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Tag Archives climate change — page 15

Dairy cows eat their breakfast at a dairy farm, in Exeter, Rhode Islan.
News

U.S. utilities turn to farms in climate change fight

The United States, and especially California is ahead of Canada in adopting renewable natural gas

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Reuters – Joey Airoso has always been proud of his cows, whose milk goes into the butter sold by national dairy company Land O’Lakes. Now he has something new to brag about: the vast amounts of gas produced by his 2,900-head herd is powering truck fleets, homes and factories across the state of California. “It’s […] Read more
Maple Leaf Foods says its operations are now carbon neutral, and it’s asking all of its suppliers to participate in sustainability efforts.
News

Maple Leaf hits carbon neutral

The company has been working throughout its operations to reduce environmental impact

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Maple Leaf Foods says its operations are carbon neutral, a status achieved through improvements in its own operations and investments in offsets elsewhere. The company claims to be the first major food company to be able to say that it is carbon neutral. Why it matters: Major operations decisions by large companies almost always have […] Read more
The greenhouse gas impact from beef production in Canada has been reduced by 15 per cent over the past 30 years.
News

Agriculture and climate change

There is a positive side to the story of agriculture and climate change. Why is it so hard getting anyone to listen?

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The Canadian Agri-food Policy Institute (CAPI) recently painted a picture of Canadian agriculture and greenhouse gas emissions that runs counter to commonly held public perceptions. The CAPI paper said generally the sector has its house in order. Canadian agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions peaked in 2005 and have remained steady at about 60 mega tonnes of […] Read more
WMO urges drastic action as global average temperature set to rise again
News

WMO urges drastic action as global average temperature set to rise again

A 2015 treaty signed by 200 nations that set a goal of limiting warming to below pre-industrial levels is being changed

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Geneva | Reuters – The global average temperature is set to rise to at least 1.2 to 1.3 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels over the next five years, a World Meteorological Organization (WMO) official said Sept. 22, close to a limit adopted in a global treaty. The prediction came as governments met in New York […] Read more
A 2017 study maps out predictions for changes to the “water footprint” of rain-fed barley grown in agricultural Alberta. (Science of the Total Environment, March 2018)
Crops

University’s ‘Beefier Barley’ billboard binned

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A billboard about Alberta barley’s prospects under climate change in the University of Alberta’s ‘Truth Matters’ promotion — a series of ads meant to spark discussion about its researchers’ work — has been winnowed out of the campaign. Jacqui Tam, the Edmonton-based U of A’s vice-president for university relations, announced Sunday it would withdraw the […] Read more
Emmanuel Adou, an Ivorian farmer, looks a drone spraying his oil palm plantation in Tiassale northern Abidjan, Ivory Coast May 21, 2019. Photo: REUTERS/
News

Researchers work together to find high-tech solutions to deal with hotter climate

Scientists are looking at everything from improved genetics to robots to help farmers maintain productivity as the world heats up

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London | Thomson Reuters Foundation – In decades to come, African farmers may pool their money to buy small robot vehicles to weed their fields or drones that can hover to squirt a few drops of pesticide only where needed. Smartphones already allow farmers in remote areas to snap photos of sick plants, upload them […] Read more
A slide is pictured behind members of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) during a news conference on the Special Report on Climate Change and Land after IPCC’s 50th session in Geneva on Aug. 8, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Denis Balibouse)

UN flags need to reduce meat consumption to curb land use impact on global warming

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London/Geneva | Reuters — Global meat consumption must fall to curb global warming, reduce growing strains on land and water and improve food security, health and biodiversity, a United Nations report on the effects of climate change concluded. Although the report stopped short of explicitly advocating going meat-free, it called for big changes to farming […] Read more
Federal Conservative leader Andrew Scheer speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons in Ottawa on April 10, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Chris Wattie)
Machinery

Tories’ climate plan focused on green investment

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The federal Conservatives’ proposed replacement for the Liberal government’s framework on climate change offers several shout-outs to farmers, in a document focused on green investment rather than current consumption patterns. The lead opposition party’s plan, launched Wednesday by leader Andrew Scheer, proposes to scrap the Trudeau government’s current carbon pricing plan, which imposes levies on […] Read more
(SKHoward/iStock/Getty Images)
Crops, Machinery, Markets

Climate change has U.S. fund managers adjusting agriculture investments

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New York | Reuters — After historic floods devastated Midwestern agricultural states this spring, some fund managers are evaluating how climate change will affect the long-term value of companies that make or sell products ranging from tractors to fertilizer. The issue is not simply the unpredictability of weather. Instead, fund managers say, they are struggling […] Read more
Ernie Hardeman, left, Ontario’s minister of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs talks to Premier Doug Ford during a visit to a Woodstock-area farm.
News

Province hears from farmers on carbon tax

There’s little enthusiasm from the premier on a high speed rail proposal

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The provincial Conservative government is continuing its push to negate the federal carbon tax. Premier Doug Ford, Rod Phillips, minister of environment, conservation and parks and Ernie Hardeman, minister of agriculture, visited Veldale Farms near Woodstock in late March to hear from farmers about the effects of the carbon tax. The meeting was closed to […] Read more

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