Agriculture

"A number of small Black-owned farms in the Gulf South are growing crops with the climate in mind. Hilery Gobert is among them. He owns a 65-acre farm in Iowa, La., that he started farming in 2020. He has been trying to improve the soil since then. To do that, he rotates crops and uses cover crops to keep nutrients in the ground. The land now supports a variety of crops, including okra, figs, Asian eggplants and watermelons."

"US regulators claim they are not legally required to regulate toxic PFAS chemicals in sewage sludge spread on farmland across the country, according to a court filing the government made this week in response to a lawsuit from an environmental watchdog group."

"By practicing agroforestry — growing trees alongside crops and livestock, for example — farmers can improve soils, produce nutrient-rich foods, and build resilience to climate change. Now, a movement is emerging to bring this approach to the depleted lands of the Corn Belt."

"Will Tipton’s farm, not far from the Mississippi River, has been in his family since 1836. For the past eight generations, his family mostly planted one crop per field per year — and that was it. “Straight soybean, soybean, soybean,” Tipton says."

"The amount and proportion of the powerful heat-trapping gas methane that humans spew into the atmosphere is rising, helping to turbocharge climate change, a new study finds."

"Drinking water contamination is a chronic, insidious threat in California’s rural communities. Some have been waiting for clean water for years."

"Climate change is affecting our food, and our food is affecting the climate. NPR is dedicating a week to stories and conversations about the search for solutions.

Looking for solutions to our food needs in a changing climate? Add these episodes to your listening rotation! And visit the Climate Solutions Week podcast collection on the NPR app for even more recommended episodes."

Jack Mitchell reports for NPR September 9, 2024.

"Urban wet markets are fertile grounds for viral transmission, experts say. Outbreaks of bird flu have already occurred."

"The family placed flowers by a pair of weathered cowboy boots, as people quietly gathered for the memorial of the soft-spoken tribal chairman who mentored teens in the boxing ring and teased his grandkids on tractor rides. Left unsaid, and what troubled Marvin Cota’s family deep down, was that his story ended like so many others on the remote Duck Valley Indian Reservation. He was healthy for decades. They found the cancer too late."

"North Atlantic populations are at a historic low, and this year 33 of the country’s rivers were closed during the fishing season as salmon farming and the climate crisis threaten the fish’s future"