security

In much of California’s flat, sunny San Joaquin Valley, canals deliver the irrigation water that has made the state an agricultural powerhouse, supplying one-third of vegetables and two-thirds of fruit and nuts eaten in the United States. But along the west side of the valley, some fields are sprouting not crops, but solar panels. The water that made this agricultural land productive also spelled its doom. Because most water contains salt, irrigating adds salt to soil over time, especially in arid and semi-arid places with little rainfall and poor drainage. - Environmental Health News

Today's Top 5 - Spotlight On World Water Day

One In Four Children Will Live With Water Scarcity By 2050

Within two decades, 600 million children will be in regions enduring extreme water stress, with a great deal of competition for the available supply. The poorest and most disadvantaged will suffer most, according to research published by the children’s agency, Unicef, to mark World Water Day on Wednesday. - The Guardian

Five Water Warriors Defending Rights From North Dakota to Chile

Activists and environmentalists lead the struggle to protect water sources across the planet, from the top of the continents of the Americas in Alaska all the way down to Argentina. Often, their activism is dangerous work. Resistance movements against unwanted hydroelectric dam projects, in particular, have seen a violent crackdown, with more than 40 activists killed in recent years in Mexico, Central America and Colombia, according to GeoComunes. - TeleSur

The Business of Wastewater

On this year's World Water Day, the UN has called for much more wastewater to be treated and recycled. The organization also emphasized that wastewater is an "essential component of a circular economy." - Deutsche Welle

Water Wars? Experts Urge Rethink of Our Relationship With Water

The United Nations has already warned that water shortages will hit a record high in 2030, while some experts caution that water — arguably human beings' most valuable resource after air — could become the next commodity over which communities and nations will wage bitter fights, and even start wars. While climate change and global warming are some of the main causes behind deepening water problems, other less discussed factors are also playing a major part in the crisis, with the main issue being mismanagement and extraction of underground water sources. - TeleSur

Farm Policy In Age of Climate Change Creating Another Dust Bowl

Over the past decade, farmers in the Great Southern Plains have suffered the worst drought conditions since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. They've battled heat, dust storms and in recent weeks, fires that devoured more than 900,000 acres and killed thousands of cattle.These extreme conditions are being fueled by climate change. But a new report from an environmental advocacy group says they're also being driven by federal crop insurance policy that encourages farmers to continue planting crops on compromised land, year after year. - InsideClimate News

Today's Top 5

Study: Climate Change May Hurt Nation's Agricultural Productivity

The agriculture sector needs to ramp up its response to climate change, especially in the Midwest, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers at the University of Maryland used climate projections and historical trends in agricultural productivity to predict how changes in temperature and rainfall will impact food production. - Iowa Public Radio

UN Experts Denounce 'Myth' That Pesticides Necessary to Feed the World

The idea that pesticides are essential to feed a fast-growing global population is a myth, according to UN food and pollution experts. A new report, being presented to the UN human rights council on Wednesday, is severely critical of the global corporations that manufacture pesticides, accusing them of the “systematic denial of harms”, “aggressive, unethical marketing tactics” and heavy lobbying of governments which has “obstructed reforms and paralyzed global pesticide restrictions." - The Guardian

The White House Was On the Same Page As Exxon Mobile on Monday. Literally.

Some might even call it a mind meld. In a news release, ExxonMobil highlighted the oil giant’s plan to spend $20 billion over 10 years, build 11 chemical and natural-gas projects and create 45,000 jobs. Within the same hour, the White House put out its own statement claiming credit for the expansion and adding, “The spirit of optimism sweeping the country is already boosting job growth, and it is only the beginning.” One full paragraph appeared nearly identically word for word in each release. Another sentence appeared almost verbatim elsewhere. - Washington Post

Grim State of Environment Report Warns Climate Impacts Could be Irreversible

To be released on Tuesday by Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg, the five-yearly dossier says Australia lacks overarching national policies that establish "a clear vision" for protecting and managing the environment, including climate change, between now and 2050. A summary provided to Fairfax Media warns of increasing pressures from coal mining, the coal-seam gas industry, habitat degradation, land-use change and invasive species. - Sydney Morning Herald

Pipeline Owner Reaches Milestone In Iowa: 28 Spills Since 2000

The company whose pipeline dumped more than 46,000 gallons of diesel on northern Iowa farmland in January has had more spills than any other pipeline operator in the state over the past 16 years, according to a Des Moines Register analysis. Magellan Midstream Partners pipelines leaked 27 times in Iowa between 2000 and 2016, spewing tens of thousands of gallons of hazardous products, according to Iowa Department of Natural Resources data. Magellan's spills are nearly double the 14 of Enterprise Products Offering, the second most frequent offender. - USA Today

Today's Top 5

Top Trump Advisors Divided On Paris Climate Agreement

The White House is fiercely divided over President Trump’s campaign promise to “cancel” the Paris agreement, the 2015 accord that binds nearly every country to curb global warming, with more moderate voices maintaining that he should stick with the agreement despite his campaign pledge. Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trump’s senior adviser, is pressing the president to officially pull the United States from the landmark accord, according to energy and government officials with knowledge of the debate. But, they say, he is clashing with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump, who fear the move could have broad and damaging diplomatic ramifications. - New York Times

Trump Wants to 'Zero Out' EPA

The Trump administration wants to “zero out” many climate-related programs and grants that help state and local governments enforce environmental laws, according to a memo sent this week to state governments by the National Association of Clean Air Agencies. It’s part of a proposal to cut the Environmental Protection Agency’s $8.2 billion budget by 25 percent. The proposal recommends that the EPA cut its staff by 20 percent and slash grants to states by 30 percent. - Climate Central

Biggest US Water Users - Farmers - Learn to Use Less Of It

In the Southwest and beyond, irrigation technology and other steps such as planting 'cover crops' to enrich the soil are making a difference. - Christian Science Monitor

Early Surge In Coal In 2017 May Not Last

There are signs utilities are buying more coal this year than last thanks to a late-year surge in natural gas prices, but the black rock still isn't expected to regain its crown from gas as the leading fuel source for power generation. That's even as President Donald Trump has said repeatedly that he wants a revival of coal production, a dirtier fuel than gas that has seen its fortunes decline thanks to a shale boom that has boosted gas production. - Reuters

Siberia's Growing 'Doorway to Hell' May Offer Clues On Climate Change

Siberia's crater is caused by melting permafrost, perennially frozen soil that remains in that state for at least two consecutive years. The resulting irregular terrain of mounds and hollows is called thermokarst. A new study published in the journal Quaternary Research indicates that the crater may allow scientists to view more than 200,000 years of climate change in Siberia. Scientists plan to collect sediment to analyze how the landscape changed as climate warmed and cooled during the last Ice Age. This could provide insights for today's climate change issues. Satellite imagery indicates that the crater expands, on average, by 33 feet per year. - National Geographic

Today's Top 5

Pruitt: Aggressive Cuts to Obama-Era Green Rules to Start Soon

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration will begin rolling back Obama-era environmental regulations in an "aggressive way" as soon as next week, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency said on Saturday - adding he understood why some Americans want to see his agency eliminated completely. Pruitt added the EPA's focus on combating climate change under former President Barack Obama had cost jobs and prevented economic growth, leading many Americans to want to see the EPA eliminated completely. - Reuters

Amazon Deforestation, Once Tamed, Comes Roaring Back

A decade after the “Save the Rainforest” movement forced changes that dramatically slowed deforestation across the Amazon basin, activity is roaring back in some of the biggest expanses of forests in the world. That resurgence, driven by the world’s growing appetite for soy and other agricultural crops, is raising the specter of a backward slide in efforts to preserve biodiversity and fight climate change. - New York Times

A World Turned Upside Down

Wind and solar energy are disrupting a century-old model of providing electricity. What will replace it? - The Economist

Firefighters and Cancer: Is a Risky Job Even Riskier?

In 2015, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the final results of what is currently the largest study of cancer risk among career firefighters ever conducted in the United States. The study of about 30,000 firefighters over a 60-year span showed that compared with the general population, firefighters on average are at higher risk for certain kinds of cancer — mainly oral, digestive, respiratory, genital and urinary cancers. The CDC also found that firefighters who were exposed to more fires than their peers experienced more instances of lung cancer and leukemia, said Robert Daniels, the principal investigator of the project and a research epidemiologist at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The risks come on many fronts, research has indicated. - Washington Post

South Florida Continues Prep For Sea Level Rise

The causes of climate change and debate about how far government should go to prepare for it continue to be a political flash point nationally. But at Florida’s southern end, densely populated and with billions in real estate at stake, preparing for it has become commonplace. - Sun Sentinel

Today's Top 5

The Murky Future of Nuclear Power in the United States

This was supposed to be America’s nuclear century. The Three Mile Island meltdown was two generations ago. Since then, engineers had developed innovative designs to avoid the kinds of failures that devastated Fukushima in Japan. The United States government was earmarking billions of dollars for a new atomic age, in part to help tame a warming global climate. But a remarkable confluence of events is bringing that to an end, capped in recent days by Toshiba’s decision to take a $6 billion loss and pull Westinghouse, its American nuclear power subsidiary, out of the construction business. - New York Times

Wind Briefly Set Record For US Electricity Source

Wind briefly powered more than 50 percent of electric demand on Feb. 12, the 14-state Southwest Power Pool said, for the first time on any North American power grid. Of the 11 states that received more than 10 percent of their power from wind in 2015, the top five are Iowa at 31 percent, South Dakota at 25 percent, Kansas at 24 percent, Oklahoma at 18 percent and North Dakota at 18 percent, all at least partially located in the SPP grid, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. - Climate Central

Australia: Coalition To Change Native Title Laws To Protect Mining and Ag Deals

The Turnbull government will change native title laws to protect land use agreements thrown into doubt by a recent court ruling, including a controversial deal between Adani and traditional owners of its proposed Queensland mine site. The attorney general, George Brandis, told parliament on Monday the government would introduce an “urgent” bill to reverse the effect of a federal court decision regarding the Noongar people of Western Australia on 2 February. That decision by the full court of the federal court found that Indigenous land use agreements – which underpin mining, agriculture or infrastructure projects – were invalid unless endorsed by all representatives in a native title claim. - The Guardian

A Push For Diesel Leaves London Gasping Amid Record Pollution

London is choking from record levels of pollution, much of it caused by diesel cars and trucks, as well as wood-burning fires in private homes, a growing trend. It has been bad enough to evoke comparisons to the Great Smog of December 1952, when fumes from factories and house chimneys are thought to have killed as many as 12,000 Londoners. - New York Times

A Coal Miner's Take On Stream Protection

Coal has deep roots in Appalachia and its local communities, but this way of life too often comes with persistent water pollution. With the recent overturn of the Stream Protection Rule, coal companies are under less pressure to control and clean up their environmental impact. Former miner Gary Bentley and host Steve Curwood explore the murky future of coal country’s water and its future. - PRI's Living On Earth

Today's Top 5 Trending: Antiquated Water Systems, Zika Affects Brain, Endangered Penguins, Food Waste, Cameroon Food Insecurity

Our Drinking Water Systems Are a Disaster. What Can We Do? 

Every year, more than 32 billion cubic meters (41 billion cubic yards) of treated water are lost to leaks around the world — enough water to serve almost 400 million people, according to the World Bank. And although drinking water in the United States remains quite safe overall, contamination with bacteria or viruses regularly makes people sick. - Ensia

There's More Evidence That Zika Goes Straight to the Brain

Two studies published this week show that the Zika virus seems to prefer brain cells — and that it can cause many different types of damage to those cells. One of the studies shows that Zika — but not its close cousin, the dengue virus — destroys developing nerve cells. Another describes the cases of two Zika patients who developed nerve damage similar to that caused by multiple sclerosis. - NBC News

A New Zealand Penguin, Hard to Spot, Is Harder to Preserve

Incredibly shy, the yellow-eyed penguin is truly odd. Measuring about 65 centimeters, or just over two feet tall, with striking yellow eyes and a yellow band across its head, it is the rarest species of penguin, nesting in the forest and returning to it. It is also severely endangered. Despite various measures deployed in recent years to protect this penguin’s flocks, the outlook remains bleak. - New York Times

Wasted Food's Heavy Burden on Climate

As obesity levels soar, cutting the vast amount of food we waste could have a major impact on reducing the effects of climate change, as well as alleviating world hunger. - Climate News Network

Boko Haram Violence, Climate Change Drive Hunger in North Cameroon

Armed conflict between Boko Haram militants and Cameroon's armed forces in the region has made it difficult for some farmers to access their fields, deepening food security. At the same time, the region is hosting 75,000 Nigerians who have fled that country's Boko Haram insurgency and 82,000 internally displaced people affected by the spillover of the conflict to Cameroon since 2013, officials say. Just as problematic, climate change is gradually rendering the traditional agricultural calendar unreliable, making just getting in a crop hard work, farmers in the region say. - Thomson Reuters

Today's Top 5 Trending: Ag and Antibiotics, Phosphorous Mystery, Mexico City Air Pollution, Ocean Acidification, Critiquing NYC's Climate Plan

Is Agriculture Doing Enough to Control Antibiotic Resistance?

Some of the most important medicines doctors prescribe to fight infections are losing effectiveness and the Obama administration is calling on farmers to help turn the tide against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. A recent report by the president’s advisors on antibiotic resistance charts some progress but also left some critics urging for more immediate action. - KMUW Public Radio Wichita

EPA Uncovers Mysterious Phosphorous Pollution

High phosphorus levels in streams and lakes typically result from sewage discharge and agricultural runoff. But the new work finds phosphorus pollution in remote areas far from such sources, leaving researchers scratching their heads about where it came from. - Chemical and Engineering News

How Mexico City Plans to Fight Air Pollution 

Under the city’s new program announced Wednesday, all privately owned cars must remain off streets one day per week as well as one additional Saturday per month. The initiative comes after the city issued a four-day air quality alert on March 14, after the city experienced air pollution at double the national acceptance level. The city’s "Hoy No Circula," or "no circulation," program ramps up the country’s previous efforts to tackle air pollution. - Christian Science Monitor

As Ocean Acidification Threatens West Coast, a Quest to Stop It

A panel of scientists, convened in 2013 at the behest of government officials, has delivered their findings on the threat of ocean acidification to the North American West Coast. The danger is real, they say, but they see a path to progress. - Christian Science Monitor

Environmental Justice Groups Deliver Critiques of de Blasio Climate Plan

The New York City Environmental Justice Alliance, a group of organizations that advocate primarily for low-income communities of color, conducted an exhaustive analysis of OneNYC, measuring its strengths and weaknesses. The overall theme of the 76-page report is that environmental advocates in the very communities on which de Blasio has staked his legacy believe he has a long way to go to address their risks in a rapidly changing climate. - Politico New York

Today's Top 5 Trending

What Will Be the Health Impact of California's Methane Leak?

One big unknown clouds the aftermath of the Los Angeles County methane disaster: the health effects for thousands of people living nearby who were exposed to the gas while it leaked for three and a half months. - InsideClimate News

As Mozambique's Rivers Dry Up, So Does Hope of a Harvest

As southern Africa grapples with devastating drought, maize fields lie empty, the soil is like sand and water must be shared between cattle and people. - The Guardian

Zika Outbreak Could Be Omen of Global Warming Threat

The global public health emergency involving deformed babies emerged in 2015, the hottest year in the historical record, with an outbreak in Brazil of a disease transmitted by heat-loving mosquitoes. Can that be a coincidence? - New York Times

Moving Beyond the Autobahn: Germany's New Bike Highways

With the recent opening of a “bike highway,” Germany is taking the lead in Europe by starting to build a network of wide, dedicated bicycle thoroughfares designed to lure increasing numbers of commuters out of their cars and onto two wheels. - Yale Environment 360

What Scalia's Death Means for Environment and Climate

Here's what Antonin Scalia's legacy on environment reveals about the importance of the next Supreme Court on the EPA Clean Power Plan and other matters. - US News and World Report