Exploring the nascent field of sustainable farmland investment, a new report from the Yale Center for Business and the Environment found that innovative investment strategies focused on sustainable agriculture appear to deliver financial, environmental, and social returns. [node:read-more:link]
CRISPR/Cas9, a powerful genome editing tool, is showing promise for efficient correction of disease-causing mutations. For the first time, researchers have developed a dual gene therapy approach to deliver key components of a CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene targeting system to mice to treat hemophilia B. This disorder is also called factor IX deficiency and is caused by a missing or defective clotting protein. [node:read-more:link]
From shuttered textile mills and furniture factories to dormant tobacco fields, the traditional industries of North Carolina’s Appalachian region have drastically declined. But new areas have emerged, says Lukas Brun of Duke’s Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness, who set out to show that the Appalachian economy is more than a tale of decline: “There are great stories that are not being told.” In 2015-16, a new Bass Connections team focused on using the value chain framework in one part of the state. [node:read-more:link]
The wild pig bomb has detonated, ripping and rooting billion-dollar scars across U.S. farmland every year. The search for a silver bullet has come up empty, and the past 30 years have seen an established wild pig presence balloon from 19 states in 1985 to 39 states in 2016. High-end estimates of 11 million wild pigs make warnings over impending wild pig invasions mostly moot: The porcine beasts have already set up shop. However, with new trapping techniques in hand, and promising control tools on the horizon, the means to halt wild pig advances may soon arrive. [node:read-more:link]
General Mills has made its largest contribution to help save pollinators, announcing a $2 million commitment that will add more than 100,000 acres of bee and butterfly habitat on or near existing crop lands. The five-year agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Xerces Society, the world's oldest and largest pollinator conservation group, will focus its efforts in Minnesota, North Dakota, California, Nebraska, Iowa and Maine. The USDA and Xerces will match this donation with another $2 million toward the project. [node:read-more:link]
With only one scheduled day remaining in the General Assembly’s fall veto session, a deal has taken shape between Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office and Exelon Corp. that could pave the way for passage of the company’s proposed energy policy overhaul. Exelon has changed the proposal several time in recent weeks in attempts to address the concerns of environmental groups, consumer advocates and, in a forthcoming amendment, large manufacturers. [node:read-more:link]
While the Sioux nation has been in the spotlight almost daily for its opposition to construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline, it has much more quietly been pursuing renewable energy development on the Standing Rock Reservation and other tribal lands across North and South Dakota. Seven Sioux tribes in the Dakotas are developing what would be an enormous collection of wind farms on six reservations scattered across what is generally rated as one of the windiest areas in the country. [node:read-more:link]
Michigan’s 2008 law requiring utility spending on energy efficiency programs continued to exceed targets in 2015, surpassing goals for cutting electric and natural gas use by roughly 20 percent and proving to be a good investment for ratepayers. According to a state report, ratepayers will ultimately see $5.2 billion in savings since the program started. In 2015, utilities spent $262 million on various energy efficiency programs that will generate $1.08 billion in lifecycle savings for ratepayers. Or, for every dollar spent in 2015, customers are expected to see $4.35 in benefits. [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service is proposing to amend the nutrition labeling regulations for meat and poultry products to parallel the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's final nutrition regulations, which were published on May 27, 2016. [node:read-more:link]
Pictured below is a retail package containing raw skinless/boneless chicken that was recently purchased in Denmark (DK) Europe. The labeling on the package is claiming to Danish consumers (where there’s an orange drawing of a chicken within a round circle): “Dansk Salmonelllafri Kylling,”when translated means - “Danish salmonella-free chicken.” How would such a labeling declaration that claims the raw chicken one is purchasing is “salmonella free” be received in the states? [node:read-more:link]
