pollution
Air pollution makes honeybees work harder
Honeybees and other insect pollinators rely on scent to find plants from thousands of feet away while foraging for food, but air pollutants break down the scent molecules, says a team of researchers led by Penn State. As a result, bees spend more time searching for food and less time pollinating.
Pennsylvania vows to boost Chesapeake Bay clean-up efforts
Two Pennsylvania officials said the state will work harder to reduce pollution runoff into the Susquehanna River, which flows into the Chesapeake Bay, reports Lancaster Online. The river is the main source of fresh water for the bay.
Sixty Iowa cities confront high nitrate levels in tap water
Nitrate pollution affects communities in Iowa ranging from the state's largest cities to "many of its smallest," says the Des Moines Register, "evidence of a contamination problem that reaches across the state."
“You have never seen the sea but in an oyster on the shell”
"The future of Maryland seafood was born aground, in a hand-made aquarium rigged with a couple of five-gallon buckets from Lowe's," begins Madeleine Thomas, in a special report at Grist on the potential for aquaculture to...
Ag-heavy Eastern Shore has big role in Chesapeake pollution
The U.S. Geological Survey says "excess fertilizer and manure applied to the Chesapeake Bay's Eastern Shore are causing poor-quality water flows in streams that flow into the bay."
Buffer strips would help Iowa curb nutrient runoff – EWG
If Iowa farmers plant buffer strips alongside waterways, they "could get two-thirds of the way to the state’s goal for reducing phosphorus pollution and one-fifth of the way to the nitrogen pollution target," says a report by the Environmental Working Group.
Fertilizer management, filtering can cut runoff by 45%
Nitrogen runoff could be reduced by 45 percent in the Mississippi River basin - the heart of U.S. grain farming - with adoption of practices that reduce fertilizer waste and conversion of as little as 3.1 million acres of farmland to filter and hold nutrients that now flow downstream, says a research paper. Nitrogen runoff from farms and other sources is blamed for the "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico.
Lawsuit seeks US air pollution limits on large livestock farms
Five environmental, animal welfare and community organizations filed suit in federal district court in Washington, DC, to force EPA to set air pollution standards for large livestock farms.
Des Moines water lawsuit, Vermont and two manure cases
State Rep Gary Worthan, who represents two of the northwest Iowa counties targeted by the Des Moines Water Works for a lawsuit over nitrate levels in the Raccoon River, said the utility should "reel in their legal beagles...talk with us and find a common solution" said the Des Moines Register.
Des Moines water board plans to sue over nitrate runoff
The Des Moines Water Works trustees are expected to vote today to sue three farming counties in northwestern Iowa for high nitrate levels in the Raccoon River, one of two watersheds tapped for drinking water in Iowa's capital city.
Algae blooms in Lake Erie put spotlight on agricultural runoff
The algae bloom that shut down Toledo's drinking-water supply for two days this summer has put the spotlight on agricultural runoff, although farmland is not the only source of the pollutants that cause the explosive growth of the cyanobacteria, says...
Large portion of China’s farmland is degraded
More than 40 percent of China's arable land suffers from degradation, such as the impact of erosion, fertility losses, climate change and pollution, according to the official news agency Xinhua, said Reuters.
As ethanol use rises, energy content of gasoline dips
The Energy Department says with ethanol and other oxygenates comprising 10 percent of the fuel supply for cars and light trucks, the energy content of gasoline has fallen by 3 percent over a 20-year period.
Progress made, more needed on Chesapeake Bay pollution
States in the Chesapeake Bay region made progress in controlling water pollution from agriculture and communities but many jurisdictions are short of goals, says the Associated Press in summarizing...
EPA allots climate pollution grants for natural lands and agriculture
Illinois will encourage the adoption of no-till farming while Minnesota aims to restore 10,000 acres of degraded peatlands with their share of $931 million awarded to agricultural and natural lands projects by the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday. The money is part of $4.3 billion in Climate Pollution Reduction grants for 25 projects in 30 states.