The new report of fumonisin in corn came from Nebraska. Previously confirmed reports of fumonisin in corn have come from: Missouri, Texas,Illinois, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Kansas [node:read-more:link]
The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis today published a report noting weaknesses in the financing behind the Dakota Access Pipeline and questions around the long-term usefulness of the project. The report—“The High-Risk Financing Behind the Dakota Access Pipeline: A Potential Stranded Asset in the Bakken Region of North Dakota”— describes how the company behind the pipeline is under extreme financial to complete the project and how the pip [node:read-more:link]
The Interior Department finalized a rule today designed to slash the volume of natural gas that's vented and flared each year into the atmosphere from roughly 100,000 wells on federal and tribal lands. The Methane and Waste Prevention Rule's goal is twofold: Reduce releases of methane, a greenhouse gas that's more than 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide, and ensure that taxpayers get a fair return on the use of federal lands by capturing flared gas that is not subjected to royalty payments. [node:read-more:link]
A newly approved herbicide will allow farmers to open a new front in their war against weeds next year, but some fear fallout for their own crops from illegal spraying of related chemicals. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday approved MonsantoCo.’s XtendiMax, a powerful new formulation of the powerful weed killer known as dicamba. Farmers and the company have said the new version is needed to combat pest plants that can choke out soybean and cotton plants, and which can’t be killed by other sprays. [node:read-more:link]
These canines were trained to detect zebra and quagga mussels, invasive species which have caused ecological problems in the US since first detected in the 1980s. Like their bomb-sniffing and drug-sniffing counterparts, these dogs have been trained to pick out the scent of zebra and quagga mussels in an attempt to identify the creatures before they take hold in a new area. These environmental watchdogs are typically deployed to boat-inspection sites to make sure any ships entering their domain are not carrying these unwanted stowaways. [node:read-more:link]
German authorities say a flock of 30,000 chickens has been destroyed in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein after a strain of bird flu was detected in their enclosure. The animals were killed Sunday and Monday as a precaution to try to contain the H5N8 strain of the virus, which can easily spread among birds but is not known to infect humans. [node:read-more:link]
Women over the age of 50 who follow a high-protein diet could be at higher risk for heart failure, especially if much of their protein comes from meat, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2016. [node:read-more:link]
Starting in December, state transportation officials will launch a program to test a new way to raise funds that could one day eliminate the need for the state’s 22-cent per gallon gas tax, which hasn’t been adjusted upward in more than two decades: Make motorists pay for every mile they drive. The Colorado Department of Transportation’s Road Usage Charge Pilot Program will recruit 100 volunteers to track how far they drive and then “pay,” in theory, 1.2 cents per mile for their use of the road. [node:read-more:link]
Animal agriculture far too often gets more than its fair share of the blame for the global problem of antibiotic resistance, so when I saw that U.S. President Barack Obama proclaimed November 13-19 as Get Smart About Antibiotics Week, I had to see what he had to say. The proclamation was pleasantly surprising. [node:read-more:link]
In Massachusetts, the measure (inaccurately) titled “An Act to Prevent Cruelty to Farm Animals” which defined how pigs, veal calves and laying hens could be housed passed by a large margin. [node:read-more:link]
