The small community of Yellow Springs, Ohio, is leading an innovative effort to harness renewable energy while directly supporting low-income residents.
The village has shifted its focus from broader community solar projects to implementing microgrid solar systems on low-income apartment buildings. This approach not only aims to reduce energy costs for tenants but also sets an example for other small communities on how to use federal funding to generate local benefits.
Lisa Abel, interim director of the Yellow Springs Development Corp., said the community is prioritizing those who often receive the least benefit from new technologies.
"We decided to put our funds toward the rooftop microgrids on lower-income apartment buildings as a way to provide solar and the benefits of solar to the lower-income folks almost as a first," she said.
The project is supported by a grant from the Department of Energy. It can cover up to 30% of installation and solar panel costs through provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act. This makes it a feasible solution for smaller, lower-income housing units.
The community's initiative is also addressing the challenges faced by local farmers. Many are considering the option of leasing portions of their land for solar panels, which provides a steady income amid the uncertainties of farming. Abel noted that this is an increasingly attractive option for farmers, the next generation of whom may be considering leaving the profession.
"Renting some land for solar panels would give them some guaranteed income," she said. "Farming is becoming really a marginal kind of business, and so on a year-to-year basis, they don't know if they're gonna take a profit or take a loss on what they're actually producing."
As Yellow Springs continues to explore sustainable-energy solutions, the initiative underscores the importance of balancing renewable energy development with preserving agricultural land. The village's efforts highlight the need for continued federal support, which supporters say will ensure long-term environmental and economic benefits for small communities.
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Ohio is experiencing an unprecedented year for tornadoes, with the latest confirmed touchdown occurring on Wednesday.
In 2024, Ohio has seen its 66th tornado, surpassing the previous record of 62 set in 1992. The state experienced a notable surge in tornadoes in May, with 23 reported.
Logan Clark, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wilmington, attributes this increase to an unusually warm winter, minimal ice on the Great Lakes and warmer waters in the Gulf of Mexico.
"We're certainly on a record pace so far this year from the state of Ohio. We've just been in a time of year where we still have really strong wind fields. During the winter months, we see typically a stronger jet stream that shifts more towards the equator," he explained.
The increase in tornadoes is linked to shifting weather patterns. Strong wind fields that typically diminish by late winter and early spring have persisted this year, contributing to more frequent and intense tornadoes. The combination of warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico with these persistent winds has created favorable conditions for severe storms.
As Ohio deals with these extreme weather events, preparedness is crucial.
Helen Norris, Logan County emergency management director, stressed the importance of having multiple methods for receiving weather alerts, including as phone apps and all-weather radios.
"Sirens are only meant to be heard outdoors," she said. "Sometimes you can hear it inside, but that's not a guarantee."
Ongoing efforts aim to ensure full coverage with outdoor sirens, although Norris noted some were damaged in the March 14 storm. She said with the state experiencing unprecedented tornado activity, there is a need for vigilance and adaptability.
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Methane pollution is increasing at the fastest rate in decades, according to a new report, and that's making it harder to turn the tide on climate change and protect public health. Oil and gas operations are the single biggest source of methane pollution.
Megan Kemp, director with Healthy Air and Water Colorado, said when operators release methane, they are also releasing other toxins into the air known as volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.
"Alongside methane, benzene and other VOCs can worsen asthma and other respiratory diseases, it can even increase the risk of heart attacks and cardiovascular diseases, the risk of cancer, it can cause immune system damage, and even developmental problems in children," she explained.
On hot summer days, methane and other VOCs combine with sunlight to create ground-level ozone pollution, which has plagued Colorado's Front Range for years, and has led the Environmental Protection Agency to charge the state as a severe violator of clean-air standards.
The Colorado Oil and Gas Association says operators have cut methane and other ozone-related pollution by at least 50%, through regulation and new technologies.
The report's researchers have called for immediate action to cut methane pollution to slow an accelerating climate crisis. Kemp believes state regulators can do more to limit methane emissions, which are more than 80 times more powerful at trapping heat in the atmosphere than CO2.
"So, in addition to this ozone formation, it is contributing to the acceleration of extreme heat, increased vector-borne illnesses, decreasing water supply, water quality, and the list goes on," she continued.
The U.S. is the leading producer of crude oil, which ramped up with new fracking technologies. The rise in fracking also tracks with the rise in global methane emissions. Kemp said while cutting emissions is critical for a future livable climate, more attention needs to be paid to communities that have long lived in the shadows of refineries and other polluters.
"It is in our state statute to minimize adverse impacts from oil and gas for disproportionately impacted communities. And we see time and time again that our regulatory agencies are not stepping up and meeting the mandate," Kemp explained.
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By Grace Hussain for Sentient.
Broadcast version by Joe Ulery for Indiana News Service reporting for the Sentient/Public News Service Collaboration
A new feed additive intended to reduce methane emissions in dairy cows is now the first of its kind to be allowed for sale in the United States. Sold under the brand name Bovaer, the drug passed FDA review in just under twelve months, far shorter than industry standard. Now some lawmakers want to make this fast-tracked process standard for the entire feed industry - an industry that has billions of dollars riding on the so-called "climate-friendly" meat and milk market.
Bovaer's manufacturer, Elanco, may not be a household name, but the veterinary pharmaceutical maker is poised to play a critical role in marketing industrial meat and dairy as sustainable. If the proposed law were to pass, it would be a financial boon to an industry that is projected to be valued at nearly $100 billion by 2027.
Feed companies like Cargill and their trade associations back the policy change. Cargill spent over $1.3 million on lobbying in 2023, and the American Feed Industry Association employed four DC lobbyists last year to help push for the proposed legislation.
New Drug Touts Climate Benefits to Pass FDA Review
Bovaer, or 3-nitrooxypropanol or 3-NOP, is already being sold for use in both beef and dairy production in more than 50 countries. The drug's compound works by inhibiting the enzyme responsible for producing methane inside the cows' intestines. And according to Elanco's testing, the drug can cut methane emissions by 30 percent for dairy cattle. But the FDA did not independently test these claims and a metaanalysis of 3-NOP trials has found a wider range of results. Sentient has submitted a public records request to review what Elanco subitted to the FDA.
Now that Bovaer is available for use in the U.S., Elanco can allow the farmers who participate in the carbon credit market it funds, Athian, to feed the new drug to dairy cows and claim the carbon credits.
Athian is a different model of carbon market. Typical carbon markets work by allowing companies and groups to monetize various forms of climate action. Even though touted as an essential part of global climate action by the United Nations, many carbon markets have been criticized for high rates of fraud and worthless credits.
Earlier this year, Athian hosted its first sale of carbon credits, at the time generated by a dairy farm that fed its cows a different Elanco-owned feed additive. Called Rumensin, this drug is used to stimulate increased milk production in dairy cows.
Athian works differently, by selling what are called "carbon insets," which are different from the traditional model of "carbon offsets." Typical offsets allow companies to pay someone else, like a conservation group, to plant trees or rewild barren farmland as a way to offset their own pollution. Carbon insets, on the other hand, are a newer idea: these allow polluting companies the ability to trade on their own efforts to slash emissions in their supply chain.
Critics of insets say that many of these reductions should be taking place across polluting industries anyway, not giving the companies even more financial incentives to do what is necessary to reduce food sector emissions. Feed additives are a perfect example. The dairy industry is fueling 11 percent of methane emissions each year - with a single dairy cow able to emit up to 264 pounds of methane in that time. If feed additives work even a little, they should be industry standard, these critics say.
New Legislation Would Fast-Track Feed Additive Approval
For now, feed additives like Bovaer that "affect the structure or any function of the body of an animal" are regulated as drugs, which usually require manufacturers like Elanco to submit to a lengthy and expensive review by the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine. The typical review process for new animal drugs can take almost a decade and cost tens of millions of dollars.
The new law would drastically scale back the FDA's review. Called the Innovative FEED Act, the proposed legislation is supported by leading livestock industry groups, including the American Feed Industry Association. Congressman Greg Pence (R-IN) is among the bipartisan group of lawmakers who introduced the bill in December 2023. One of the lawmakers, Angie Craig (D-MN), has received $14,300 in funds associated with feed company Cargill this year. If passed, the FEED Act would allow fast-track review for all feed additives, by reclassifying them as "zootechnical animal food substances," not drugs.
The new law would make it easier to commercialize feed additives. Yet Jennifer Molidor, PhD who leads Center for Biological Diversity's sustainable food campaigns, says there is little evidence showing these additives are effective. "[Many] of the claims about feed additives are speculative (and largely overblown)," Molidor told Sentient in an email.
Earlier this year, 200 experts surveyed by Harvard University said they overwhelmingly agreed. The researchers called for a broader food system shift to truly address climate change, one that moves away from eating too much meat and dairy - with or without drugs like Bovaer - in favor of eating a more plant-forward diet.
Grace Hussain wrote this article for Sentient.
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