Energy development was the biggest force transforming landscapes in Colorado and Wyoming in recent years, according to an interactive mapping project called the Disappearing West released earlier this week by the Center for American Progress (CAP), a liberal think tank based in Washington, D.C.  Some 362 square miles of Colorado and 491 square miles of Wyoming were altered by energy development between 2001 and 2011, increasing the total land area covered by energy development in those states by 33 percent and 38 percent. [node:read-more:link]

At the Capitol, lawmakers are divided on how far to go to fix the problems. Gov. Mark Dayton has made water quality an issue central to his legacy. He's pushed to boost the number of buffer strips along Minnesota lakes and rivers to help trap farm runoff, although he stepped back from some of those efforts amid pressure from some lawmakers and farm groups.  In southeastern Minnesota, about 45 minutes from Rochester, farming and water quality are regular topics for debate. [node:read-more:link]

A lack of access to healthy food is often blamed for poor eating habits in low-income urban areas, but a recent Drexel University study found that simply adding healthier stock to a local convenience store may not actually have any effect.  By upgrading local corner stores in East Los Angeles through adding fresh fruits and vegetables, improved shelving, training and social media marketing, a team of researchers led by Alex Ortega, PhD, professor in Drexel's Dornsife School of Public Health, poured more resources into a healthy eating intervention than are usually available -- and very litt [node:read-more:link]

The pollen samples represented up to 30 plant families and contained residues from pesticides spanning nine chemical classes. The highest concentrations of pesticides in bee pollen, however, were pyrethroids, which are typically used to control mosquitoes and other nuisance pests. "Although crop pollen was only a minor part of what they collected, bees in our study were exposed to a far wider range of chemicals than we expected," said Krupke. "The sheer numbers of pesticides we found in pollen samples were astonishing. Agricultural chemicals are only part of the problem. [node:read-more:link]

The bipartisan legislation would take neonicotinoids away from everyday consumers who spray their home gardens and trees with these harmful pesticides. They would not be able to buy neonic-products such as Knockout Ready-to-Use Grub Killer, Ortho Bug B Gon, All-In-One Rose & Flower Care, Lesco Bandit Insecticide from the thousands of hardware stores, garden centers, nurseries in the state that sell such products. Farmers and professional gardeners, who better understand how to apply the chemicals, are exempt from the law which will come into effect in the year 2018. [node:read-more:link]

USDA, livestock producers and Congress could find themselves in a race to see whether the Obama administration is going to dramatically overhaul rules under the Packers and Stockyards Act this year or face another appropriations rider that would block such action. [node:read-more:link]

anks are tightening credit for U.S. farmers amid a rise in delinquencies, forcing some growers to turn to alternative sources of loans.  When U.S. agriculture was booming this decade, banks doled out ample credit to strong performers and weaker growers alike, said Michael Swanson, an agricultural economist at Wells Fargo & Co. But with the farm slump moving into its third year, banks have become pickier, requiring some growers to cough up more collateral and denying financing outright to some customers who need it to pay for seeds, crop chemicals and rent. [node:read-more:link]

One long-standing program that provides a means by which an entity can get capital for energy efficiency projects is known as the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program. PACE allows local governments to issue bonds to property owners that finance energy retrofits at their facilities, which they and back over a period years. However, entities with significant building portfolios and energy intensive operations like local governments lacked a similar avenue to achieve the same savings – until now, that is. [node:read-more:link]

Reinstating Ohio’s renewable energy and energy efficiency standards would result in billions of dollars of savings for Ohio ratepayers through 2030. Among the study’s major findings:Ohio lawmakers would save Ohio electricity ratepayers over $3 billion by 2030 by ending the state’s freeze on renewable and efficiency standards this year. Time is of the essence. Ohio can take maximum advantage of the federal wind production tax credit—set to decline through 2019—by lifting the freeze now. [node:read-more:link]

The EPA released the preliminary 2017 RFS Standard on May 18. The preliminary rulemaking also established biomass-based diesel (BBD) volume requirements for 2018. Here, we first re-examine the magnitude of the likely conventional biofuels push contained in the final rule making for 2014-2016 and then the likely magnitude of the push in the preliminary rulemaking for 2017. Those calculations will indicate if the EPA is continuing the policy of providing a measurable push for conventional biofuel consumption beyond the E10 blend wall. [node:read-more:link]