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Climate Democracy for Rural Communities

In early March, farmers and rural residents of southeast Minnesota gathered for three intensive days of presentations, discussion and deliberation around the thorny issue of climate change. The Winona, Minnesota Climate Dialogue participants, most of them in shirts and jeans, were a blend of ages, cultural backgrounds and jobs.

Clean Power Plan and an equitable energy transition in rural America

In this season of political speeches and debates, a harmful myth continues to surface: taking action on climate change will ravage the economy. Recently, this myth has been applied to the Clean Power Plan, the first regulation in the U.S. to limit carbon emissions from existing power plants.

Rural Engagement Critical to Success of Clean Power Plan, New Report

Minneapolis – The success of the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan will depend largely on state-level engagement with rural communities who are most directly affected by shifts in energy production, finds a new report from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP).

The Clean Power Plan

Rural America has long produced much of the nation’s energy. Most power plants, mines, gas drilling sites, wind turbines and dams are in rural areas, as are the farms and forests that provide the materials for biomass production. In many cases, these industries contribute greatly to rural economies.

Collaborating for the Community: Winona Climate Dialogue Convenes

This blog overviews the 2016 Winona County Rural Climate Dialogue.

Obama Undermines Climate Efforts in Solar Trade Dispute

At the Paris climate talks, negotiators chose not to address the sticky issue of trade rules, and how those rules undermine each nation’s efforts to address climate change.

Climate, Livestock, Carbon & the Lobby #LivestockDebate

While the debate continues about holistic management and what “true cost” actually means for livestock production models and climate change, technocrats and governments are busy establishing standards for carbon intensity reduction in industrial animal agriculture.

Supreme Court decision on Clean Power Plan deals a blow to rural communities

On Tuesday, a Supreme Court decision temporarily halted implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan. The decision was prompted by a lawsuit from 29 states and state agencies challenging the EPA’s authority to impose the Clean Power Plan under the Clean Air Act.

Behind closed doors–the vulnerability of big meat production

This blog first appeared as a contribution to #Livestockdebate hosted by the European coalition ARC2020 (Agriculture and Rural Convention 2020). You can read contributions to the #Livestockdebate from other experts at the ARC2020 website.

Plotting the course: COP21 and agriculture

When the text of a new global climate agreement reached by 195 governments was released this weekend, one word was conspicuously absent: agriculture.

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