Growing Returns

The sea is rising faster than ever. How can we prepare?

By Natalie Snider / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: February 15, 2022

NOAA and interagency partners just released an updated technical report, showing that sea levels will rise by up to a foot nationally by 2050, and potentially by up to two feet by 2100 depending on rates of emissions.

While the findings are stark, we have an urgent window of opportunity to increase protection for communities, natural resources and infrastructure across our coasts and watersheds.

Here are five recommendations for how government leaders can increase the resilience of coastal communities before the worst effects of sea level rise take hold.

Posted in Uncategorized / Tagged coastal flooding, Coasts, hurricanes, NJ flooding, NOAA, NY flooding, sea level rise, VA flooding | Comments are closed

Fostering innovative finance in the agriculture value chain

By Maggie Monast / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: February 4, 2022

Companies throughout the agriculture value chain have set commitments to reduce the environmental impacts of agricultural production. They’re now engaged in the hard work to achieve those goals by developing programs to increase farmer adoption of conservation practices.

As value chain sustainability programs mature, there is increasing attention on the financial barriers to the implementation of sustainable agriculture at scale — and questions about how financial innovation can overcome those barriers.

A recently released report, Financial Innovations to Accelerate Sustainable Agriculture: Blueprints for the Value Chain, provides companies throughout the food and agriculture sector with 12 tangible innovative finance mechanisms and value-added incentive strategies to support U.S. farmers in scaling conservation practices and delivering sustainable outcomes. The blueprints encompass innovations for transition risk sharing, pay for performance, leasing incentives and more.

Here are three key insights for those looking to take action. Read More »

Posted in Uncategorized / Tagged agricultural finance, farm finance, sustainable agriculture, value chain | Comments are closed

Gov. Newsom proposed nearly doubling funds for a new farmland repurposing program. Here are 4 ways it can help people and wildlife.

By Ann Hayden / Bio / Published: January 27, 2022

This month Gov. Gavin Newsom took another important step in supporting the San Joaquin Valley and sustainable groundwater management by proposing $40 million in additional funds for the new Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program, which he and the Legislature created last year with $50 million in initial funding.

This voluntary program aims to help farmers reduce groundwater use by repurposing farmland to other uses that deliver new benefits, including outdoor recreational spaces, wildlife habitat, renewable energy, soil health and groundwater recharge.

Posted in Uncategorized / Tagged California Groundwater, Gavin Newsom, Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program, San Joaquin County, San Joaquin Valley, SGMA, western water | Comments are closed

Arizona water is at a crossroads. Will the Legislature respond?

By Christopher Kuzdas / Bio / Published: January 13, 2022

The Arizona Legislature opened this week with the state facing significant water insecurity. Water has climbed to one of the top three concerns of Arizona voters, who are getting engaged in water issues and will be watching the Legislature closely this session as an election year looms large.

EDF Action and our Water for Arizona Coalition partners are focusing on the following five priorities for this year’s legislative session to respond to residents’ concerns and help ensure water security for Arizona.

Posted in Uncategorized / Tagged arizona drought, arizona infrastructure, arizona water, colorado drought, colorado river, Colorado River Basin, ecosystems, western water | Comments are closed

Virginia must stay in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to successfully address its flood crisis.

By Grace Tucker / Published: January 13, 2022

In 2020, Virginia made history as the first southern state to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a highly successful, multistate carbon emissions cap-and-invest program for the electricity sector.

In its first year, the commonwealth netted $228 million through auction proceeds, with half going toward low-income energy efficiency and weatherization programs and 45% dedicated to Virginia’s statewide Community Flood Preparedness Fund. The fund has made tens of millions of dollars available for local governments and tribes to build capacity, plan and implement flood resilience projects.

Posted in Uncategorized / Tagged ecosystems, RGGI, rural Virginia, virginia flood, virginia greenhouse gas | Comments are closed

Breakthrough agricultural loan rewards farmers for environmental stewardship

By Maggie Monast / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: January 11, 2022

Quantifying the long-term financial benefits of conservation practices that build farm resilience and recognizing that value in the financing offered to farmers would be transformative for farms, lenders and the environment.

That idea received a major boost when Farmers Business Network, a global farmer-to-farmer network and ag tech company, launched a new farm operating loan that includes a lower interest rate incentive for farmers who achieve climate and water quality benchmarks.

Posted in Carbon Market / Tagged carbon sink, farm finance, nitrogen balance, nitrogen sink, sustainable agriculture | Comments are closed

Arizonans have spoken: It’s time to protect rural groundwater.

By Rachel O'Connor / Bio / Published: January 7, 2022

Across roughly 80% of Arizona, there are virtually no groundwater regulations, meaning that anyone can drill a well and pump groundwater, even if it dries up neighboring drinking wells or depletes flows in nearby rivers and streams. It’s the land of “the deepest well wins,” putting livelihoods, communities, agriculture and ecosystems at risk.

To help address this risk, state Rep. Regina Cobb introduced legislation two years in a row that would safeguard critical groundwater supplies by providing at-risk groundwater basins or subbasins in rural Arizona the opportunity to opt in to Rural Management Areas (RMAs). Doing so would trigger the creation of a local advisory board that can leverage a suite of tools to develop a groundwater management plan that considers local needs and context.

Posted in Uncategorized / Tagged Arizona, Arizona groundwater, arizona legislature, rural grundwater, rural water, water security, western water | Comments are closed

2021 began with a Texas-sized water crisis. In 2022, Texas needs solutions.

By Vanessa Puig-Williams / Bio / Published: January 6, 2022

Last February, Texans got a terribly clear view of the fragility of their state’s water infrastructure, as a statewide freeze left millions of Texans without heat or electricity and almost half of the state’s population lost water.

This event provided a stark reminder of what’s at stake. The state’s 2022 water plan estimates that more than $80 billion in projects are needed to meet future water demands and build resilience across Texas.

Posted in Uncategorized / Tagged aquifers, texas aquifers, texas blackout, texas groundwater, texas infrastructure, texas legislature, texas water freezing, western water | Read 1 Response

Nearly 1 million Virginians are at risk of flooding by 2080. The state just released a plan to address that risk.

By Emily Steinhilber / Published: December 20, 2021

Last week, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam released the commonwealth’s first Coastal Resilience Master Plan, the result of a multiyear effort to guide action to address flood risk to better protect communities, businesses and vital natural resources against sea level rise and climate change.

Here are four ways the plan provides a foundation and path forward for Virginia to comprehensively meet the urgency of its flood crisis in a coordinated, equitable way.

Posted in Climate Resilience / Tagged ecosystems, virginia coast, virginia coastal flooding, virginia flooding, virginia infrastructure | Comments are closed

New EDF video helps Texans visualize and protect the groundwater they cannot see

By Vanessa Puig-Williams / Bio / Published: December 16, 2021

Protecting Texas’ vulnerable groundwater supplies raises a challenging dilemma: How can you motivate people to stand up for an underground resource they cannot see?

So we made a video to bring this vital resource to life.

This year, EDF released “Beneath the Surface and Above: The Journey of Groundwater.” The video combines beautiful natural footage from filmmaker Ben Masters and others with computer-generated animation to illuminate the connection between Texas’ groundwater supplies and iconic rivers and springs — and to show how they all need to be protected to safeguard the state’s people, economy and environment.

Posted in Uncategorized / Tagged agriculture, conservation, drinking water, groundwater, rivers, Texas, western water | Comments are closed