AgClips
Recent AgClips
Lawmakers and local activists support environmental justice bill
The Sun Chronicle | Posted onNovember 1, 2017 in Energy, SARL Members and Alumni NewsClean air and water are guaranteed rights under the Massachusetts Constitution, and lawmakers and activists hope these rights will soon become law. The Legislature is considering bills to protect low-income, minority and other at-risk populations from the effects of pollution. Local activists hope the proposals will help their communities and increase awareness of this issue.Almost three years ago, then-Gov.
China’s huge demand for dairy and Australian baby formula driving up butter prices
Weekly Times Now | Posted onNovember 1, 2017 in Agriculture NewsChina's endless demand for Australian dairy and baby formula is behind the butter price rises — and it will soon force bakeries to switch from using butter to margarine to survive.
New York law protects agritourism
Farm and Dairy | Posted onNovember 1, 2017 in Agriculture, Rural, SARL Members and Alumni NewsNew York Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently signed legislation that will amend state law regarding agritourism, clarifying the legal responsibilities for both farm operators and visitors. This legislation establishes limited liability protections for the inherent risks of inviting the public onto a farming operation.Agricultural tourism and outdoor recreation activities that include horseback riding, u-pick Christmas trees and fruit orchards, along with tours of wineries and maple operations, all now have a new line of defense against frivolous lawsuits.
St. Louis, Long a Coal Capital, Votes to Get All of Its Power From Clean Sources
NBC | Posted onNovember 1, 2017 in Energy NewsSt. Louis became the 47th American city to set a goal of getting all of its electricity from clean, noncarbon sources with a vote by local lawmakers Friday — a significant watershed given its long-standing ties to the fossil fuel industry. The unanimous vote by the Board of Aldermen commits the city to transition to solar, wind and other renewable energy sources by 2035. The city will assemble a group — made up of workers, environmentalists, business people, utility representatives and others — to draw up a plan by December 2018 for reaching the benchmark.
Oil Drilling—Coming to a National Park or Monument Near You?
Sierra Club | Posted onNovember 1, 2017 in Energy, Rural NewsYou know that a proposed oil and gas lease is really, truly an awful idea when even Governor Gary Herbert, Utah’s normally pro–fossil fuel development leader, is against it.
How Fossil Fuel Allies Are Tearing Apart Ohio's Embrace of Clean Energy
Inside Climate News | Posted onNovember 1, 2017 in Energy NewsBill Seitz, a charismatic Republican, took to the floor of the Ohio House to make a case for gutting a 2008 law designed to speed the adoption of solar and wind as significant sources of electricity in the state. The law, he warned, "is like something out of the 5-Year Plan playbook of Joseph Stalin." Adopting a corny Russian accent, he said, "Vee vill have 25,000 trucks on the Volga by 1944!'" Nine years before, Seitz and his colleagues, Republicans and Democrats alike, had voted overwhelmingly for the measure he now compared to the work of a Communist dictator.
Dept of Energy Subsidy plan for coal and nuclear plants 'will cost US taxpayers $10.6bn a year'
The Guardian | Posted onNovember 1, 2017 in Energy, Federal NewsA Trump administration plan to subsidize coal and nuclear energy would cost US taxpayers about $10.6bn a year and prop up some of the oldest and dirtiest power plants in the country, a new analysis has found. The Department of Energy has proposed that coal and nuclear plants be compensated not only for the electricity they produce but also for the reliability they provide to the grid. The new rule would provide payments to facilities that store fuel on-site for 90 days or more because they are “indispensable for our economic and national security”.
Sadly, Denver’s proposed cat declawing ordinance would hurt some cats
The Denver Post | Posted onNovember 1, 2017 in Rural, SARL Members and Alumni NewsIn his book “Applied Economics: Thinking Beyond Stage One,” economist Thomas Sowell describes an insight he gained while he was an undergraduate at Harvard. After the young Sowell had enthusiastically listed the benefits of a favorite public policy proposal, his professor asked “And then what will happen?” over and over until Sowell began to see the unintended consequences that would surely follow.When lawmakers stop at stage-one thinking and don’t anticipate what happens next, the consequences are often worse than the problem the policy was intended to solve in the first place.
Kraft Heinz goes over to GAP
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted onNovember 1, 2017 in Food NewsThe Kraft Heinz Company today announced it will up its animal welfare standards for broiler chickens in its U.S. supply chain. Kraft Heinz said that by 2024, the company will: Source 100 percent of our chicken from breeds approved by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or Global Animal Partnership (GAP) for measurably improved welfare and quality of life
Senators from refinery states request Trump meeting on biofuels
Reuters | Posted onNovember 1, 2017 in Energy NewsNine U.S. senators from states that have oil refineries sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging changes to the country’s biofuels policy and asking for a meeting to discuss the issue. The letter reflects growing tensions between refiners that oppose the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard - a law requiring them to blend increasing amounts of ethanol into the nation’s fuel each year - and the Midwest corn lobby that supports it.