Agriculture Environment

Improved Pesticide Testing: A Better Way To Protect Our Environment

By Efstathia Robakis Synthetic pesticides can be a hot-button issue–they may be important in maximizing crop yields for an ever-growing global population, but they have also been implicated in the ongoing decline in biodiversity, despite their perception as being highly regulated. This disconnect, between seemingly-tight regulations and the environmental reality we are facing, might be […]

Agriculture Environment Food Production

Healthy soil is the real key to feeding the world

Top photo: Planting a diverse blend of crops and cover crops, and not tilling, helps promote soil health. Photo credit: Catherine Ulitsky, USDA/Flickr, CC BY Author: David R. Montgomery, University of Washington One of the biggest modern myths about agriculture is that organic farming is inherently sustainable. It can be, but it isn’t necessarily. After […]

Agriculture Climate Change Coffee Production

Coffee farmers struggle to adapt to Colombia’s changing climate

Top photo: The fertile, mountainous terrain of Colombia’s coffee-producing central region is vulnerable to climate change impacts such as stronger storms and hotter temperatures. (Image by Eddy Milfort/flickr, CC BY-SA) Authors: Jessica Eise, Purdue University and Natalie White, Purdue University Leer en español. In Colombia’s coffee-producing region of Risaralda, small trees run along the sharp […]

Agriculture Environment Food Production Groundwater

Farmers are drawing groundwater from the giant Ogallala Aquifer faster than nature replaces it

Top photo: Water from an irrigation system sprays flowering cotton plants on the farm of Allen Entz in Hydro, Okla, Aug. 16, 2012. AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki Author: Char Miller, W. M. Keck Professor of Environmental Analysis and History, Pomona College Every summer the U.S. Central Plains go dry, leading farmers to tap into groundwater to […]

Agriculture Food Production Land Conservation

How to conserve half the planet without going hungry

Top photo: Terraced rice fields in northwest Vietnam. (Shutterstock) Authors: Zia Mehrabi, University of British Columbia; Erle C. Ellis, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and Navin Ramankutty, University of British Columbia Every day there are roughly 386,000 new mouths to feed, and in that same 24 hours, scientists estimate between one and 100 species will […]