Agriculture

"Iraq’s famed Tigris is heavily polluted and at risk of drying up. Unless urgent action is taken to save the river, life will be fundamentally altered for the ancient communities who live on its banks."

"Tim Teichert and Jason Thornock want the sun to help them survive as ranchers in Cokeville, Wyoming. On an overcast May day, the two drove around the one-restaurant town, lamenting high electricity prices and restrictive Wyoming laws that they say have thrown an unnecessary burden onto their broad shoulders."

"A new report from UCLA and the Natural Resources Defense Council found nearly a quarter of Colorado River water is basically provided for free by the federal government."

"The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is earmarking $700 million to aid farmers wanting to pursue” regenerative” practices, which typically include a reduction in chemical inputs, government officials said on Wednesday."

"Scientists have issued an urgent warning that some of the synthetic chemicals that help underpin the current food system are driving increased rates of cancer, neurodevelopmental conditions and infertility, while degrading the foundations of global agriculture."

"Lawmakers’ bid to slow the closure of the department’s largest research facility rests on iffy legal ground but waves a yellow flag at the Trump administration."

"States facing drought and dwindling groundwater supplies are seeking to pull back the curtain on water use at data centers, in a push for transparency that has scrambled traditional partisan alliances."

"The journal Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology has formally retracted a sweeping scientific paper published in 2000 that became a key defense for Monsanto’s claim that Roundup herbicide and its active ingredient glyphosate don’t cause cancer."

"More than 700 Illinois schools are within a quarter-mile of crop fields, yet state law doesn’t require pesticide applicators to notify them before spraying. Advocates say a new notification proposal would give educators and park staff time to move children indoors and reduce exposure."

"Corn dominates U.S. farmland and fuels the ethanol industry. But the fertilizer it relies on drives emissions and fouls drinking water."