Green Options » farm bill

The mighty agriculture sector gets their way with Waxman-Markey, but at what cost?

Stephen Boles — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:47:49 +0000

Every several years the power of Big Agriculture is evident when the Farm Bill is renegotiated, promising untold billions to the agriculture sector in the form of subsidies, incentives, research grants, and other programs.

Big Ag wielded its mighty stick again in the weeks leading up to the passage of the Waxman-Markey climate change bill. A number of representatives led by House Agriculture Committee chair Collin Peterson (D-Minn) withheld support of the bill until control of future agricultural offsets for the upcoming cap and trade markets was wrested away from the EPA (the preferred choice of environmentalists) and given to the more farmer-friendly USDA. Also heavily involved in the lobbying for more agriculture-specific provisions in Waxman-Markey were some of Big Ag’s most powerful players, including heavyweights like Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer, and Dupont.

One of the key areas that the USDA has taken control of in Waxman-Markey is the design and delivery of agriculture-based offset projects. Authorities in both the US and Canada have long recognized the importance of the agriculture sector in meeting national greenhouse gas emission reductions. Understandably, farmers have been eagerly anticipating the additional revenues coming their way from offset projects in cap and trade markets.

There are a number of agricultural project types that are being touted for generating offset credits, including:

• reduced tillage / no-tillage
• afforestation of marginal farmlands
• nitrogen fertilizer management
• improved manure management
• livestock feed management (dairy, swine)
• anaerobic digesters
• biomass energy
• energy efficiency upgrades of facilities

A number of the potential agriculture offset project types are robust, defensible, and easily measured, particularly those involving energy generation (digesters, biomass energy) and energy conservation. But in a classic example of ‘not all offsets are created equal’, there is the potential for a huge quality gap between the robust credits and those that are harder to measure, monitor, and verify.

Conservation tillage practices (reduced till or no-till) are used by farmers to introduce a number of benefits to the soil, including improved fertility and reduced erosion. A number of studies have also shown that conservation tillage increases the sequestration of carbon in the soil. One study conducted at The Ohio State University estimated that U.S. farmers could store 288 million tons of carbon in their soil every year, which represents 17% of American GHG emissions.

The recent actions of Big Ag suggest that it will make every effort necessary to get conservation tillage approved as an allowable offset project – the number of farmers and acres that stand to benefit are simply too great to pass by. Yet a number of contradictory studies have been published in recent years that question the scientific validity of using tillage practices for offset credits.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh state that increased soil carbon storage introduced by conservation tillage could be counterbalanced by increases in nitrous oxide emissions from the soil, a far more potent greenhouse gas than CO2. They state that “the promotion of carbon credits for the no-till system before we have better quantification of its net greenhouse gas balance is naïve.” Meanwhile, a study by the USDA and University of Minnesota concludes that: “though there are other good reasons to use conservation tillage, evidence that it promotes C sequestration is not compelling.”

When you consider that tillage-based offset projects are difficult to accurately measure and routinely monitor (in addition to the contradictory science), it will be very interesting to see how much appeal these credits will have in the emerging cap-and-trade markets.

I am in the business of recommending offset credits to businesses that need to buy them either to meet future regulatory requirements or voluntary programs. In all likelihood I would never recommend a client invest in tillage-based offset credits – there are just too many questions surrounding them. And given the amount of potential acreage that could be signed up to no-till contracts if they are approved as an allowable offset for use in cap and trade, what impact will this risky carbon credit method have on the overall GHG inventory of the nation?

Image: jimmedia at flickr under a CC License

Stephen Boles is co-founder of Kuzuka, a marketplace website that brings a new level of convenience and confidence to carbon offset customers and provide consulting services to organizations that want to assess and reduce their carbon footprint.

Return of Federal Small-Wind Tax Credit a Big Boost for Small Wind

Timothy B. Hurst — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:34:29 +0000

New investment tax credit of up to $4k to grow small turbine industry

Last week’s well-publicized economic bailout package, included several “sweeteners” to help it through the House. Extended were the tax credits for solar, wind, and geothermal as well as tax credits for green building and energy efficiency. But what also passed was a new federal-level investment tax credit for qualified small wind turbines. The ITC is valued at $500/.5kw capacity for up to $4,000 and available for small and micro-wind turbines (up to 100kw), including vertical-axis wind turbines, installed through 2016.

Read more of this story »

Food for Thought

Beth Bader — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 03:32:12 +0000

Magic Mushrooms
Shiitake Mushrooms may contain compounds that improve the function of the immune system. The compounds are called high-molecular-weight polysaccharides (HMWP) are more prevalent in mushrooms grown on oak logs. More good news for mushroom lovers, the shiitake compound eritadenine may help lower cholesterol levels. Hey, at $12.99 a pound, this may finally be the cash crop you can legally grow in your basement. (Science Daily).

Can Scum Save the World?
No, not Dick Cheney. He’s too busy possibly censoring scientific reports on health impacts of global warming. I’m talking about pond scum. Plant biologists are researching pond scum, otherwise known as duckweed, as a solution to global warming, pollution from agricultural runoff, AND world hunger. Now, that’s some scum. (Science Daily).

More updates after the jump.

Read more of this story »

Latest Food News

Beth Bader — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:43:01 +0000

The Latest on the Farm Bill
Michael Pollan sent an email to his subscriber list with his take on the Farm Bill that was finally passed after much delay, debate, a veto, a Congressional override. The short take is the bill contains no major subsidy reform. Pollan’s words on the subject:

Here’s what I think happened. Critics of farm-policy-as usual– and I count myself among them– did a much better job of demonizing subsidies than they did proposing alternative forms of farm support that would have won over some percentage of the farmers now receiving subsidies. The whole discourse depicting subsidies as a form of welfare — payments to celebrities, rich people in cities, mega-farms etc– convinced many farmers that the ultimate goal of the farm bill’s critics was to abolish subsidies, rather than to develop a new set of incentives that would encourage farmers to grow real food and take good care of their land. Had the reformers crafted proposals that were easy to explain and attractive to even just a segment of commodity-crop farmers, we could have made much more progress. Instead, faced with what appeared like a threat to their livelihood, the old guard hunkered down and defended the status quo, refusing even to negotiate on the central issues. Better alternatives could have split this block, and it was our failing not to devise and promote them. What the Old Guard did instead of negotiating a new system of farm support was what it has always done: pick off the opposition, faction by faction, by offering money for pet programs. The history of the farm bill has long been about such trade offs: Urban legislators support subsidies in exchange for rural support for food stamps. That Grand Bargain has now been extended to supporters of organic agriculture, local food systems, school lunch advocates, etc. The reason that, in the end, most of the activist groups wound up urging Congress to override the veto is that, by the end, they all had been given something they liked in the bill. You could put it more baldly, and suggest they’d all been bought off– that the $300-plus billion bill represents the exact price of buying off all the critics of the farm bill, plus the cost of maintaining the status quo. But this is how the game is played, and the fact is, some good will come of these programs, modest as they are– they will sow seeds of change and legitimize alternative food chains, or so we can hope.
Read more of this story »

What About the Food in the Farm Bill?

Megan McWilliams — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:34:44 +0000

I’m relatively new to this crazy Farm Bill thing. I was invited last Summer to an event at Paul Newman and local food activist chef Michel Nischan’s restaurant, the Dressing Room in Wesport CT, to listen to an amazing panel of speakers and participate in a dialog about the 2007 Farm Bill. This incredibly informative and passionate panel included, US Representative Rose DeLauro (D-New Haven, CT); Gus Schumacher, the undersecretary of Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services during the Clinton Administration; Daniel Imhoff, author of Food Fight: A Citizen’s Guide to the Farm Bill; and Annie Farrell an advocate for sustainable and organic farming and manager of Millstone Farm in CT.

I was stunned by what I learned last year - more importantly, I was stunned by what I didn’t know, and I consider myself a sustainable agriculture supporter! I’ve been trying to track the progress of this Bill in its fits and starts and controversial moments, but still find myself quite ignorant and ever-more surprised when I hear or read another piece of this hulking bulk of legislation.Today is my ‘recipe’ day, not that I’ve kept up with the schedule lately AT ALL, but after reading the NY Times article about the latest on the Farm Bill, I just had to write something about this. Sorry. Look for some lighter fare (perhaps easier to digest than the Farm Bill) Monday!

Read more of this story »

White House Signals Farm Bill Veto - Will Congress Bend?

Timothy B. Hurst — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:47:22 +0000

Word has it that the farm bill congressional conferees hammered out at the end of last week would most likely be vetoed by President Bush. The ink has not dried on the agreement, and that is why Congress had to pass an extension of the existing farm bill last week. The extension gives lawmakers until May 2, when they must either pass another stopgap measure or resort to the permanent 1949 agriculture law, if a new bill is not completed.

According to Ryan Grimm at Politico.com, when asked what the President would do if the current iteration of the farm bill made its way to the President’s desk White House spokesman Scott Stanzel replied, “as it stands now, it is not something the president would support.” Stanzel wrote in an email:

“The proposal before Congress would dramatically increase spending, in part by masking additional spending in budgetary gimmicks and accounting tricks.”

Farm bills pass - that’s what they do

Despite the threat, there may be enough Congressional support to override the veto. According to House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN), “If the White House is stupid enough to veto this, they’re going to get overridden.”

The farm bill is a very popular funding mechanism for Congressional spending. Every state’s congressional delegation works extremely hard to get their slice of the agricultural pie - not doing so does not bode well in the eyes of powerful ag interests and the voters of agricultural states. In short, farm bills do not get vetoed. At least very rarely do they get vetoed - there are a few exceptions.

Read more of this story »

Top Five Micro Wind Turbines

Timothy B. Hurst — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 21:33:29 +0000

They have been around for centuries, but they are quickly becoming the darlings of the eco-friendlies and clean energy nuts. Windmills, or in this case, wind energy generators, come in all shapes and sizes.

But in actuality, how feasible and cost-effective would it be for you to integrate a small wind system at your home, cabin, or camp? It might be easier than you might think. And if the small-wind tax credit somehow holds onto its tenuous place in the farm bill, it might just be cost-effective for you to invest one that can help defray, or even eliminate your monthly electricity bill.

The economics will be different for everyone, so I am not necessarily encouraging you all to run out and buy a micro wind turbine. I will also warn you that interconnection laws vary by country, state, province, municipality, etc. So, before spending ANY money on one of these gizmos, be certain that you have an adequate wind resource, and if you are planning on connecting to the grid, that you understand the interconnection standards that apply.

Please use this information with caution: you must not cloud your judgment with mental images of backward-spinning electric meters and negative utility bills. While this is possible, you don’t want to spend all of your hard-earned money on a micro turbine that your local HOA, planning board, or zoning commission never lets you put up.

>>See: Small Wind Front and Center at Obama Inauguration

I should also note that while vertical axis wind-turbines may be the wave of the future for small-wind (especially in urban settings), there are lots of companies making big claims about their products right now, and I am not comfortable with my own knowledge of the products to include them in this listing.

1. Southwest Windpower Skystream 3.7
The Skystream 3.7 is the first fully-integrated, grid-tied wind energy system designed for residential use. This “plug and play” turbine is an all-inclusive wind generator (with controls and inverter built in) designed to provide quiet, clean electricity in very low winds.

Unlike many other turbines, the Skystream 3.7 will turn downwind because it has no tail rudder to keep it facing into the wind.

Cost*: $5399 (not including tower and installation materials)
Rated Capacity: 1.9 kW continuous output, 2.6 kW peak
Startup Windspeed:8mph
Rotor: 12 feet (3.72 m); 50-325 RPM
Interconnection: Utility connected or battery charging
Alternator: Gearless, permanent magnet brushless
Voltage Output: 240 VAC (Optional 208 VAC)
Estimated Energy Production: 400 kw per month @ 12 MPH (5.4 m/s)

(Continued on page 2)

2. Southwest Windpower Air X
The AIR is the world’s number one selling small wind turbine. The redesigned Air X incorporates a new microprocessor-based technology that results in increased performance, improved battery charging capability, greater reliability and the reduction of “flutter” noise from the machine.

The Air X is ideally designed for powering small appliances in off-grid installations, remote communications facilities, marine applications, and communities in the developing world.

Cost: $600
Rated Capacity:400 watts
Startup Windspeed:8mph
Rotor: 46 inches (1.14 m)
Interconnection: Battery charging
Voltage Output: 12, 24, 48 VDC
Estimated Energy Production: 38 kw per month @ 12 MPH (5.4 m/s)

3. AeroVironment Architectural Wind
Architectural Wind is a small, modular wind turbine system designed for installation on buildings in urban and suburban areas. This is done by eliminating the support tower, reducing noise and vibration, and creating a modular housing that installs quickly and easily onto buildings, without penetrating the roof.

The turbine design has received critical praise for a while now, receiving the Red Dot International Design award and a 2007 Annual Design Review award. With a sleek, color-matched series of specially designed, highly efficient and low profile wind turbines, property owners can integrate Architectural Wind systems easily into new and existing buildings. As Preston at Jetson Green pointed out, the AeroVironment turbines have been installed at the new Kettle Chip facility in Beloit, WI that can produce roughly 28,000 kilowatt hours of power per year under normal wind conditions.

Architectural Wind is scalable and works very well in urban environments. The price and output of the machines will vary because of the drastically different requirements of individual installations. If you need more information on cost and specs, you can contact AeroVironment through their website.

(Continued on page 3)

4. Southwest Windpower Whisper 500
The Whisper 500 can produce enough energy to power a small to moderately sized home. Formerly the Whisper 175, the Whisper 500 was completely redesigned in 2004 to work in harsh, high wind environments.

The Whisper 500 is a two bladed fiberglass reinforced blade and incorporates a patented “angle governor,” designed for quiet operations in high winds. Side-furling overspeed protection turns alternator and blades out of high winds without cutting power output.

Cost: $7,095
Rated Capacity: 3kw
Startup Windpeed: 7.5mph
Rotor: 15 feet (4.6 m)
Interconnection: Utility connected or battery charging
Voltage Output: 24, 32, 48 VDC or 240 VAC
Estimated Energy Production: 1500 KWh/month @12.5mph

5. Bergey Excel
The Bergey Excel is designed for high reliability, low maintenance, and automatic operation in adverse weather conditions. It is available in two configurations: battery charging and grid-tied.

The Excel is a ruggedly built turbine that comes with a 5 year warranty. Connected to the grid, the BWC EXCEL can provide most of the electricity for an average total electric home at moderate wind sites. The all new GridTek 10 power processor (inverter) is the most advanced in the industry and it carries a full UL certification to the latest utility standards.

In a location with moderate winds, the Excel 10kw can provide enough electricity for the average home.

Cost: $21,900-$27,900
Rated Capacity: 10kw
Startup Windspeed:7.5 mph
Rotor: 22 feet (6.7 m)
Interconnection: Utility connected or battery charging
Voltage Output: 48 VDC or 120, 240 VAC
Estimated Energy Production: 1500 KWh/month @12.5mph

*Note: Prices listed are the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, it is quite possible to find them for less (nobody pays retail anymore, right?)

Additional Resources:

American Wind Energy Association - Small Wind
Wind-Works

All pictures are courtesy of the manufacturers.

A Minnesota Farmer Takes on Farm Subsidies, and Creates a Stir

Carla Wise — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 22:07:46 +0000

Jack Hedin is a Minnesota organic farmer who grows food for local markets. He wants to expand his operation to help meet the growing demand for his produce. The way he sees it, the federal government is standing directly in his way, and he’s upset about it. So he sent an Op-Ed to the New York Times, which they published last week. I imagine he was hoping to get people talking about our farm subsidy program and its impact on American food and farming. Judging from my email inbox, he succeeded in spades.

Here’s a summary of Jack Hedin’s story. He farms 100 acres in southern Minnesota, and has found that demand for his organic produce is so strong that he can’t meet it on his land. So last year, he rented 25 acres from two nearby corn farmers, and planted fruits and vegetables on the extra land. It wasn’t long before his landlords ran into trouble with the commodity farm program. This program subsidizes commodity crops, paying farmers who grow corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, cotton, and several others.

While the program was set up to guarantee farmers who grow commodity crops a certain income, it turns out that it also penalizes farmers who then switch to growing fruits and vegetables on “commodity base” acres. This is what happened to the farmers who had rented him the 25 acres. They found themselves out of compliance with the commodity farm program, and would be penalized not only for the subsidy that year for that acreage, but also for the market value of the “illicit” crops.

Read more of this story »

Agriculture Policy and the Safety of Your Food

Beth Bader — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:20:59 +0000

Excuse me while I step up on the soapbox. Ahem. I’ve been chided before about being too political on my food blog. More recipes, Woman! But the thing is, food is all tied up with politics, and there are a few things we eaters need to understand about this. For our own safety. So we can make better choices. This is a pretty short primer on the basics, but there are a lot of great links in here that can help you get the full picture of our food system.

How does food policy impact the safety of what we eat?
I mean, it’s just legislation, right? Laws that are supposed to keep the food supply safe. The basis for these laws was established in 1906 by Theodore Roosevelt in response to the publication of Upton Sinclair’s book, The Jungle. Ironically, one of these laws, the Meat Inspection Act, was supposed to eradicate the use of “4-D” cattle in meats, meaning dead, diseased, decaying and downed. Over 100 years later we are still facing the same issues.

The other act, the Pure Food and Drug Act, was designed to insure the safety of drugs and non-meat food items. However, the two agencies overlap. A raw egg, in the shell, is the responsibility of the FDA. Once the shell is broken, the USDA is in charge. If a processed sandwich is to be inspected, the USDA would have jurisdiction over the meat, the FDA over the bread. Makes all kind of sense, right?

Learn what you need to know about food safety, policy and what you can do as a consumer after the jump.

Read more of this story »

Farm Bill Redux: A Second Change at Real Reform

Beth Bader — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:23:36 +0000

I thought it was over. Like a modern day Don Quixote, I tilted away at the windmill, blogging and firing emails off to my representatives in Washington, rallying for Farm Bill reform. I was not alone. Over 350 pro-reform farm bill editorials hit the mainstream press. The calls for subsidy reform fell on deaf ears at Congress, however, as the 2007 versions of the Farm Bill failed to adequately address the issue.

As the great hope for a better Farm Bill that included subsidy reform amendment Dorgan-Grassley died, the final proposed bill was just left with some token nods to food program assistance and limited support for specialty farmers. Real reform slipped away into the night along with 2007.

With the new year comes a glimmer of hope.
And, that hope comes from a most unlikely source. It seems that the Bush administration, in a fervor to slash all non-Iraq spending, has promised a veto if Congress does not come up with a farm bill that doesn’t feature additional spending. As a result, the subsidy reforms are being revisited, particularly the income cap for eligibility.

The revised plan would call for a lower cap on income for subsidies, but the amount of that cap is a point that has yet to be agreed upon. The house places the cap at a $1 million “hard” cap and a $500,000 “soft” cap that would not apply to people with at least two-thirds of their income from farming. The Senate proposed a $750,000 “soft” cap.

The White House has called for a much lower $200,000 “hard” cap, saying that this cap would end subsidies to roughly 40,000 people.

Opponents of the approach advise that none of these measures will be effective. There are loopholes large enough to drive a combine through, which would allow the larger producers to evade the subsidy caps. As a result, reform activist group, The Center for Rural Affairs, is calling for voters to again urge Congress to consider better approaches to real subsidy reform, such as those offered by Dorgan-Grassley.

Read more of this story »

Economic Conditions Shifting in Favor of Ethanol

Sarah Lozanova — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:14:45 +0000

One of the most viable solutions to our large-scale environmental challenges is to use “waste” instead of virgin materials. This is especially true for the transportation fuels industry. Unfortunately, with the current infrastructure in place, virgin resources can actually be more cost effective than “waste.” I became aware of this when I toured the Coskata ethanol laboratory in suburban Chicago. I discovered that there is a cheaper and more consistent supply of harvested trees to produce ethanol than trash.

Trees, agricultural waste, storm debris and trash are all viable fuel sources for ethanol, using the Coskata process. This highly flexible technology allows future manufacturing plants to cater to locally available materials, making ethanol viable in parts of the globe that would not use corn or sugar cane for fuel. Argonne National Laboratory tests show that greenhouse gas emissions are up to 84% lower for Coskta ethanol than conventional gasoline. It has a net energy balance of up to 7.7, compared to 1.3 for corn-based ethanol. These results were achieved with a production cost of $1 a gallon when timber was used as an ethanol fuel source.

On face of it, you would think that garbage would be the cheapest way to produce fuel, given the flexibility of the Coskata process. In fact, one of the most available and economically viable fuel sources is trees, with the low price tag of $50 a ton. There is a very efficient infrastructure for harvesting and transporting trees. They are available throughout the year, unlike some agricultural products. It is actually cheaper to use trees than sorted garbage and agricultural waste.

Read more of this story »

Environmental Defense: The Year of Eating Locally: An Interview with Barbara Kingsolver

Kira Marchenese — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 17:09:55 +0000

Barbara Kingsolver's latest book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, tells the story of how she and her family lived for a year eating only food they grew themselves or that they purchased from local food-growers.

She was generous enough to take time from her book tour to answer our questions on the importance of keeping in mind that we are what we eat.

Why is buying and eating locally-grown food important?

The shorter the distance between your meal and its point of origin, the more you can know about it. Certain systems of oversight are meant to help you untangle the great unknowns of a complex system: "organically grown," for example, guarantees that a food item was produced without toxic chemicals. But it still may have accrued the same fuel costs of processing and long-distance transport as the conventional counterpart. And if there's profit to be made, corporate agriculture will be involved, with the likely agenda of watering down all standards.

"Locally grown," by contrast, is a designation that's incorruptible. Buying food from growers at small markets or through Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) is really the only way for most of us to step away from a disordered food system. Food from your neighborhood will likely be whole, unprocessed vegetables, fruits, or animal products grown on small, diversified farms by growers committed to the health of their land. The food is good for you, and the money you spend on it stays in your community, helping to keep those nearby green spaces intact and strengthening your local food economy.

Environmental Defense is working to reform the nation's farm policies, which historically have helped agribusiness rather than family-run farms. What can individuals do to help keep farmers on the land?

We can start by thinking about farmers every time we eat. Our food, however it may have been altered in the interim, was grown somewhere, by someone. Who was it? How did that person use the land? How much of my food dollar went to a farmer, to help support sustainable choices? On average, 85 cents of every food dollar goes to the processors, packagers, advertisers and oil companies who profit handsomely from our lack of regard for soil, water, climate and the future. Farmers have no choice but to respond to consumer demand. They can only grow what we will buy.

Food policy is made, not born. It's not "natural" that organic and whole foods cost more than tallow-fried junk. We choose that through our tacit approval of the Farm Bill that defines food and nutrition policy in this country. We've elected to subsidize corporate commodity farms while leaving small, diversified fruit and vegetable farmers on their own, trying to compete. For organic farmers it's even worse – we make them pay for their own inspection and oversight. If we'd like to flip this over and subsidize healthy rather than unhealthy foods, we can call our legislators and start talking. This is a good time to do it, because the Farm Bill is being renegotiated at this moment.

The experiment chronicled in your book was a major family commitment. Did it change you as a family? How?

Commitment is exactly the right word for it, and that's what made the project valuable to us. For years we had been thinking about the food industry and our part in it. We tried to make choices that were better for the environment and our farmers – but mostly when those choices were pretty easy.

When we made a formal commitment to ourselves (and the world, via a book contract) to spend one year eating only fruits, vegetables, and animal products that were produced locally, it felt something like a marriage ceremony. It pushed us toward a fuller engagement with a way of life we really knew we wanted. It moved us to get to the farmers' market even on Saturday mornings when we didn't exactly feel like it. It helped us pass up the Peruvian asparagus and Bolivian bananas, concentrating instead on whatever wonderful things were coming into season in our own county. We learned to start with incredibly fresh ingredients and cook with the seasons. We learned to sleuth out local products at our supermarket, where we found organic dairy products, cider vinegar, and many other wonderful things produced here in our region. We spent more time as a family in the kitchen, and in the garden. Hoeing weeds is good exercise; inventing recipes is both scientifically and artistically creative; these things added up to time well spent. Our formal year-of-local has ended, but we're still eating locally because we enjoy it. We occasionally buy transported foods (usually something from the ocean) but we now consider that a splurge rather than a daily entitlement.

When my kids are my age, everything about food will be different except for one thing: they will still have to eat. The fuel-intensive food industry of the present, which has come to seem normal to us in recent decades, will become impossible. When people look back on this era, it will surely seem grotesquely indulgent. The next generation will have to return in some way to more local and sustainable food economies. I'm happy to participate in this part of my kids' education, giving them a genuine understanding of food processes. What could be more important?

You're a long-time supporter of Environmental Defense. Is there a particular message you would like to give our audience of online members and activists?

Your members already know, as I do, that Environmental Defense is an effective force for steering this country's environmental policies into a cleaner future. I can only offer individual encouragement, and the promise that small changes in our lives, multiplied by thousands, add up to a revolution. We can't wait for radical conservation measures to be imposed on us by our government – that takes a courage that our political system probably can never muster, no matter who's in charge. The way to look at it, I think, is that WE are in charge, individually and collectively. By proving to myself that my family can learn to live well with less, drastically reducing our food-miles and our carbon footprint, I'm giving myself the courage to require more responsibility from myself, my fellow citizens, and our government.

Thanks so much for your time.

Thank you and thanks to all the other Environmental Defense supporters out there

Looking for more environmentally themed books? Check out the Environmental Defense summer reading list.

The Air X is ideally designed for powering small appliances in off-grid installations, remote communications facilities, marine applications, and communities in the developing world.

(Continued on page 3)

In a location with moderate winds, the Excel 10kw can provide enough electricity for the average home.

*Note: Prices listed are the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, it is quite possible to find them for less (nobody pays retail anymore, right?)

Additional Resources:

American Wind Energy Association - Small Wind
Wind-Works

All pictures are courtesy of the manufacturers.

Red, Green and Blue: The Farm Bill

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Thu, 10 May 2007 13:01:44 +0000

Editor's note: In today's Red, Green and Blue, our political commentators Jimmy Hogan and Shirley Siluk Gregory weigh in on the U.S. Farm Bill and its related subsidies, due for reauthorization this year.

Shirley: If Congress is serious about solving the host of problems it claims it wants to fix — rising obesity and diet-related illnesses, polluted stormwater runoff and environmental degradation, food insecurity and overdependence on fossil fuels — it should look no further than the Farm Bill, which is due for reauthorization this year.

As it's crafted right now, the Farm Bill (which, as Michael Pollan writes, should more properly be termed the Food Bill) does little to promote small-scale or sustainable farming. But it's very good at driving chemical-dependent industrial agriculture that floods the market with cheap corn and other commodity crops. The results are an overwhelming supply of corn syrup and corn syrup-derived junk foods that are cheaper than healthy foods, and a system that undercuts family farmers both at home and abroad while helping Big Ag companies like Archer Daniels Midland, Monsanto and Tyson reap ever-growing profits and market share.

For the sake of food security, there's certainly a good case to be made for farm subsidies of the right kind, but that's not what we have right now.

The Air X is ideally designed for powering small appliances in off-grid installations, remote communications facilities, marine applications, and communities in the developing world.

(Continued on page 3)

In a location with moderate winds, the Excel 10kw can provide enough electricity for the average home.

*Note: Prices listed are the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, it is quite possible to find them for less (nobody pays retail anymore, right?)

Additional Resources:

American Wind Energy Association - Small Wind
Wind-Works

All pictures are courtesy of the manufacturers.