Agriculture

"Every US state except Alaska and Kentucky is facing drought, an unprecedented number, according to the US Drought Monitor."

"About 160 countries and 140 companies pledged to combat the potent greenhouse gas, yet releases from the fossil fuels sector remain near record highs."

"Cassandra Garduño squinted in the sunlight, her pink boots smudged by dirt as she gazed out over her family’s chinampa — one of the islands first built up by the Aztecs with fertile mud from the bottom of a lake that, later drained, would one day become Mexico City."

"When voters head to the polls on Tuesday to decide the next US president, residents of Sonoma County, California, will be asked to decide another contentious issue – they will be voting on a measure that would make their county the first in the nation to ban factory farms."

"As pesticide companies struggle to cap legal payouts to plaintiffs who claim they were injured by Roundup and other products, money from two political committees affiliated with major pesticide manufacturers has surged into state-level politics."

"Colorado wildlife experts are at odds over whether a ballot measure to ban the hunting of certain wildcats would help or hurt the formidable felines that have long been intrinsic to Rocky Mountain ecosystems."

"Former President Donald Trump has promised on the campaign trail to take a sledgehammer to the Biden administration’s energy and environmental policies. That means the Interior Department — a vast agency that oversees public lands, the national parks, Western water conservation and endangered species protections — is sure to witness drastic policy shifts if Trump reclaims the White House in January."

"A pig at an Oregon farm was found to have bird flu, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday. It’s the first time the virus has been detected in U.S. swine and raises concerns about bird flu’s potential to become a human threat."

"Many industries rely on the agency’s weather and climate data. Even a small gap in its operations could raise food prices and drastically disrupt how people navigate the West’s changing climate."