Latest Articles

On the art and brutal economics of small-scale farming

Since moving to the North Carolina mountains in 2004 to launch a farm project, I've learned some sobering lessons about idyllic rural life.

To wit, small-scale organic farming is an art form -- and as with most artistic endeavors, the hours are long and the pay is crap. How did I wind up penniless and exhausted, sporting a beat-up pair of Carhartts? You'd think I had set up shop as an abstract painter in some squalid, ruinously priced Williamsburg, Brooklyn, garret.

(There's much to love about the farming life, too: for example, the volunteer broccoli raab that's sprouting up everywhere in one part of the garden, a triumph of unintentional permaculture. Saute it with a little olive oil, garlic, crushed chile, and vinegar, and you remember why you came to the farm in the first place.)

The USDA's Economic Research Service recently released two reports on the state of farm economics. The information contained therein can help greens as they formulate an agenda for the 2007 Farm Bill (which may be even more important than defending biofuel and hybrids from critics.)

Coal gasification: “clean coal” or subsidy-hungry boondoggle?

Governing magazine has an excellent, compact overview of current developments in coal. If you're hazy on gasification this, coal-to-liquid that, and Fischer-Tropsch the other, I recommend it.

With oil and natural-gas prices rising and coal in plentiful supply, it's more or less inevitable that coal's going to get used, so it makes sense that (some) enviro organizations are biting the bullet and joining the push for the cleanest possible applications.

There is reason for cautious optimism. Coal mining is destructive as hell, but in places like northeastern Pennsylvania -- where the article focuses, and where the first U.S. coal-to-liquid plant will be built starting this Spring -- there's waste coal laying all over the place, leaching acid into groundwater (the legacy of pre-regulatory coal mining). The plant will gather that coal as feedstock and replace it with solid waste covered in soil, thereby creating farmland or forest.

Michael Pollan digs into the mysteries of the U.S. diet in The Omnivore’s Dilemma

In The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, Michael Pollan diagnoses the national attitude toward food: angst. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, by Michael Pollan, Penguin Press, 320 pgs, 2006. Channeling the modern middle-class shopper wandering vast supermarket aisles, Pollan asks: “The organic apple or the conventional? And if […]

Pistil Whipped

Plants don’t absorb as much CO2 as expected, study finds Those who tout tree-planting as the answer to all the earth’s problems may have to go back to the drawing board (the planting board?): A new study in Nature finds that carbon dioxide-absorbing plants can’t hoover up quite as much of the greenhouse gas as […]

The Mass Is Always Greener on the Other Side

A green agenda on immigration should emphasize local production Regardless of their disagreements on other subjects, political elites in both major U.S. political parties believe above all in globalization — the notion that goods and capital should move freely over borders. But they believe that labor policy — i.e., the movements of people — should […]

One Flu Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Wetland restoration could help contain bird flu A recent report commissioned by the U.N. gives a unique reason to restore tens of thousands of lost or degraded wetlands: It could help keep bird flu at bay. Upon finding their regular flocking grounds drained for agriculture or hydroelectricity, some wild birds alight on still-wet rice paddies […]

Ready, Aim, Hire

Green career expert Kevin Doyle gives advice to green job-seekers Our eco-jobs columnist, Kevin Doyle of the Environmental Careers Organization, is back again with wise counsel to help you get that green gig you’ve always wanted. This week he dips into his virtual mailbag and answers letters from an undergrad curious about environmental science and […]

Lung Out to Dry

Thousands of Manhattanites suffer post-9/11 respiratory problems With all due respect to the Free-Floating Anxiety and War Fever afflicting many in the post-9/11 world (prescription: less talk radio), at least 15,000 people have actual medical complaints related to the attack. Many victims afflicted with “World Trade Center cough” assumed it would pass once the dust […]

An eco-career guru answers reader mail

As director of program development at The Environmental Careers Organization, Kevin Doyle knows a thing or two about job searching. In this recurring column for Grist, he'll explore the green job market and offer advice to eco-job-seekers looking to jumpstart their careers.

Here's a career-development tip for would-be writers and bloggers: Don't miss your deadlines! I'm sorry for letting so much time pass between postings.

To get back in your good graces, I've decided to dip into the mailbag and address some of the many questions you've asked. Happy reading, and thanks for your patience.

I am an undergraduate student trying to figure out my career path, as many of us are. I am looking at careers in either environmental science or environmental engineering -- what job opportunities are available in these two fields?    -- Katherine M., British Columbia

Dear Katherine,

Many of us are years removed from our undergraduate days and still "trying to figure out our career paths." So join the club! You've selected two perfect career options for the early 21st century. There is a very strong demand for both environmental scientists and environmental engineers right now, and consulting firms are particularly looking for talented people.

The "environmental scientist" title is usually given to people who work on air- and water-quality issues and/or toil in fields like hazardous-waste management. Scientific fields that are not labeled "environmental scientist" by the-people-who-label-these-things include popular science options like conservation science, forestry, many specialties within biology, atmospheric science, earth science, chemistry, and a wide variety of technicians.

Within the narrow definition, there are around 70,000 enviro-scientists in the country, and their numbers are growing faster than the overall economy. Starting salaries are about $36,000 a year and top out around $85,000. Just under half of these professionals work for state and local government, and another 20 percent for the feds. The other third is in the private sector.

Job opportunities are even stronger for those with environmental-engineering degrees. There are some 55,000 such engineers, over half of whom work for consulting firms and other businesses. Entry-level salaries for people with Bachelor of Science degrees are over $50K, and high salaries for non-managers are up around six figures. The median is $66,000.

Good work. Good money. Good prospects. Looks good.

Greenzones.org

Good lord, it looks like a whooole lotta money went into this. The "about" page goes to an error, as does the "investors" page and the "press" page. Anybody know anything about it?

(There's probably a press release about it somewhere in my inbox, but I get about 50 a day and can't really keep up with all of them.)