this | Environment.org

On a hot morning in July, Ray Apy stood in a vacant lot in upstate New York and pointed to the mowed grass, explaining what he wanted to build there: a pilot plant to convert waste into something useful. He tipped the contents of a small glass jar into his cupped palm, revealing tiny black pellets the size of peppercorns.

The pellets were a substance called biochar. It’s created by heating organic matter — any substance originating from plants, animals, or other organisms — at high temperatures in the absence of oxygen. This turns it into a charcoal-like substance that can be sold as an additive to concrete or soil — and, crucially, locks carbon inside.

Heralded as “black gold,” biochar promises to dispose of waste, enrich soil, and fight climate change, all which has made it the darling …

The Department of Energy promised this tribal nation a $32 million solar grant. It’s nearly impossible to access.

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| Pollution

The Department of Energy gave the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation what seemed like very good news earlier this year: It had won a $ 32 million grant for a novel solar energy project in Washington state. Built over a series of old irrigation canals, the proposed solar panels would generate electricity for tribal members without removing farm acreage from cultivation. The location would preserve the kinds of culturally sensitive land that have prompted concerns about other renewables projects.

Months after announcing the grant, the same department is making it nearly impossible for the tribal nation to access the money.

“It is because literally the feds cannot get out of their own way,” said Ray Wiseman, general manager of Yakama Power, the tribally owned utility.

The bureaucratic whiplash stems from the fact that while one part …

Take Action: This Farm Bill Should Center Conservation, Not Consolidation

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| Sustainability

This week, farmers, consumers, and advocates across the country are making calls to Congress with a central message: pass a farm bill for all farmers that centers conservation, not consolidation. Farm bill negotiations may be heating up once again after a standstill that has left members of Congress divided about what to prioritize. Now is the time to act.

Take Action!

This week is the Farm Bill for All Farmers Week of Action: Conservation Not Consolidation.

Farm safety net subsidies reward an industrial farming model that contributes to climate change, soil erosion, and farmland consolidation in agriculture. Increasing commodity subsidies to benefit a few farmers at the expense of popular nutrition and conservation programs would be an expensive investment that exacerbates these problems.

Make your voice heard! Tell Congress our tax dollars should fund programs that keep families fed …

A look back at US climate solutions this year

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| Pollution

Some of the most jarring ways the United States will feel the impacts of climate change began to reveal themselves this year.

The U.S. saw a record-setting 25 billion-dollar natural disasters. Maui experienced the country’s deadliest wildfire in the last century. Phoenix suffered temperatures over 110 degrees Fahrenheit for 31 consecutive days. Vermont endured epic floods. Despite all this, the Biden administration reneged on its promise and approved the Willow oil project in Alaska.

But this year was also filled with news of encouraging, inspiring, and groundbreaking progress in the U.S., not least of which was its joining a global agreement to transition away from fossil fuels and pledging with its biggest rival, China, to accelerate renewables.

Reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 will require decarbonizing the nation’s energy production, transportation, homes and buildings, and industries. Here’s a …

This state employee is scouring the Earth for solutions to combat invasive species in Hawai’i

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| Pollution

This story was originally published by Honolulu Civil Beat and is republished with permission.

Mohsen Ramadan’s name is stamped on the corner of a yellowing copy of entomologist Fillipo Silvestri’s 1914 report on Mediterranean fruit flies.

The record chronicles Silvestri’s 11-month voyage from Europe, around Africa, to Australia and, finally, Hawai’i. Along the way, Silvestri collected parasites of the fruit fly, one that was ravaging Hawaiian horticulture at the time. The then-U.S. territory was suffering, its products barred from entering the mainland.

The African wasps Silvestri introduced to Hawai’i did the job, killing off the problem. It’s an early example of biological control in Hawai’i, a scientific realm that continues to be paramount to the state’s ecological and agricultural balance.

But government bureaucracy and inadequate research facilities are now blamed for delaying potentially significant relief to industries like macadamia and …