Energy

Dairy Waste Biorefineries: An Innovative Way to Further Reduce Greenhouse Gases on Dairies in Washington State

Washington State, 10th in milk production nationally, is also at the top of the list for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced from dairy cattle. According to the latest statistics by the EPA, in 2012 Washington State ranked 8th in methane (CH4) emissions from dairy manure management and 12th in nitrous oxide (N2­O) emissions (EPA, 2014). […]

Closing the Nutrient Loop

There are a number of sustainability issues getting a fair amount of attention these days: climate change, regional and local food systems, and soil health, to name a few. While this is obviously good, there are also issues that may be getting somewhat less attention than they deserve. And closing the nutrient loop is one […]

The “Rest” of the Food System

In recent years, increasing numbers of consumers have become interested in making sure the food system is more sustainable. However, the bulk of effort and attention has gone toward the part of the food system that leads up to their forks. Much less attention has been paid to the “post-fork” part of our food system. […]

Safety first, please! Even renewable fuels can be hazardous

The fertilizer plant explosion in Texas a few weeks back provided a stark reminder of one of the downsides of energy technology – that they can be dangerous. More recently, a “backyard” entrepreneur in Washington State discovered the same while experimenting with hydrogen fuel – though thankfully with no loss of life.  As reported in […]

Categories: Energy

Frequently Asked Questions about climate change and agriculture: Part 2

Last week I introduced a series of frequently asked questions and began by addressing the first: The EPA says agriculture only accounts for 6% of US greenhouse gas emissions. Shouldn’t we focus our efforts on bigger problems such as coal fired power plants and automobile emissions instead? Today I’ll address the following: Do “food miles” […]