| Three weeks ago, there was a 265,000-gallon spill of liquid nitrogen fertilizer in Southwest Iowa. A valve was left open over a weekend on a storage tank at NEW Cooperative in Red Oak. The liquid nitrogen spilled into a drainage ditch and then into the east branch of the Nishnabotna River, which joins the main river and then flows into Northwest Missouri where it joins the Missouri River north of St. Joseph. Nishnabotna is an Otoe (Chiwere) word meaning “canoe-making river.” Unlike areas further west, Southwest Iowa and Northwest Missouri had watersheds that were tree-covered. The Otoe signed a treaty to release the land in Northwest Missouri in 1834. The latest estimates of the damage suggest that 789,000 fish died along a 60-mile stretch of those rivers in both Iowa and Missouri. The fish included smaller species like chubs and shiners as well as larger ones like various type of catfish (channel, blue, flatheads, and bullheads), shovelnose sturgeon, and even a few species of invasive carp. And it wasn’t just fish that were killed; it was aquatic life more generally. This is the region’s most ecologically devastating chemical spill in recent years. One Missouri Department of Conservation official described it as “the big one” and went on to say, “Calling something a near-total fish kill for 60 miles of a river is astounding and disheartening.” It is hard to say how this compares to fish kills across different states, due to limited data and little tracking. So what’s a fish worth? $1? At $1 per fish, that would be a considerable fine — and yet not begin to pay for the losses. Lawsuits in Iowa for river pollution from agriculture have never gone very far because of non-point source pollution. But in this case there is definitely a point source. However, it is likely that the impact in the 60-mile stretch of river is underestimated. And it is not clear how this will stress organisms that didn’t die directly in the area or that were affected further downstream. And, just to be clear, 10 million people, including half the people in Missouri, get their drinking water from the Missouri River. How will this affect their drinking water, water costs, and overall health? I wonder if it isn’t time to require such facilities to be built with containment walls for any leaks, the same way that is required for gasoline and other hazardous chemicals. – Jason |
| A Warming Climate Will Make Australian Soil a Net Emitter of Atmospheric CO2 – Nature Understanding the change in soil organic carbon stock in a warmer climate and the effect of current land management on that stock is critical for soil and environmental conservation and climate policy. By simulation modeling, we predicted that between 2070 and 2100, under increasing emissions of greenhouse gases and temperature, Australian soil will be a net emitter of CO2. JC: The Australian reality is not a given for other regions. Australia has had a drier climate for some time. A considerable part of the land has been overgrazed at times over the last 150 years. And the country recently ended a multidecade drought. When soil organic matter volatilizes as CO2 due to extreme heat for a year, it takes two years to rebuild it. If there is extreme heat for two years in a row, it can take many years to rebuild the soil organic matter. Imagine then what a 20-, 30-year or longer drought will do. While this is not a given for other regions, it is a signal for concern. Australia has the same type soils as Southern Africa and much of the Cerrado of Brazil. These old soils are not particularly fertile, and it takes them years to build up organic matter. Any prolonged drought in either of these regions would have a long-term impact on production and a long-term impact on soil organic matter as well. Who Funds Regenerative Agriculture? – Food Navigator Regenerative agriculture, without clearly defined practices or financial incentives, and with uncertain results, needs money to thrive. But where will this money come from? While funding initiatives are in place, regenerative agriculture poses a risky proposition for many businesses. JC: The key issue here is “uncertain results.” Before we fully embrace “regenerative agriculture” as the next term for sustainability, we might want to check the facts, or actually, the results. Adopting a practice is not a result. No two farmers produce the same results with the same practice. There are too many variables in addition to farmers and farms. The sooner producers start measuring their results, the sooner we will have meaningful markets for those results — but not before that. In fact, the longer it takes to produce and document credible results, the more the whole approach is discredited. Results should be a condition for access to finance for farming, whether public or private, as well as to markets for carbon or environmental services. The goal of regenerative agriculture is to measurably reduce impacts and risks. Majority of EU Countries Ask Bloc to Scale Back Deforestation Law — Reuters Twenty members of the European Union asked Brussels to scale back and possibly suspend the bloc’s anti-deforestation law (EUDR), saying the policy would harm farmers, in the latest blowback against Europe’s environmental agenda. JC: Historically, the EU has been quick to put a stake in the ground in policy issues and then slower to figure out what the commitment means, how to implement it, and how to address the impacts both internally as well as globally. It should be abundantly clear at this point that you simply cannot require a policy to be implemented globally without providing any guidance, much less consulting those affected, again both domestically and globally. What has been surprising to me about some of the coverage of the backlash in the EU about the EUDR is that apparently EU farmers are concerned about what compliance to the regulations will mean for them now and in the future. The EU is dependent on imported feed ingredients. Without Brazilian soy, feed prices will increase. What’s more, given the 2020 cutoff date, soy produced on land cleared up to 2020 will carry embedded GHG emissions until 2040, which will be compounded through feed-conversion ratios. None of this should have been a surprise. Why Palm Oil Is Still a Big Problem — The New York Times Palm oil — the ubiquitous ingredient for all things spreadable, from toothpaste to ice cream — is now the commodity consumed by Americans that contributes most to the loss of tropical forests, according to Global Witness, an environmental watchdog organization, and Trase, a nonprofit that analyzes supply chains. JC: The numbers don’t add up. While palm oil may be 10% of permanent crops, the total land in palm oil is 19 million hectares. The US buys less than two million of 76 million MT produced, or about 2.5% of the total — equivalent to less than 500,000 hectares of all the land used. And US companies have committed to 100% RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) guidelines, which isn’t definitive but does reduce exposure to deforestation. It is quite likely that American consumption directly causes more deforestation from Brazilian beef and indirectly from cheese, salami and butter from the EU and UK, where Brazilian soy is a key feed ingredient. If the definition of “consumption” is expanded to goods that are purchased but not eaten, then it is likely that American consumption linked most to the loss of tropical forests is of leather, through leather car seats followed by shoes, belts, furniture, and luxury goods. Deforestation and conversion rates in Brazil each year to establish pasture for cattle is far greater than the percentage of total land cleared globally to produce palm oil. Where are the fact checkers when you need them? Climate Change is Altering Earth’s Rotation Enough to Mess With Our Clocks — Washington Post The melting of polar ice due to global warming is affecting Earth’s rotation and could have an impact on precision timekeeping. In just a few years it may be necessary to insert a “negative leap second” into the calendar to get the planet’s rotation in sync with Coordinated Universal Time. JC: Imagine that — I must admit, that is one climate change impact that I had never considered. I am sure there will prove to be many more. Still, one wonders if the key issue of concern is less a few seconds or even minutes, hours, or days to be taken off the clock but rather the much longer-term implications of the Earth’s shifting rotation and potential implications for continental movement. Changing the Earth’s rotation is not something to take lightly or to be easily undone — certainly it won’t be accomplished by changing our clocks, or likely even by reducing GHG emissions to ensure a 1.5° C world by 2050. I once spoke in New Mexico at the largest Native American high school in the US. Two things I heard stayed with me. The first was that fewer than 10 people studied Navajo. The second was a story about a large mining company explaining why it was unnecessary for the company to pay for covering the uranium mine tailings to a level that would last 500 years. The company representative argued that the company wouldn’t even be around that long, and that the US government probably wouldn’t be either. At that point, a Hopi elder stood up and said, “But we will still be here.” Better Phosphorus Use Can Ensure its Stocks and Boost Global Food Production, Study Shows – Phys.org More efficient use of phosphorus could see limited stocks of the important fertilizer last more than 500 years and boost global food production to feed growing populations. But these benefits will only happen if countries are less wasteful. Around 30-40% of farm soils have over-applications, with European and North American countries over-applying the most. JC: The old adage is “measure twice, cut once” — for some in my family, it is measure thrice, cut once. It’s time to bring in the professionals. A few decades ago, many US farmers began to hire professional applicators for liquid ammonia and nitrogen. Smaller operators didn’t have the latest technology, didn’t keep it in good repair, or even know the best practices for application. This shift reduced waste and costs considerably because many farmers applied more than was needed “just to be sure.” By contrast, one farmer told me a decade ago that he measured the nitrogen in his soil every year and, by using better practices to increase above- and below-ground organic matter, was able to reduce liquid ammonia and nitrogen use more than 80%. A decade ago, we proposed that China adopt a system of professional applicators to reduce nitrogen use by part-time farmers — who, being off-farm for long periods, applied more than needed in the hope that it would last until they could come back. Perhaps phosphorus use could be reduced if farmers increased above- and below-ground organic matter and measured levels before applying it. Companies that sell phosphorus could also apply it so that their businesses could last at least 500 years. But they would probably need to think differently about their business model. Cocoa Breaks $10,000 Record, Now More Expensive Than Copper — Financial Post Cocoa futures soared above an unprecedented $10,000 a metric ton, making the precious beans more expensive than copper. Prices that have more than doubled in just three months are forcing traders, processors, and chocolate makers to stump up more cash to cover their trades or head for the exit. JC: A nice update on cocoa. The price needs to be higher to pay for the environmental and social costs of production. But given today’s market structure, only a tiny part of this price will go to producers. |
| Jason Clay, Ph.D., is Executive Director of The Markets Institute at WWF and Senior Vice President of WWF’s Markets Team. Before joining WWF in 1999, Jason ran a family farm, taught at Harvard and Yale, worked at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and spent more than 25 years working with human rights and environmental organizations. |
