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Urban farming in the US: Breaching the urban-rural divide
Lucy Wallwork Waste Management & EnvironmentalFarming is one of the oldest professions there is. But as society has urbanized, we have gradually lost our connection with the industry that puts food on our plates. One jarring survey in the U.K. found that nearly 1 in 10 elementary school children think that tomatoes grow under the ground. In parallel with urbanization has come the severing of our relationship with the people and land that grows our food. But now we are hearing that a new urban revolution in food is apparently sweeping through our city centers… so, can urban farming change our relationship with food?
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Climate science’s growing bipartisan appeal
Michelle R. Matisons Civil & GovernmentFlorida became embroiled in an interesting controversy a few years back. It was widely reported that then-Gov. Rick Scott placed a cabinetwide moratorium on using climate change terminology. Now, in an informative about-face, the Sunshine State’s current governor, Ron DeSantis, has instituted a new climate science position held by Florida Chief Science Officer Dr. Tom Frazer. This position is just one example of the growing appeal of climate science across party lines.
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What’s your office’s air pollution level?
Lisa Mulcahy Facilities & GroundsYou probably figure you don't need to worry about air pollution unless you're sitting in traffic. Think again — the way you go about daily tasks in your office can actually create unhealthy levels of harmful air, putting you and your team at risk for respiratory diseases and other health issues. What can you do to stop the problem?
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Ford adds to auto layoffs, manufacturing turmoil
Michelle R. Matisons ManufacturingAuto manufacturing layoffs are not a new development. The last round of General Motors layoffs, announced in November, triggered a domino effect of panic and speculation that continues amidst Brexit negotiations, Green New Deal debates, and ongoing presidential campaigning. As American as apple pie, the auto manufacturing sector is a good litmus test for what ails the U.S. economy. By this logic, as goes Detroit so goes the nation. One problem is that no one can decide if we must throw the baby of cleaner energy out with the bathwater of old manufacturing chains.
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New York-area pipeline halted, Keystone XL persists
Michelle R. Matisons Waste Management & EnvironmentalPipelines have become one of the biggest issues in U.S. environmental politics since the 2016 Standing Rock protests against Energy Transfer's Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). The main issues opponents raise are groundwater contamination and spills. These concerns can be found across the country, as pipeline opponents in the Northeast recently defeated a 37-mile, $1 billion natural gas project, the Williams Companies’ proposed Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) Pipeline. Intended to connect natural gas fields from Pennsylvania through New Jersey to New York, the pipeline application has been rejected on a technicality, citing potential copper and mercury contamination in water.
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New discovery could solve the world’s ocean plastics problem
Scott E. Rupp Waste Management & EnvironmentalA study recently published in Nature seems to suggest that there is "a significant increase in open ocean plastics in recent decades," going back nearly 60 years. The study was based off a 2015 investigation that estimated there were between 4.8 trillion and 12.7 trillion pieces of plastic entering the ocean every year. However, there’s been a potential breakthrough by scientists at Berkeley Lab that may change everything we know about plastic and plastic waste. Published in Nature Chemistry, the Berkeley Lab researchers found a new way to assemble plastic elements and reuse them "into new materials of any color, shape or form."
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US tariffs on Chinese imports grow
Seth Sandronsky Civil & GovernmentThe cost of trade between China and the U.S. is rising. Tariffs, or taxes, on $200 billion of Chinese imports to the U.S. rose from 10% to 25% one minute after midnight on May 10. "The tariff increase inflicts significant harm on U.S. industry, farmers and consumers," Douglas K. Barry, director of communications and publications for the U.S.-China Business Council told MultiBriefs in an email. "American agricultural exports to China are particularly impacted. According to our recent survey, some states' exports were down 50%. The entire American agricultural sector is feeling the stress."
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Climate change creates clashes in courts, streets
Michelle R. Matisons Waste Management & EnvironmentalThere are many ways people are remonstrating against climate change currently — from packing the streets to bringing action forward in less-populated courts. While putting on festive clothing and donning your favorite environmental slogan with large numbers of people is surely the more exciting option, key elements of the climate battle persist in the more understated world of the U.S. court system as well. More and more, the courts have become a refuge for frustrated organizations and individuals who want companies held accountable, and the legal strategy has been somewhat effective in educating the public about relations between different branches of government.
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US farm populations continue to decline
Scott E. Rupp Food & BeverageThe 2017 Census of Agriculture, released in early April 2019, shows that the amount of total land devoted to agricultural use continues to decline in the U.S. and the number of farms is declining. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), there were 2.04 million farms and ranches in the U.S. in 2017, down more than 3% from 2012. The agency went on to say that the amount of land devoted to agriculture declined by nearly 2% to 900.2 million acres from 914.5 million acres in 2012.
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Springfield, Missouri’s Wonders of Wildlife Museum and Aquarium is…
Dave G. Houser Recreation & LeisureHere’s a multibillion-dollar American success story that began in the unlikely setting of a small-town liquor store. That’s where, in 1971, Johnny Morris launched his Bass Pro Shops hunting and fishing empire — selling bait and fishing tackle out of the back of his father’s Brown Derby booze shop in Springfield, Missouri. More than just an entrepreneurial retailer, Morris, now 71, is also one of America’s most renowned outdoorsmen, and his ultimate vision goes way beyond selling fishing rods, bass boats and shotguns. He is a powerful advocate in support of global environmentalism and conservation.
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