By Susan Kraemer •
October 10, 2009
The US Air Force has placed an order for 100,000 gallons of Camelina-based jet fuel, in addition to the 40,000 gallons the Navy ordered last month for $2.7 million, with delivery to begin this year. Sustainable Oils is supplying them with a biofuel grown in Montana with 80% lower carbon emissions than jet fuels now.
The US Air Force has ordered an additional 100,000 gallons of Camelina for their second round of flight tests starting next June. The DOD is trying to find a non food-competitive biofuel that can be blended with jetfuel to reduce carbon emissions and is running tests on several kinds of alternative fuels.
By Steven Schmitt •
October 8, 2009
Henry Albert Schroeder (1898-1967) must be rolling over in his grave at Kroghville Cemetery. Either that, or he is about ready to come down from Heaven and give corporate farming hell, bringing with him the Clydesdales that once plowed his farm fields in the township of Pleasant Springs, 20 miles from Madison in eastern Dane County, Wisconsin.
From 1926 to 1951, Henry Schroeder farmed [...]
By Susanna Schick •
October 7, 2009
A Woman’s Work…
The Governor’s Global Climate Summit ended with Oxfam America’s inaugural Sisters on the Planet Climate Leader Awards. Thanks to Karen Solomon at Opportunity Green, I was able to attend. The event showcased the work that women all over the world are doing to adapt to climate change. Sisters on the Planet is committed to exposing how livelihoods of the majority of the planet’s women are the most severely impacted by climate change. To quote the brochure:
“But if you remember one thing about Sisters on the Planet, make it this: Climate change is already having a disproportionate impact on poor people in the US and abroad, and it’s hitting women hardest.”
Oxfam is working with women all over the world to develop low-cost adaptation techniques relevant to the regions they’re in. Adapting to global warming requires a range of tactics, from helping families in flood-prone regions elevate their homes, build floating vegetable gardens, and store seeds and other necessities safely to helping farmers in drought-prone areas plant trees, drill wells and improve their irrigation techniques. Oxfam’s publication, Adaptation 101, shows the overall cost of some of these projects, and at what level they need to be carried out- in the community or nationally.
By John Chappell •
October 5, 2009
Would you like to know the direct benefit of buying organic versus conventional? Do you ever wonder what the cumulative impact of purchasing organic versus conventional products is over the course of a year? There’s a website out there that allows you to calculate the number of pounds of synthetic nitrogen, pesticides, and herbicides that are eliminated by choosing organic products.
The website is for Organic Valley Family Farmers. Organic Valley is a co-operative of farmers that produce dairy products, juice, eggs, meat, soy, fruit, and vegetables. It claims to be the largest organic farmer owned co-operative in North America, and you can review on their website their array of various products.
By Zachary Shahan •
October 5, 2009
Turkey farmers growing greenhouse tomatoes have been using this technology since 2005. California is going to get it before the end of this year.
LA-based ClimateMinder now completely owns the Turkish company Kodalfa and it is eager to bring some of its technology to the US. This company’s “new” climate-monitoring and control system helps greenhouse farmers to monitor their crops and adjust the conditions of their greenhouses with wireless technology. This helps farmers and consumers in numerous and significant ways.
By Tina Casey •
October 3, 2009
Desert Hills Dairy of Nevada has joined with Carbon Bank Ireland, an emerging leader in cap-and-trade carbon emissions markets, to build the state’s first biogas facility to convert cow manure into electricity. Along with producing enough sustainable methane to power itself and other equipment at the second largest dairy in Nevada, the high tech digester will produce liquid fertilizer and mulch.
Carbon Bank Ireland specializes in harvesting certified emissions credits from sustainable energy projects, which can be traded in the European carbon markets. While some pundits claim that cap-and-trade is “socialism on a grand scale” (whatever that is), that doesn’t appear to bother the cows. It also doesn’t appear to bother Nevada, which sees a lot of green in its future. As reported by Nevada Appeal writer Kirk Caraway, interest in the state’s rich solar, wind and geothermal resources is surging, and it is becoming a desirable location for start-ups that are developing sustainable projects such as the capture of waste heat and the development of hi tech batteries. Green jobs, anyone?
By Lisa Kivirist •
October 1, 2009
The sustainability mantra may be “less is more,” but there’s one exception when buying more makes green sense: shopping the last farmers markets. If you’re not gardening and growing your own produce, your local farmers market serves as your easy connection to one-stop local fare shopping.
But as frosts linger and the cold winds start to blow, don’t punt and think your fresh local bounty will disappear till spring. With a little strategic shopping and planning, you can preserve a local meal focus all winter long by taking advantage of those last farmer’s markets.
Here’s another perk of eating local year round: you’re supporting the economic health of your community. Just ask Cindy Torres, manager of the Longmont Farmers Market outside Boulder, Colorado, and an IATP Food and Society Fellow. Passionate about using local food systems as a healthy economic development tool, Torres co-founded the Boulder County Food and Agriculture Policy Council to look at how her area can increase the local food supply to enhance the lives of community residents of all economic backgrounds.
“With a little bit of planning and preparation, we can readily eat local till the spring markets start up again,” explains Torres. Here are her favorite five tips:
By Becky Striepe •
October 1, 2009
[Sugar Beet Field. Creative Commons photo by Gilles San Martin]
A federal judge in San Francisco ruled that the USDA illegally approved Monsanto’s genetically modified, Roudup Ready beets.
By Susan Kraemer •
September 30, 2009
There’s a Bizarro World quality to this period in history. Anyone covering news in these Interesting Times cannot possibly chronicle all the news that really marks the journey as we careen into our unimaginably strange future. Add yours in comments, but here’s what I found:
California regulators decreed that, by law, your your car has to be cool. Also seaweed killed a horse on a French beach using just fumes and British engineers suggested that buildings be wrapped in slime to absorb CO2. A fossil fuel reduced our carbon emissions. British scientists taught agricultural runoff to clean up nuclear waste.
By Steve Savage •
September 27, 2009
I’ll come back to the Mycotoxin issue soon. Instead, I’ll talk today about my serious worries about Climate Change.
People involved in world agriculture have no patience with the supposed “debate” about climate change. We are already seeing the effects, and the projections for the future are not encouraging. The most troubling feature of this phenomenon (and one that occurs even if you don’t believe that it is human-driven) is that we are facing increasing variation in climatic events. The yearly changes in average temperature or even annual rainfall may not be dramatic, but what we are anticipating is that there will be more extreme weather events. Climate averages are not what matters for crop production - Variation is. A few days of intense rain or heat at the wrong time can devastate a crop. A few weeks of drought can do the same. A single hail or frost event can make all the difference in what a farmer can harvest. We have always had those risks for farming and only long term data will demonstrate whether there has been an increasing trend as is predicted. For instance, It isn’t possible yet to say that the current, extended drought in Australia is caused by elevated greenhouse gasses, but some day we will know whether it was by looking back historically. Of course that will be too late. Our actions have to come now. The other huge threat from climate change is that water supplies will be more limiting in many areas that are irrigated today. Though that area is much smaller than rain-fed areas, it is very important to the food supply.
Some have predicted that “Global warming” and elevated CO2 will boost crop production in certain areas. There might be some occasions where higher temperatures will enhance some yields in normally cold areas, but if the warmth comes with other extreme weather events, the benefits will be diminished. It also turns out that plants can’t really take full advantage of high CO2 levels. Basically, there is no real “up-side” of climate change for farming.
