Growing Returns

How a producer-led movement to diversify food production can strengthen global food supply

By Leah Beaulac / Bio / Published: July 15, 2024

As the world faces growing climate impacts and shocks, the need for a more sustainable and resilient food system has never been more urgent. Last year, the Kansas wheat harvest, known as a bellwether for global agriculture, hit a 60-year low due to severe drought. Record-breaking floods decimated European harvests in the same year.

Climate-driven impacts, such as prolonged droughts, severe floods and unprecedented temperature shifts are already creating lasting repercussions for global agricultural and fishing communities. This instability affects local communities, jeopardizing livelihoods and food security. One strategy to enhance the resilience of aquatic and terrestrial food systems is food production diversification. Read More »

Also posted in Food / Tagged food, water | Comments are closed

Revisiting a centuries-old approach to farming that embraces water scarcity.

By afajardoanstine / Published: December 7, 2023

As discussions at COP28 wrestle with climate impacts on global food and water security, we hear from a Hopi farmer on his thriving practice of dry farming and his hopes for shared learning in Dubai.

______

The arid climate of the Hopi reservation in northeastern Arizona receives a mere 8.5 inches of annual rainfall. For perspective, the yearly United States average is 30 inches. Despite this severe aridity, for over 3,000 years, the Hopi people have stewarded an extraordinary agricultural tradition centered on dry farming.

Dr. Michael Kotutwa Johnson is an Indigenous Resiliency Specialist at the University of Arizona and a leading practitioner of Hopi dry farming — a form of agriculture that eschews irrigation in regions with limited water moisture. As a 250th-generation Hopi dry farmer, his ongoing traditional practices are a testament to the power of cultural values and the potential of climate-adaptive farming. These ongoing Hopi farming practices defy modern notions of crop needs and vulnerability in areas with limited irrigation and water supply.

Also posted in Agriculture, Food / Tagged agriculture, climate change, climate resilience, colorado river, conservation, drought, environmental defense fund, farmers, food production, sustainability, water quality, water use | Comments are closed

Water is a high-level priority at COP 28, we need to look to ground-level users for solutions

By Ann Hayden / Bio / Published: November 30, 2023

Water has finally reached the highest levels of global climate negotiations. The path to a sustainable freshwater future, however, lies with ground-level users. At COP 28, EDF is elevating their voices, their needs and the approaches they find most useful.

_______

While greenhouse gases drive climate change, many of its impacts are inherently liquid. Whether through drought, flood, sea-level rise, or contamination, water increasingly forms the turbulent core of the climate crisis.

Over the past year, this basic reality was finally acknowledged at the global planning table. Thanks to a strong push from its Egyptian hosts, last year’s edition of the main UN climate conference, COP 27, made water a central theme. The cover decision — the summation of the conference’s key agreements — featured water and food for the first time. The decision acknowledged the central role of water in countering climate impacts and called for water-related targets in national climate planning.

Also posted in Agriculture / Tagged agriculture, climate change, climate resilience, conservation, cover crops, drought, environmental defense fund, sustainability, water quality | Comments are closed

Learning from shared scarcity: the Colorado River, the Yellow River and the world

By Brian Jackson / Bio / Published: October 31, 2023

This blog is co-authored by Yiwei Gan.

One of the largest rivers in the world struggles to reach the ocean. Spread across a huge slice of a continent, its basin supports millions. Yet the weight of its work to irrigate and power booming farms and cities in an increasingly arid zone is straining the river to a breaking point. For many working in the western water space, this describes the Colorado. A river whose over-work and over-allocation, despite its fundamental role in sustaining life for half a continent, seems in many ways singular.

Also posted in Agriculture / Tagged agriculture, China, climate change, colorado river, environmental defense fund, sustainability, water, water solutions, Yellow River | Comments are closed

For some Texans, a day without water is not imaginary – it is an unfortunate reality

By Vanessa Puig-Williams / Bio / Published: October 19, 2023

In Presidio County, running water is a luxury that some residents do not enjoy. Families in Las Pampas, a Colonia near the Mexican border, must truck water from the City of Presidio to their homes north of town, spending money and time to secure what many Texans take for granted – running water and the economic opportunity this provides. Decades ago, when Las Pampas was first developed, a few groundwater wells supplied water to homes and even a restaurant, but the wells were poorly constructed and too shallow to access reliable underground water in this desert region. Eventually, they stopped flowing, and Las Pampas literally dried up. Read More »

Also posted in Agriculture / Tagged climate change, Hill Country Texas, Texas, texas water | Comments are closed

Hispanic Heritage Month: meet local leaders helping communities address key water issues

By afajardoanstine / Published: October 12, 2023

As Hispanic Heritage Month ends, we celebrate our Hispanic Water Leadership Institute alumni making a difference in their communities.

Nearly 20% of the United States identifies as Hispanic. The largest minority group in the country is also the largest group disproportionately impacted by contaminated groundwater. This is due to a lack of resources and widespread inequities in funding, policies, investment in water infrastructure and education. Read More »

Also posted in Agriculture / Tagged california, climate change, climate resilience | Comments are closed

EDF and partners launch interactive Grand Canyon website

By Morgan Ross / Published: May 22, 2023

A new website from EDF, American Rivers, and Four Corners Mapping provides a special look at the Grand Canyon through an educational, interactive journey. The interactive tool invites people to take a tour through the Grand Canyon and learn how the complexities of the Colorado River crisis impact the Grand Canyon and its surrounding communities and ecosystems through words, images, and short videos. Read More »

Posted in Water / Tagged Arizona, arizona water, climate change, colorado river, environmental defense fund, Glen Canyon Dam, Grand Canyon, groundwater, Lake Mead, lake powell | Comments are closed

New report: Investing in Arizona’s water future

By Anélyse Regelbrugge / Published: May 16, 2023

This blog is co-authored by Rachel O’Connor, Manager, Climate Resilient Water Systems.

As Arizona’s water crisis worsens due to extreme drought and overuse, more attention than ever is being directed toward addressing this critical issue. At the federal level, an influx of funding has become available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. And at the state level, the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA) has just begun accepting proposals for its first allocation of $200M for water conservation projects.

Posted in Water / Tagged Arizona, arizona water, climate change, conservation, environmental defense fund, farmers, resilience, sustainability | Comments are closed

Exciting new partnerships help Groundwater Accounting Platform expand to new regions

By Mike Myatt / Published: December 20, 2022

This blog is co-authored with the California Water Data Consortium.

By Mike Myatt (Senior Director, Climate Resilient Water Systems – EDF) and Hannah Ake (Senior Program Manager – California Water Data Consortium)

A key first step toward managing groundwater sustainably in California, as required by the state’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), is tracking how much water is being used and how much is available – otherwise known as water accounting – because you can’t manage what you don’t measure. This is especially true during drought.

To help groundwater agencies more easily track and communicate supply and demand, state water agencies, the California Water Data Consortium, and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) announced a partnership last year to make an open-source Groundwater Accounting Platform (Platform) available to groundwater agencies. In the exciting latest news, three more water agencies have signed on to use the platform and help expand its functionality as the Department of Water Resources has committed more funding and expertise to further develop it. The Platform offers a readily accessible source code and is a cost-effective option for water managers to adapt and customize accounting practices; rather than developing their own tools from scratch. Read More »

Posted in Water / Tagged california, drought, environmental defense fund, SGMA | Comments are closed

Replicable revenue streams can help natural infrastructure projects receive State Revolving Fund financing

By Vincent Gauthier / Bio / Published: November 30, 2022

Natural infrastructure can provide protective barriers to reduce flood risk while also offering community green space and supporting green jobs. Louisiana GOHSEP, CC BY SA 2.0.

Authors: Vincent Gauthier (EDF), Tee Thomas (Quantified Ventures)

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will invest more than $44 billion in the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, or SRFs, presenting a tremendous opportunity to finance natural infrastructure solutions that can improve water quality and protect communities against flooding. While natural infrastructure can be a cost-effective way to improve water quality and reduce flood risk, these projects have historically been difficult to finance through SRFs due to a lack of consistent repayment streams.

EDF and Quantified Ventures recently published a report that identified five replicable repayment streams that communities and conservation groups can use to access SRF financing for natural infrastructure such as wetlands, floodplain restoration, and riparian buffers. These repayment streams include stormwater utility fees, source water protection fees, and environmental markets.

Also posted in Agriculture, Coasts and Watersheds / Tagged clean water, climate change, conservation, environmental defense fund, natural infrastructure, natural infrastructure projects, sustainability | Comments are closed