Agriculture

Sewage Sludge Is Used As Farm Fertilizer. Some Neighbors Hate It

"When Leslie Stewart moved to her home in a rural expanse of Lincoln County outside of Oklahoma City more than 20 years ago, she thought she’d found a slice of heaven. ... But several years ago, her neighbor began applying sewage sludge, which consists largely of human waste left over from municipal wastewater treatment facilities, as a fertilizer on his farmland, causing a rancid smell so powerful it nearly took her breath away."

Source: AP, 03/27/2025

Calif. Farmworker Communities Now Must Be Notified of Pesticide Applications

"After decades of pressure from farmworkers and their allies, California launched a statewide system to warn communities before they’re exposed to toxic pesticides. But health concerns remain."

Source: Inside Climate News, 03/27/2025

Despite Staff and Budget Cuts, NOAA Issues Critical Drought Warnings

"The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, although battered by Trump administration attempts to impose massive staff and budget cuts on the agency, nevertheless continues to publish critical climate information, including some dire drought warnings in the spring outlook published March 20 by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center."

Source: Inside Climate News, 03/26/2025

Georgia Jury Orders Bayer To Pay Nearly $2.1 Billion In Roundup Suit

"A jury in Georgia has ordered Monsanto parent Bayer to pay nearly $2.1 billion in damages to a man who says the company’s Roundup weed killer caused his cancer, according to attorneys representing the plaintiff."

Source: AP, 03/25/2025
April 14, 2025

DEADLINE: JHU/CLF Food Systems and Public Health Fellowship for Journalists

This program, established by the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF), supports early-to-mid-career journalists reporting on issues at the intersection of public health and food systems. The year-long fellowship begins with an in-person program in Baltimore, Maryland, June 24-27.

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"‘Our People Are Hungry’: What Federal Food Aid Cuts Mean In A Warming World"

"Every Friday, as he’s done for the last year and a half, Mark Broyles hops in his truck and drives 20 minutes from his home in Big Stone Gap to Duffield, Virginia, to pick up two boxes of free food. Though their contents are always a surprise, as the retired mechanic describes it, he’s able to get “fresh produce and stuff that a lot of us can’t afford because of the price of groceries.”"

Source: Grist, 03/19/2025

Desperately Seeking Data? OECD Has Loads

If the possibility of a politically driven dearth of data for your climate and environment reporting has you on edge, the new Reporter’s Toolbox just may have something to soothe your nerves: A data source from beyond the grasp of the Trump administration and outside the boundaries of the United States. Take a quick tour of environmental data from the OECD.

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