The ideas behind regenerative farming are simple and ancient
People taking the training are often surprised to find out that sustainable ecological farming—and healthy soil—actually thrives when cattle graze the land. Matthew and Terces Engelhart, founders of the popular vegan chain Café Gratitude and parents of Kiss the Ground co-founder Ryland Engelhart, keep chickens and cattle on their farm in Northern California, dubbed the Be Love Farm. After 40 years as vegetarians, they decided to eat the meat from their own farm. The Engelharts’ switch caused an outcry among the vegan community; they even received death threats.
Tickell and other Kiss the Ground advocates say the issue is less a question of whether to eat meat, but what kind. “Fewer still know that conventionally farmed food requires 3 pounds of toxic chemicals per American per year. And even fewer know that the process of growing organic produce requires the deaths of vast numbers of animals. Our choice for the future of food therefore is not vegan versus paleo versus omnivore versus vegetarian,” Tickell writes in his book. “Rather, we must choose between a food system that honors and respects the lives of flora, fauna, planet, and people versus a system that demoralizes, dehumanizes, and destroys our biological commons.”
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/03/13/climate-solution-right-under-our-feet
HIGH COST OF CHEAP FOOD
Sustainable ag expert shares insight on consequences of industrial farming
‘The ultimate agricultural practice’: Q&A with organizers of World Agroforestry Congress 2019
Imagine the vast GMO-glyphosate soybean fields of America’s Heartland
transformed into a perennial forest with swarms of hazelnut trees,
deeply-rooted and thick as lilac bushes, fourteen feet tall, and laden
heavy with oil-rich nuts that have a 101 uses.
Imagine the annual harvest of hazelnuts fulfilling a cornucopia of
needs: for animal feed, for cooking oil, for fuel, for human food – and
for many of the purposes and functions now fulfilled by soy.
Regenerative Agriculture, healthy soils, clean water and increased profits
Rice Factory Discontinues Pesticides by Inaugurating Its Own Bio-Lab
“Grupo Pelón” Will Develop Its Own Microorganisms of Fungi and Beneficial Bacteria to Fight Pests
https://thecostaricanews.com/rice-factory-discontinues-pesticides-by-inaugurating-its-own-bio-lab/
Patagonia is expanding its line of adult beverages that it produces in
conjunction with Hopworks Urban Brewery in Portland Oregon. The Long
Root Wit is a classic Belgian-style wit beer made with organic
ingredients and Kernza perennial grain.
https://dirtragmag.com/articles/patagonia-provisions-long-root-wit
What is the future direction for organic food markets?
A new masterclass will discuss the future direction of the organic food market
Latest agriculture emissions data show rise of factory farms
https://www.iatp.org/blog/201903/latest-agriculture-emissions-data-show-rise-factory-farms
A new nature documentary, narrated by Sir David Attenborough and exploring the pressures
on “our planet,” premieres on Netflix on April 5
https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/our-planet
Transformative Climate Action Is Possible — If Polluters Stay Away
https://truthout.org/articles/transformative-climate-action-is-possible-if-polluters-stay-away/
ECONOMIC VIABILITY OF EXISTING
COAL COMPARED TO NEW LOCAL
WIND AND SOLAR RESOURCES
Will High-Speed Rail Ever Get on Track in the U.S.?
https://www.ecowatch.com/high-speed-rail-united-states-2632740130.html
75% of Scotland’s Electricity Now Green; & All Cars Electric by 2032
https://www.juancole.com/2019/03/scotlands-electricity-electric.html
The Rapid Decline Of The Natural World Is A Crisis Even Bigger Than Climate Change
A three-year UN-backed study from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform On Biodiversity
and Ecosystem Services has grim implications for the future of humanity.
Green New Deal critics can’t see the forest for the trees
https://theconversation.com/green-new-deal-critics-cant-see-the-forest-for-the-trees-111712
The Best Technology for Fighting Climate Change Isn’t a Technology
Forests are the most powerful and efficient carbon-capture system on the planet
Inaction is not a choice. by Frances Moore Lappé
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/03/12/green-new-deal-not-choice
Bank on Climate Change
Fossil Fuel Finance Report 2019
https://www.ran.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Banking_on_Climate_Change_2019_vFINAL.pdf
‘Coal is on the way out’: study finds fossil fuel now pricier than solar or wind
Around 75% of coal production is more expensive than renewables, with industry out-competed on cost by 2025
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/mar/25/coal-more-expensive-wind-solar-us-energy-study
Australia is experiencing a rapid energy transition & is on track
to reach 100% renewable energy by 2032 at approximately zero net cost!
Most of the developing countries in sunbelt can follow this path too & avoid the damage to the earth’s climate.
https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/australian-model-renewable-energy-transition
Oil and gas majors have spent $1 billion undermining climate action since 2015, report says
Global Carbon Emissions Reached Record High in 2018
https://www.ecowatch.com/global-carbon-emissions-2018-2632862370.html
Global expansion and redistribution of Aedes-borne (tropical insect) virus transmission risk with climate change
The established scientific consensus indicates that climate change will severely exacerbate the risk and burden of
Aedes-transmitted viruses, including dengue, chikungunya, Zika, and other significant threats to global health security.
Here, we show more subtle impacts of climate change on transmission.
https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0007213
Protecting small, old-growth forests fails to preserve bird diversity: Study
Countries with the Largest CO2 Pollution Over Time (1850 to 2017)
Only 12% of Republican Fox News viewers believe climate change is man-made
https://www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-republican-viewers-reject-climate-change-science-2019-3
Big Oil’s Real Agenda on Climate Change
How the oil majors have spent $1Bn since Paris on narrative capture and lobbying on climate
Alaska judge blocks Trump on Arctic and Atlantic drilling
Global Climate Strike: Meet the teenagers skipping school to fight for a greener planet
The Kids are the Grownups in the Room
https://sarahmosko.wordpress.com/2019/03/29/the-kids-are-the-grownups-in-the-room/
Thousands of scientists are backing the kids striking for climate change
Students around the world are walking out of school to urge governments to do more about global warming.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00861-z
FDA Lifts Import Ban on Genetically Engineered Salmon
Consumer, Native and Environmental Groups Decry FDA Decision
https://foe.org/news/fda-lifts-import-ban-genetically-engineered-salmon/
Despite Food and Drug Administration approval, GMO salmon
might be dead in the water.
Thanks to the inspiring work of thousands of Friends of the Earth members and allies, 80 grocery retailers
with nearly 16,000 stores nationwide have listened to scientists and consumers and made commitments to not sell GMO salmon;
these include Walmart, Costco and Kroger, the top three largest retailers in the world, and Albertsons, Safeway, Target , Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.
Also, a growing number of chefs and restaurant chains including Red Lobster
and Legal Sea Foods have made similar commitments.
https://foe.org/projects/gmo-animals/
Court Finds That Monsanto’s Roundup Caused California Man’s Cancer
AND
Monsanto found liable for California man’s cancer and ordered to pay $80m in damages
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/mar/27/monsanto-trial-verdict-cancer-jury
Who is paying for Monsanto’s crimes? We are. by Carey Gillam
A US court ordered Monsanto to pay $80m in damages because it hid cancer risks.
That’s a small consolation for victims.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/30/who-is-paying-for-monsantos-crimes-we-are
The World Is Losing Fish to Eat as Oceans Warm, Study Finds
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/28/climate/fish-climate-change.html
Impacts of historical warming on marine fisheries production
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/363/6430/979
Heatwaves sweeping oceans ‘like wildfires’, scientists reveal
Extreme temperatures destroy kelp, seagrass and corals – with alarming impacts for humanity
The Shells of Wild Sea Butterflies Are Already Dissolving
This long-predicted outcome of ocean acidification experiments has started showing up in the wild.
For more than a decade, laboratory studies and models have warned of the vulnerability of pteropods—
tiny sea snails also known as sea butterflies—to ocean acidification
https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/the-shells-of-wild-sea-butterflies-are-already-dissolving/
What’s the world’s most widely used herbicide doing to tiny critters?
Glyphosate-based herbicides are not supposed to harm wildlife.
But lab studies keep finding otherwise.
Achieving Paris climate target could net additional billions in fisheries revenue
Ocean acidification could impact Atlantic cod populations more severely than previously thought
The 3 Big Things That People Misunderstand About Climate Change
David Wallace-Wells, author of the new book The Uninhabitable Earth,
describes why climate change might alter our sense of time.
As evidence of man-made global warming hits ‘gold standard’, Robert Mercer continues funding denialists
Sri Lanka scientist blames industry as award for herbicide glyphosate research is axed
Insecticide Linked to Increased Breast Cancer Risk — 40 Years After Exposure
3 reasons why people fall for politicians’ lies about statistics
http://theconversation.com/3-reasons-why-people-fall-for-politicians-lies-about-statistics-110014
WATCH: EWG Asked People If They’d Like to Eat Cereal With Monsanto’s Weedkiller in It
https://www.ecowatch.com/ewg-cereal-weedkiller-2630190063.html
A Troubling Discovery in the Deepest Ocean Trenches
In the Mariana Trench, the lowest point in any ocean, every tiny animal tested had plastic pollution hiding in its gut.
Plastics: The New Coal in Appalachia?
With the natural gas fracking boom, plastics production is spreading
in the Ohio River Valley. But at what cost to health and climate?
The periodic table is 150 years old
Its creation is a perfect illustration of how science progresses
Growing Up Near Nature Is Good for Your Adult Mental Health, New Research Suggests
https://www.ecowatch.com/nature-children-mental-health-2630369136.html
“The Last Pig” Doesn’t Offer Any Easy Answers on Animal Farming
https://truthout.org/articles/the-last-pig-doesnt-offer-any-easy-answers-on-animal-farming/
Crises on the Colorado River : a 5 part series
https://e360.yale.edu/series/crisis-on-the-colorado
Norway divests from plantation companies linked to deforestation
https://news.mongabay.com/2019/03/norway-divests-from-plantation-companies-linked-to-deforestation/
When It Comes to Climate Change, Centrism Is Not the Answer
Author John Feffer is interviewed
https://truthout.org/articles/when-it-comes-to-climate-change-centrism-is-not-the-answer/
Petrochemical Giants Are Slowly Killing Black Louisiana Communities
Polluting industry generates feedstock for common plastic products, including grocery bags and throwaway bottles.
https://truthout.org/articles/petrochemical-giants-are-slowly-killing-black-louisiana-communities/
Is Costa Rica’s ambitious Decarbonization Program a Model for the US Green New Deal?
https://www.juancole.com/2019/03/ambitious-decarbonization-program.html
A Green Job Guarantee | Dollars & Sense
http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2019/0119miller.html
There’s Nothing Radical About the Green New Deal
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/03/01/theres-nothing-radical-about-green-new-deal
Most US coal plants are contaminating groundwater with toxins, analysis finds
Of 265 US power plants that monitor groundwater, 242 report unsafe levels of at least one pollutant derived from coal ash
Chemical pollutants in the home degrade fertility in both men and dogs, study finds
There has been increasing concern over declining human male fertility in recent decades with studies
showing a 50% global reduction in sperm quality in the past 80 years. A previous study by the
Nottingham experts showed that sperm quality in domestic dogs has also sharply declined,
raising the question of whether modern day chemicals in the home environment could be at least partly to blame.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-03/uon-cpi030119.php
‘Give back to the earth’: Washington plans to legalize composting of human remains
The legislation, if signed, would see the state become the first in the US to legalize the alternative to cremation and burial
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/11/human-composting-after-death-washington
We’re Living in the Warmest Decade Since Record-Keeping Began
(Climate Disruption Dispatches)
https://truthout.org/articles/were-living-in-the-warmest-decade-since-record-keeping-began/
BirthStrikers: meet the women who refuse to have children until climate change ends
A movement of women have decided not to procreate in response to
the coming ‘climate breakdown and civilisation collapse’. Will their protest be a catalyst for change?
Organic Farms Are Under Attack From Agribusiness, Weakened Standards
For the health of our planet and agrarian justice—consumers need to become co-producers,
learning about why it is such a struggle for smaller farms to thrive, and acting in solidarity
by paying fair prices, buying direct or seeking out meaningful labels
AIR POLLUTION KILLS MORE PEOPLE THAN SMOKING
And as usual, it’s the communities that are least responsible for it that suffer the most.
https://psmag.com/environment/air-pollution-kills-more-people-than-smoking
ARCTIC::>>
US Dept. of the Interior hid scientists’ criticism of ANWR drilling: report
https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060127067
Why Climate Change Pundits Aren’t Convincing Anyone
Doom and gloom essays are more likely to offend skeptical readers than to convince them.
Cognitive studies suggest there’s a better way.
https://undark.org/2019/03/14/climate-change-essays-are-unconvincing-2/
Record high US temperatures outpace record lows two to one, study finds
Scientists say AP study consistent with peer-reviewed literature and shows clear sign of human-caused climate change
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/mar/19/climate-change-temperatures-weather-us-news
Pesticide residues found in 70% of produce sold in US even after washing
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/mar/20/pesticide-residues-produce-even-after-washing-us
Destruction from sea level rise in California could exceed worst wildfires
and earthquakes, new research shows
https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-california-coast-storm-damage-20190313-story.html
Climate Changed
Trump Again Seeks Deep Cuts in Renewable Energy Funding
Preparing for Invasive Pests Before They Arrive
With increased globalization and climate change, more countries are preparing
for the inevitable arrival of crop-destroying scourges from abroad.
https://undark.org/article/preparing-for-invasive-pests-before-they-arrive/
CLIMATE CHANGE IS FUELING WILDFIRES AROUND THE WORLD.
CAN INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE HELP US MANAGE THEM?
Combining traditional knowledge with modern science and technology
could reduce loss of property and human life from out-of-control blazes.
https://ensia.com/features/indigenous-knowledge-wildfires-australia/
Mongabay’s top 5 forests stories of 2019 (so far) for International Forests Day
Jim Crow in our Climate Crisis
Our extreme weather is blowback from energy systems that
were designed and operated in ways that entrenched inequalities
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/03/21/jim-crow-our-climate-crisis
Judge Blocks Oil and Gas Drilling on 300,000 Acres in Wyoming Until Government Considers Climate Impacts
https://www.ecowatch.com/oil-and-gas-drilling-climate-change-2632334652.html
The case for bringing back glass beverage bottles & imposing a $1 deposit per bottle
Recording Reveals Oil Industry Execs Laughing at Trump Access – POLITICO Magazine
France Would Save $44.5 Billion by Betting on Renewable Energy instead of nuclear, Agency Says
Why Kenya must take control of sand harvesting off its coast
https://theconversation.com/why-kenya-must-take-control-of-sand-harvesting-off-its-coast-113952
Banks pumped $1.9 trillion into fossil fuels since the Paris climate deal
Your checking account is funding climate disaster.
Dead Whale Found With 88 Pounds of Plastic Inside Body in the Philippines
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/18/world/asia/whale-plastics-philippines.html
Plastic Pollution: Could We Have Solved the Problem Nearly 50 Years Ago?
https://www.ecowatch.com/plastic-pollution-2632861782.html
EU parliament approves ban on single-use plastics
The European Parliament votes by 560 to 35 in favour of banning 10 single-use plastics.
Cuba acknowledges climate change threats in its constitution
Move is the latest in a series that the country has made aimed at dealing
with stronger hurricanes, more intense droughts and rising sea
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00760-3
Honey as a Pollution Detector? It’s a Sweet Idea
Beehives and their contents are a sensitive detector of lead emissions,
a study of Canadian urban apiaries showed.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/18/science/honey-beehives-pollution-lead.html
Whales Rocked by Heavy Metals
A study shows concerning levels of chromium and nickel in Gulf of Maine whales.
https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/whales-rocked-by-heavy-metals/
Tropical Forests Are Being Replanted, But How Long Will the New Trees Last?
Many nations have pledged to reforest vast swaths of land, but ensuring
ecosystems’ recovery and survival will require long-term commitment.
https://undark.org/2019/03/19/tropical-reforestation-temporary/
Forests scramble to absorb carbon as emissions continue to increase
Emissions growth in United States, Asia fueled record carbon levels in 2018
Who keeps buying California’s scarce water? Saudi Arabia
Saudi-based Almarai owns 15,000 acres of an irrigated valley –
but what business does a foreign food production company have drawing resources from a US desert?
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/25/california-water-drought-scarce-saudi-arabia
FRESHWATER SPRINGS SUPPORT AMAZING ECOSYSTEMS AND
REFLECT THE HEALTH OF AQUIFERS HUMANS RELY ON.
WHAT CAN WE DO TO PROTECT THEM?
Threatened by water use and climate change, these groundwater gems are
drawing new attention from scientists and lawmakers alike.
https://ensia.com/features/freshwater-springs/
EU consumption results in high carbon emissions from tropical deforestation, studies show
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190327080707.htm
and
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-03/cuot-ecr032619.php
When women make decisions, the environment benefits
https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/when-women-make-decisions-the-environment-benefits/
Why Housing Policy Is Climate Policy
In California, where home prices are pushing people farther from their jobs, rising traffic is creating more pollution.
By Scott Wiener and Daniel Kammen
Senator Wiener is the chairman of the California Senate’s Housing Committee.
Dr. Kammen is a professor of energy at the University of California, Berkeley.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/25/opinion/california-home-prices-climate.html
WHAT FOOD-RELATED CAUSES DO U.S. CONSUMERS CARE ABOUT TODAY?
Scenic City Sights Linked To Higher Happiness
https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/scenic-city-sights-linked-to-higher-happiness/
Trump’s Pick to Head Interior Blocked Report Warning of Pesticide Risk to 1,000+ Endangered Species
https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-interior-pesticides-endangered-species-2632923847.html
CLIMATE FWD: (NY Times)
One Thing You Can Do: Brew a Greener Cup of Coffee
Also this week: Our correspondent braves the Northern European winter on a commuter bike
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/27/climate/nyt-climate-newsletter-coffee.html
Wounded Wilderness: The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill 30 Years Later
On the surface, Prince William Sound appears to have recovered.
But you don’t have to dig too deep—into the soil or into memories—
to find the spill’s lingering effects.
https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/wounded-wilderness-the-exxon-valdez-oil-spill-30-years-later/
The Doomsday Vault’s home is already altered by climate change. A report says it could get worse.