Climate Agriculture
All Stories
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![A drone hovers in front of a tractor with fertilizer equipment during a 2021 technology show in a field in northern Saxony. A multispectral camera on the drone detects the fertilizer needs of the arable plants.]()
![A drone hovers in front of a tractor with fertilizer equipment during a 2021 technology show in a field in northern Saxony. A multispectral camera on the drone detects the fertilizer needs of the arable plants.]()
Although the data is thin, advocates say robotics and AI will soon revolutionize agriculture
Because most of the systems aren’t yet on the market, there’s precious little real-world data proving they work.
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![A boy sitting in an alley pouring water on himself during an extreme heat wave in New Dehli, India]()
![A boy sitting in an alley pouring water on himself during an extreme heat wave in New Dehli, India]()
Record heat in India and Pakistan is a wake-up call
Climate change is making heat waves more frequent and intense, experts say.
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![lots of cows packed into two aisles in a barn with hay in-between them. The cows are very crowded]()
![lots of cows packed into two aisles in a barn with hay in-between them. The cows are very crowded]()
In Wisconsin, small towns want more regulations for big farms
The state's agricultural lobby says local efforts to regulate CAFOs are illegal.
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![Surplus corn harvested in 2010 is piled outside a farmer's co-op storage silo December 4, 2010 in Paoli, Colorado]()
![Surplus corn harvested in 2010 is piled outside a farmer's co-op storage silo December 4, 2010 in Paoli, Colorado]()
Biofuels are getting a second look — and some tough questions
Bioethanol has been touted as a green way to cut reliance on Russian oil. But new modeling suggests it isn't the climate solution we'd hoped for.
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![collage of bare apple tree covered in snow with pruning shears, leaves, and abstract red circles]()
![collage of bare apple tree covered in snow with pruning shears, leaves, and abstract red circles]()
What I learned from pruning Milwaukee’s orphaned fruit trees
People are planting more trees. But they're not always prepared to take care of them.
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![A mound of earth with some trees on top rises from a parched desert landscape.]()
![A mound of earth with some trees on top rises from a parched desert landscape.]()
UN report: People have wrecked 40% of all the land on Earth
A warning that the damage done to the land threatens many species, including our own.
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![The Glen Canyon Dam at Lake Powell]()
![The Glen Canyon Dam at Lake Powell]()
As Lake Powell dries up, the US turns to creative accounting for a short-term fix
A new agreement calls for Western states to leave their drinking water in the reservoir — and act as if they didn't.
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![An aerial view of the AltEn facility, surrounded by green fields.]()
![An aerial view of the AltEn facility, surrounded by green fields.]()
How a Nebraska ethanol plant turned seeds into toxic waste
State regulators shuttered the AltEn plant in 2021 after years of environmental violations. Residents are just beginning to grapple with its toxic legacy.
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![A man walks toward a solar panel in Illinois.]()
![A man walks toward a solar panel in Illinois.]()
As utility-scale renewables expand, some Midwest farmers are pushing back
Rural communities are concerned about losing agricultural land in a region long-defined by its farming roots.
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![A tank of produced water used for farming. For decades, Kern County has used oil field wastewater, known as]()
![A tank of produced water used for farming. For decades, Kern County has used oil field wastewater, known as]()
A California water board assured the public that oil wastewater is safe for irrigation. Experts say evidence is flimsy.
Studies in Kern County, performed by oil industry consultants, cannot answer fundamental safety questions about irrigating crops with “produced water,” the board’s own panel of experts conceded.
