Growing Returns

New analysis shows cover crops and no-till reduce crop insurance claims

By Vincent Gauthier / Bio / Published: March 2, 2023

Soybeans in a cover crop (cereal rye).

The extremely wet spring of 2019 caused 14.2 million acres of cropland to go unplanted in the Midwest. Farmers across the region had flooded fields that kept them from getting equipment onto the fields to plant their crops. This resulted in over $4 billion of prevent-plant crop insurance claims, which assists farmers when weather conditions keep them from planting a crop altogether. Amidst these adverse weather challenges, farmers who were using cover crops and no-till reported facing less water on their fields, which allowed them to plant when their neighbors couldn’t.

A new study backs up these Midwest farmer stories with big data. Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience / Tagged claims, cover crops, crop insurance, farmers, farming, Midwest, no-till, research, resilence, university, USDA | Comments are closed

The farm bill is a powerful opportunity for agricultural climate solutions

By Ben Thomas / Published: February 22, 2023

U.S. farmers, ranchers and foresters will need additional tools and resources to protect their land, keep growing food on a changing planet and contribute to national efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. That’s where the farm bill comes in.

The farm bill is a critical piece of legislation that comes up every five years. It authorizes programs that provide producers with a safety net in tough times and supports them in adopting climate-friendly production practices.

As Congress begins writing the next farm bill, new recommendations from the Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance provide some of the most significant alignment on climate and agriculture policy priorities to date. Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience / Tagged agriculture, climate resilience, FACA, farm bill, farmers, ranchers | Comments are closed

Three ways to take bold action to protect urban coastal wetlands

By Adam Gold / Published: February 2, 2023

Wetlands can be powerhouses for climate adaptation and resilience. This World Wetlands Day, we are highlighting one type of wetland that impacts people the most – coastal urban wetlands. Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience / Tagged climate resilience, Coasts, Coasts and Watersheds, natural infrastructure, wetlands | Comments are closed

A new way of partnering with the Corps leads to innovative wetland mitigation solutions and increased flood resilience.

By Natalie Snider / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: January 23, 2023

Today marks the release of the Record of Decision (ROD) from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on a restoration project known as the River Reintroduction into Maurepas Swamp (or Maurepas Diversion) that will serve as mitigation for the West Shore Lake Pontchartrain hurricane risk reduction levee project (WSLP). Read More »

Posted in Climate Resilience / Tagged Coasts, Coasts and Watersheds, resilience, wetlands | Comments are closed

Biden’s roadmap to nature-based solutions could be the key to future resilience planning.

By Sarah Henshaw / Published: January 12, 2023

In early December 2022, the Biden-Harris administration announced the release of a Roadmap to Accelerate Nature-Based Solutions to address climate change, inequity, and nature loss. This roadmap outlines five strategic recommendations for federal agencies designed to put the U.S. on a path to maximizing the use of nature-based solutions.

Coastal Resilience 2021 - Hampton Roads region, VA

Chesterfield Heights – Historic neighborhood with living shoreline construction project comprised of a raised berm (a mound of ground), grass plantings, wetland restoration, oyster reefs, and storm drains.

Posted in Climate Resilience / Tagged climate resilience, Coasts, Coasts and Watersheds | Comments are closed

Building climate resilience requires a whole-of-government approach. Here’s how Louisiana is making it happen.

By Natalie Snider / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: December 1, 2022

As communities in southwest Florida, Puerto Rico and elsewhere in the Caribbean struggle to recover from the damages of an active hurricane season, efficient, proactive resilience solutions have never been more important.

Louisiana continues to be a world leader in the planning and implementation of coastal resilience. Louisiana will release the fourth iteration of its Coastal Master Plan in early 2023, which provides the most science-based and publicly informed plan in the nation. Since the first plan, $21.4 billion has been invested in flood resilience infrastructure – focused on restoration of coastal ecosystems that provide essential flood risk benefits and grey infrastructure such as levees and seawalls. Other state agencies have also invested billions in rebuilding their infrastructure, such as schools, hospitals and prisons.

Flooded hospital in Louisiana after a storm.

However, flood resilience is not just about infrastructure but also the ability of government agencies to maintain programs and services their constituents rely upon, from trash collection to food assistance to healthcare. Louisiana is the first to take a step toward a whole-of-government approach to ensure communities have access to the essential services they need to rebuild and thrive in the face of future flood risks.

Posted in Climate Resilience / Tagged coastal louisana, Coasts, flooding, hurricanes, Louisiana, sea level rise | Comments are closed

Five ways U.S. agriculture can adapt to climate change

By Eileen McLellan / Bio / Published: November 10, 2022

Farmers have a long history of steadily increasing crop yields through technological innovation and improvements in management practices. However, as climate change makes weather more extreme and variable than ever before, productivity progress will likely stall by 2030 — even if the U.S. maintains past rates of R&D investment and innovation. Adaptation efforts must begin now to protect food supplies and farmer livelihoods.

Adaptation options can be deployed at various scales to combat the unknown challenges ahead.

Posted in Climate Resilience / Tagged adaptation, agriculture, climate change, cover crops, food, sustainable agriculture | Comments are closed

How will climate change affect U.S. crop yields?

By Kelly Suttles / Published: November 10, 2022

As the UN climate conference kicks off in Egypt, food and agriculture are central to negotiations for the first time. More severe droughts, warmer temperatures and heavier rainfall fueled by climate change are making it harder than ever for the world’s one billion farmers to grow food and fiber. While some farms and regions are more vulnerable than others, climate change will affect farmers everywhere.

Here in the U.S., where farmers have a long history of steadily increasing yields, climate change will likely cause crop productivity gains to stall — or even reverse — as soon as 2030.

Posted in Climate Resilience / Tagged adaptation, agriculture, climate change, corn, cover crops, farmers, food, iowa, kansas, Minnesota, soybeans, sustainable agriculture, wheat | Comments are closed

EDF Celebrates the Passing of the NY Bond Act.

By Kate Boicourt / Bio / Published: November 9, 2022

In the climate policy world, states and localities are often laboratories of innovation and progress. However, with the devastating impacts of hurricanes, wildfires and heat waves, residents are already experiencing the costly impacts of climate change. To mitigate these costs, EDF supports innovative funding and financing strategies — especially in areas that are most vulnerable to climate impacts. One example of this is EDF’s work on a ballot measure in New York State.

This week, voters passed the historic Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act ballot measure. This comes on the heels of the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, ushering in a variety of new flood resilience projects aimed at mitigating these risks to communities.

Posted in Climate Resilience / Tagged clean water, climate resilience, Coast, coastal resilience, Coasts, ecosystems, environmental justice, green jobs, New York, NY Bond Act | Comments are closed

New report provides a science roadmap for natural climate solutions

By Emily Oldfield / Published: October 31, 2022

Natural climate solutions, such as reforestation and wetland restoration, can help slow climate change and increase resilience in the face of climate impacts we can’t avoid.

These approaches have substantial and growing support from bipartisan lawmakers, the private sector and environmental nonprofits. However, big questions remain: Where are these strategies most effective? To what extent can they meaningfully remove and reduce greenhouse gases? How will increased drought, fire and pest outbreaks impact their ability to stave off climate change?

Posted in Climate Resilience / Tagged climate change, climate mitigation, climate res, ecosystems, natural climate solutions | Comments are closed