Here are some recent reports by the Congressional Research Service related to the environment/energy beat. Congress does not release them to the public. We again thank the Federation of American Scientists' Government Secrecy Project for doing so.
"Some of the main proposals in a draft text for negotiation at a U.N. sustainable development conference next month are being watered down at informal talks in New York, observers said on Tuesday, heightening fears the summit will fail to deliver."
"WASHINGTON -- Biotechnology's promise to feed the world did not anticipate 'Trojan corn,' 'super weeds' and the disappearance of monarch butterflies."
"Get ready for the heat. Scientists at Stanford University in California and Purdue University in Indiana say global warming is going to hit hard in Corn Belt states where it most matters -- the corn market. The study, financed by the U.S. Department of Energy, says that the corn market will be walloped in the coming years by climate change."
The US Agriculture Department's Wildlife Services agency, at farmer request, kills predators that may harm farm animals. But critics say it does serious harm to non-target species and uses needlessly cruel and indiscriminate methods.
"Federal officials have been quick to reassure the public that there is no health threat from the mad cow disease discovered in the carcass of a Tulare County dairy cow. But there is a lot they don't know about the type of infection in that carcass -- including how the cow got the disease, how long it was ill, and the risk to the public if that strain gets into the food supply."
"OTTAWA - The Conservative government is using its massive budget bill to update Canada's food regulations so new health claims, food additives and chemical contamination caps can be approved much more quickly."
"WASHINGTON — The Senate Agriculture Committee passed a five-year, half-trillion-dollar farm bill on Thursday that would cut spending by almost $25 billion."
"If the mad cow found in California has you wondering about food safety, well, there are plenty of problems that pose serious risks to the food supply. But mad cow disease shouldn't be high on the worry list."
"Where have all the bees gone? The question has vexed farmers, beekeepers, regulators and scientists since the fall of 2006, when U.S. bee populations began their mysterious decline."
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