Stay informed

Cover crops are most effective when approached as a long-term investment that can provide sustained benefits from soil health and soil function over time. The post Experience plays a role in cover crop profitability first appeared on Growing Returns.

Nitrogen balance is a robust and practical way to measure agriculture's climate and water quality impacts using variables that are within a farmer’s control. The post 4 lessons learned from nitrogen balance pilot projects first appeared on Growing Returns.

Researchers found that counties with higher soil organic matter are associated with greater yields, lower yield losses and lower rates of crop insurance payouts under drought conditions. The post Study shows healthy soils protect corn yields and lower crop insurance payouts first appeared on Growing Returns.

With primary school children returning to classrooms this week, EDF research warns that thousands of children are exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution because their schools are located close to a major road.

Here are three key takeaways from how the Hays Trinity district is proactively managing groundwater to protect its long-term viability and landowners’ rights to groundwater. The post 3 lessons from a Texas groundwater district on managing during drought first appeared on Growing Returns.

By Melissa Mahoney and Shems Jud With fisheries providing livelihoods, income and nutrition for hundreds of millions of people around the world, finding ways to preserve them is always essential. Yet in many countries, fisheries management hasn’t caught up with the digital world we live in today. Electronic fisheries monitoring and other applications of cutting-edge …

Case study from Environmental Defense Fund of the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District in Texas.

Recently, there has been a great deal of interest and even excitement about how seaweed might be able to help save us from climate change. I appreciate the newfound exuberance for seaweed, and wholeheartedly agree that seaweeds do a lot for society and the planet. A similar awakening to the wonders of seaweed occurred in …

The N-Visible framework represents a significant advancement in the science of quantifying environmental outcomes from agriculture. The post A breakthrough to measure agriculture’s environmental impact first appeared on Growing Returns.

EDF's N-Visible framework represents a significant advancement in the science of quantifying environmental outcomes from agriculture.

EDF is launching a new platform to improve data collection and management of fishing using smart cameras coupled with artificial intelligence.

This blog post was co-authored with Nina Donaldson Much of the existing research on climate change impacts focuses on end-of-century projections across nations, but this misses the very real costs that everyday Americans are already facing daily and will continue to face in the months and years ahead. Case in point today: While most Americans …

By Tom Neltner, J.D., Environmental Defense Fund Chemicals policy director Meat and seafood derived from animal cells grown outside the animal are likely coming to your kitchen table. The process involves culturing cells in tanks and combining them into a consumable product using extrusion, 3-D printing or other processes commonly used in food industry. The …

By Kristin M. Kleisner and Mauricio Galvez Along the Pacific coast of South America, a powerful ocean current brings to life one of the most abundant and productive ecosystems on the planet. The Humboldt Current System spans from southern Chile to Ecuador, pulling cold, nutrient-rich water from the ocean depths to the surface. This upwelling, as it’s …

By EDF, the secretariat for SSF Hub partners Small-scale fisheries are worth talking about now more than ever. Millions of people around the world depend on small-scale fisheries for their health, livelihoods and culture. There are many resources, tools and people working to support sustainable small-scale fisheries, or SSF, but it can be hard to …

In response to growing alarm regarding the effects of climate change on fisheries, the government of Canada demonstrated valuable global leadership recently. In partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans hosted an international expert workshop to document practices that can be taken to help fisheries …

Tom Neltner, J.D. is the Chemicals Policy Director. In October 2019, we reported finding canned foods had a surprising number of samples with lead based on the Food and Drug Administration’s testing results. Almost half of the 242 samples had detectable lead, including a staggering 98% of 70 canned fruit samples. We suspect that the …

Tom Neltner, J.D. is the Chemicals Policy Director. Last week, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform’s Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy released an important report summarizing baby food testing data submitted by four companies (Beech-Nut, Gerber, Happy Family, and Earth’s Best), finding that “baby foods are tainted with dangerous levels of arsenic, lead,

After Colorado legislators passed landmark climate legislation in 2019, which included a statutory mandate directing the Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) to adopt rules and regulations to reduce statewide emissions, the state has yet to even propose a policy framework capable of getting the job done. This three-part series explores the impact of Colorado’s delay,

This post was authored by Sabine Fuss, Group Leader for Sustainable Resource Management and Global Change at the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC), Ruben Lubowski, Chief Natural Resource Economist at EDF, and Alexander Golub, Adjunct Professor of Environmental Science at American University The protection of tropical forests globally is indispensable …

A new Environmental Defense Fund analysis finds that Texas’ successful emission reduction program could be even more powerful if it went electric — not just for reducing smog-forming nitrogen oxides and other local air pollutants, but for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and sparking job growth in the burgeoning electric vehicle industry. Administered by the Texas …

A new analysis commissioned by EDF from Rystad Energy makes clear that flaring from Texas’ Permian oil and gas operations is persistent and is likely to increase, but that industry can eliminate most routine flaring at zero cost with simple rules and operator changes.

By Colin Leyden and Ben Hmiel Even amidst a global pandemic and market volatility that reduced oil and gas activity, at least one thing didn’t change in the Permian last year: operators can’t seem to keep their flares lit. Throughout 2020, EDF conducted aerial surveys of portions of the Permian Basin to determine the performance …

EPA indicates it will overhaul its systematic review method used in chemical risk evaluations

EDF and partners show how financial insights can help farmers know what to expect from adopting conservation practices.