AgClips
Recent AgClips
A Republican lawmaker seeks solar momentum for South Carolina
Southeast Energy News | Posted onAugust 18, 2016 in Energy NewsOne of the roundtable attendees was state Sen Chauncey "Greg" Gregory, who has sponsored significant legislation in the state to support solar power. A few years ago, Gregory visited his sister in Portland, Oregon, and saw solar panels on hundreds of rooftops. “It seemed ridiculous to me that a state that is cloudy 8 months a year had so much solar energy,” he says, “while South Carolina had so little.” He decided to try and change that. The state’s sunny neighbors - Georgia and North Carolina were making big strides in solar.
Sun burn: Solar tax credits scorch state budgets
Utility Drive | Posted onAugust 18, 2016 in Energy NewsSolar power can burn a hole in a state’s budget, but a well-designed plan can bring benefits. Demand for residential or rooftop solar power, spurred in part by state incentives, is growing rapidly. But if incentives are not well-designed, they can overwhelm a state’s budget. Regulators and utility officials in several states have been surprised – not always in a positive way – by the effects of their solar power policies. Louisiana is one of the more recent, and more dramatic, examples.
Biomass Power Slumps as EPA, Industry Spar on Science
Climate Central | Posted onAugust 18, 2016 in Energy NewsThe industry that burns wood to produce electricity is floundering nationwide because of low power prices, and some lawmakers from heavily forested states are pushing to provide it with an extraordinary market advantage.
US CO2 Emissions From Natural Gas Will Top Coal in 2016
Green Tech Media | Posted onAugust 18, 2016 in Energy NewsA steady drumbeat of new natural-gas plants have replaced coal as the dominant source of electricity generation in the U.S. At the beginning of 2016, America’s coal production fell to its lowest level in 30 years. But the increasingly heavy reliance on natural gas has exacted a toll. The energy-associated carbon dioxide emissions from natural gas are expected to top the CO2 emissions from coal for the first time more than 40 years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
California Senate proposes new plan to spend cap-and-trade money
LATimes | Posted onAugust 18, 2016 in Energy NewsWith two weeks left in the legislative session, Senate leader Kevin de León is making a new effort to unsnarl a two year budget gridlock over money generated from the state's cap-and-trade program. The $1.2-billion spending plan would include money for cleaner cars, energy efficient upgrades and urban parks.
First-of-its kind project would replace Lee County wind turbines
Sauk Valley | Posted onAugust 18, 2016 in Energy NewsThe Mendota Hills wind farm could be the first in the nation to decommission its entire fleet of turbines and replace a portion of them with upgraded models. Dallas-based Leeward Renewable Energy, which owns the wind farm, has requested a special-use permit from the Lee County Board to remove its 63 turbines in the southeast region of the county and build between 33 and 35 new structures.
Should you worry about food animals causing drug resistance in people? No. Should you worry about raw milk? Definitely.
Pork Network | Posted onAugust 18, 2016 in Food Newsa recently released report once more finds no conclusive evidence of a link between the use of antibiotics in food animals and the emergence of drug-resistant Campylobacter. The article began, “As controversy continues…” but in truth, “controversy” surrounding disease resistance caused by antibiotic use in food animals primarily exists because of misinformation and misinterpretation of research. Here is what the report actually stated.
FDA policy changes may turn veterinarians into beekeepers
Bangor Daily News | Posted onAugust 18, 2016 in Agriculture NewsThey may be neither fish nor fowl, but as far as the United States government is concerned, honeybees are livestock. Which means as of the first of the year, beekeepers — including the roughly 1,200 in Maine — will no longer have access to certain over-the-counter antibiotics used to treat the condition known as European foulbrood, and are going to need prescriptions for the drug from a licensed veterinarian.
Mystery of Bizarre Bird Deformities May Be Solved
National Geographic | Posted onAugust 18, 2016 in Rural NewsScientists working with sophisticated DNA sequencing technology think they may have solved a 20-year-old mystery of what has caused thousands of Alaska’s wild birds to be afflicted with deformed, twisted beaks. The findings suggest that a newly discovered virus – poecivirus – may be the culprit behind the bizarre beak deformities in chickadees, crows, and other birds. Birds with the defective beaks, which sometimes cross like warped chopsticks, starve to death or die early.
Dog and dog owner injured in Victoria after cat attacks seven pit bulls
Vancouver Sun | Posted onAugust 18, 2016 in Rural NewsIn a case of canine/feline role reversal, seven pit bulls were set upon by an aggressive cat — sending a dog and an owner for medical treatment. “The dogs were walking by, completely minding their own business,” she said. “The cat just goes at all of the dogs, not backing down.” The pit bulls and pit bull crosses were leashed and none of them fought back, Grover said. They just began barking after the attack began. Del Thompson said the sight of all the dogs would have been intimidating for his cat, Baby. “She’s a watchdog and doesn’t know it,” he said.