Growing Returns

Selected tag(s): resiliency

California’s upcoming water bond measure will do more than meets the eye

By David Festa / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: October 27, 2017

California Capitol Building, Sacramento

There’s a lot to like about SB 5, the $4 billion parks and water bond legislation signed by Governor Jerry Brown, qualifying it for the June 2018 ballot.

For starters, its largest allocation – $725 million – will go toward building new parks in underserved neighborhoods. That’s a good thing for communities who are often overlooked when it comes to environmental investments and protections.

But that’s not all. SB 5 contains some funding programs unlike those seen in past park bonds. A renewed focus on the agricultural community and the Salton Sea is a clear sign that California is taking a magnifying glass to the most serious resource issues in the state. The bond’s “hidden gems” aim to make California more resilient to the droughts, downpours and wildfires that are expected to intensify as a result of climate change.

That’s a good thing for all Californians, not to mention the state’s wildlife. Read More »

Posted in Water / Also tagged agricultural sustainability, central valley, groundwater recharge, Oroville Dam, salton sea, SB 5, sustainable groundwater management act, water bond, water use, working lands | Comments are closed

Hurricane Matthew teaches us four important lessons about resilience

By David Festa / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: October 25, 2016

Read an update on methane, manure and community impacts in North Carolina

Flooded farm field. Photo: Todd Boyd, Pinetown, North Carolina

Photo credit: Todd Boyd, Pinetown, North Carolina, via DTN Progressive Farmer

Floodwaters powered by Hurricane Matthew’s heavy rains are finally receding in eastern North Carolina. Now farmers, communities, and state officials are beginning to take stock of their losses and think about the future.

Here are four lessons we should learn from the devastating storm.

1. Plan for the new normal

In the past 17 years, North Carolina has been hit by two storms causing 500-year floods. Hurricane Floyd in 1999, and Hurricane Matthew this past month. Both hurricanes caused extensive damage and loss of life. But Floyd in particular was especially devastating to animal agriculture and the environment. Read More »

Posted in Coasts and Watersheds / Also tagged chickens, extreme weather, fertilizer efficiency, flooding, floodplain, greenhouse gas emissions, hogs, hurricane, Hurricane Floyd, Hurricane Matthew, manure, no-till, North Carolina, nutrient management, public health, resilience | Comments are closed

What Michael Pollan gets wrong about Big Ag

By David Festa / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: October 12, 2016

Journalist Michael Pollan deserves credit for elevating the national conversation about food. Over the course of 25 years, his articles and books have thoughtfully contemplated the troubling side effects of the American diet and the way our food is produced.

But his latest piece in the New York Times Magazine reads like a script for a black and white Western, with food companies, agribusiness and commodity producers cast in the role of Bad Guy and local organic farmers and vegans cast as the Men in White Hats.

In Pollan’s script, the bad guys are responsible for everything from America’s weight problem and rising health care costs to widespread environmental degradation and monocultures that threaten national security. If only the law would get on the good guys’ side, he muses.

Food production is actually changing

All industries have issues that continually need to be addressed, and the food industry is no exception.

Agriculture consumes a lot of land and water and emits greenhouse gas emissions that must be curbed. And, yes, our diets have contributed to America’s obesity epidemic.

Except, our food system is changing, more than Pollan acknowledges.

The uptick in consumer demand for local, organic products is promising. So, too, are the contributions that Pollan’s so-called villains – the companies, agribusinesses and commodity farmers who produce what’s on our plate – are making to the environment. They deserve recognition. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture, Food / Also tagged ag retailer, ag retailers, agribusiness, Campbell Soup, climate change, commodity crops, commodity farmer, corn, cover crops, David Festa, environmental defense fund, factory farm, farm, farmer, farmers, fertilizer efficiency, fertilizer pollution, food industry, General Mills, greenhouse gas emissions, industrial-scale, Kellogg, Kellogg's, Land O' Lakes, large-scale, Michael Pollan, monoculture, no-till, nutrient efficiency, resilience, Smithfield, Smithfield Foods, soil health, soy, SUSTAIN, tilling, Walmart, wheat | Read 3 Responses

Why Kansas farmer Justin Knopf strives to emulate the native prairie

By Suzy Friedman / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: September 15, 2016

I first met Justin Knopf at a meeting in DC about five years ago. At 6’3”, he definitely stood out, but not just physically. He openly conveyed how important his family and his land are – the reason he cares so much about making sure his Kansas farming operation can live on is for his children. It’s rare to meet someone so articulate, sincere and committed to sustainability.

Over the years, I have become more and more impressed by Justin, who started farming at age 14 when his father gave him the means to rent land and buy seed and fertilizer.

Fast forward to today, and Justin is one of the country’s champions of no-till farming – a practice that has boosted his yields and made his crops more resilient to the effects of extreme weather. His dedication and success caught the attention of Miriam Horn, author of the new book Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman: Conservation Heroes of the American Heartland.

Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman tells the stories of five individuals in the enormous Mississippi River watershed (Justin included) who are embracing sustainability and defying stereotypes. I asked Justin about the book, his beliefs on sustainability and what’s next for no till. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Also tagged agricultural sustainability, agriculture, biological system, biology, climate change, conservation, cover crop, cover cropping no-till, cover crops, environment, environmental defense fund, farmer, farmers, farming, heartland, Justin Knopf, kansas, land, land stewardship, Midwest, Mississippi River, natural resources, no-till, Rancher Farmer Fisherman, resilience, soil conservation, soil erosion, soil health, soil management, stewardship, sustainability, water, watershed | Comments are closed

How coastal restoration in Louisiana is helping rural communities in the Midwest

By Christina Rouse / Published: August 10, 2016

Hunkering down in a duck blind with my dad on the Cuivre River, which feeds into the Mississippi.

Clang. A knot of rusted chains pulls shut the driveway gate, bringing it closed with a final smack against a worn fence post. Just like that, my Sunday afternoon visit to our family farm in Clarksville, Missouri ends. After a quick trip home to Saint Louis, it’s time to catch a flight to Washington, D.C. for my internship.

But not before my dad asks, “Do you want to see downtown?”. I laugh, but agree to check it out. “Downtown” is a relative term in Clarksville – a quiet river community with fewer than 500 residents.

The streets slope down to the shoreline, where historic buildings meet the Mighty Mississippi. A few barges float nearby, unperturbed by the currents that pull toward the Gulf of Mexico. It’s a calm day on the river. I spot a sign emblazoned with a familiar red and white Army Corps castle. Just ahead, a concrete arm extends across the channel. Read More »

Posted in Coasts and Watersheds / Also tagged agriculture, climate change, commerce, crops, economics, environmental defense fund, farmers, farmland, flooding, floodplain, floods, Louisiana, Mississippi, Mississippi River, missouri, resilience, shipping, supply chain, sustainability, water quality, watershed, weather, wetlands | Comments are closed

Despite drought, California agriculture is doing well. But there are hidden costs.

By Scott Sellers / Bio / Published: May 23, 2016

Water scarcity has affected California vineyards

Photo credit: Henrik Johansson

According to a new World Bank report, regions around the world could gain or lose up to 6 percent of their GDP by 2050 depending on how they manage for climate-driven water scarcity.

I was curious about how the report’s findings might apply to California, where I live.

Here in the Golden State, water scarcity is a familiar threat. And while the World Bank found that climate-water costs to North American GDP should be minimal, many Californians have suffered acutely from sustained drought.

In some cases, however, it isn’t entirely clear what the impacts of water scarcity have been. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture, Water / Also tagged agriculture, california, central valley, Climate, climate change, climate-water nexus, drought, economy, environmental defense fund, farmers, global warming, groundwater, groundwater management, job creation, resilience, sustainable groundwater management act, water management, water market, water scarcity, water use | Read 4 Responses

These reforms can unclog California’s water market and help the environment

By Ann Hayden / Bio / Published: May 4, 2016

California has a long tradition of conflict over water. But after five years of drought and an El Niño that failed to live up to its “Godzilla” hype, the conflict has become a crisis. How will the state adjust to a changing climate, increasing demands and prolonged periods of water scarcity?

That’s the question my colleagues and I set out to answer in Better Access. Healthier Environment. Prosperous Communities: Recommendations for Reforming California’s Water Market.

We analyzed the state’s existing market and offered a set of policy reforms to improve the efficiency, accessibility and transparency of the market so that cities, rural communities and ecosystems can benefit without altering existing water rights.

We realize that it will take a portfolio of strategies to increase the state’s resiliency in the face of a growing population and increasingly severe weather. But markets have an especially important role in leveling what has become an uneven playing field. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture, Water / Also tagged AB 2304, agriculture, california, central valley, climate change, disadvantaged communities, drought, El Niño, environment, environmental defense fund, environmental justice, farmers, regulations, The California Water Market Exchange Act, water management, water markets, water transfers, water use, wildlife | Comments are closed

Carbon markets in agriculture are the next big thing

By Robert Parkhurst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: January 24, 2016

I knew I wanted to focus my career on protecting the world’s great places, says Robert Parkhurst, pictured snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef.

In 2006 California passed AB 32, legislation requiring the state’s Air Resources Board to develop market mechanisms to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. It was a watershed moment, and I was lucky enough to be at the event where Governor Schwarzenegger signed the bill.

Even back then I saw the potential for environmental markets to improve climate stability by engaging, rather than penalizing, business. That’s why I’ve spent the past 10 years – seven with electric and information technology companies and the most recent three at Environmental Defense Fund – working to make agricultural GHG reduction programs a reality.

But my passion for conservation started long before passage of AB 32. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, I spent nearly all my free time outdoors, largely through Boy Scouts where I became an Eagle Scout. The moment I earned merit badges for water and soil conservation, I knew I wanted to focus my career on solving environmental challenges and protecting the world’s great places. I’ve been extremely fortunate to spend Thanksgiving atop Mount Kilimanjaro, Christmas on the Great Barrier Reef, and New Year’s Eve soaking in the natural beauty of New Zealand.

I believe carbon markets are the best tool we have for limiting emissions from agriculture, maintaining yields, and ensuring a food secure future.

These days my camping excursions involve my son and daughter, who are lobbying me to buy a plug-in electric car. Seeing my kids share that same excitement for solving environmental challenges brings a smile to my face like nothing else can.

That’s why I’m working to build a $2 billion market for agricultural greenhouse gas reductions by the end of 2020. I believe carbon markets are the best tool we have for limiting emissions from agriculture, maintaining yields, and ensuring a food secure future. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Also tagged agriculture, california, California Air Resources Board, Carbon Offsets, Climate, climate change, conservation, environment, environmental defense fund, farmers, farming, farms, food production, GHG mitigation, nutrient efficiency, stewardship | Comments are closed