skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Ohio's milestone moment for women in government; Price growth ticked up in November as inflation progress stalls; NE public housing legal case touches on quality of life for vulnerable renters; California expert sounds alarm on avian flu's threat to humans, livestock.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Debates on presidential accountability, the death penalty, gender equality, Medicare and Social Security cuts; and Ohio's education policies highlight critical issues shaping the nation's future.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Many rural counties that voted for Trump also cast ballots against school vouchers and to protect abortion rights, Pennsylvania's Black mayors are collaborating to unite their communities and unique methods are being tried to address America's mental health crisis.

Putting farm fields under a green blanket with climate friendly fertilizer

play audio
Play

Friday, November 15, 2024   

Some sectors have made gains in Minnesota in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. Progress has been slower for agriculture, but those pursuing solutions feel a breakthrough is near thanks to a redesign of a key farming product.

Ag experts say most fertilizers used by farmers are very carbon intensive because they're made with fossil fuels. However, Minnesota researchers have been leading the charge to phase out those elements by utilizing hydrogen from wind and solar energy in the production process.

If more farmers can take advantage of "green fertilizer", said Margaret Cherne-Hendrick, senior lead for innovation and impact at Fresh Energy, the state could be better positioned to confront troubling data.

"Agriculture accounts for about 21% of the state's greenhouse-gas emissions," she said, "and we're forecasting it's going to be one of the more difficult sectors to decarbonize."

While Minnesota government has made investments in the development of this product, including the University of Minnesota's West Central Research and Outreach Center in Morris, Cherne-Hendrick warned that the outcome of the presidential election could alter the landscape for federal incentives.

Meanwhile, a summit will be held Dec. 10 at the University of Minnesota Morris to discuss the future of this technology. The cleaner ammonia derived from this production can also be used for things such as shipping fuel.

Anne Schwagerl, vice president of the Minnesota Farmers Union, which is hosting the upcoming summit, said that having less-carbon intensive crops such as corn can open up more biofuel markets for farmers. And if more green fertilizer is made locally, it could enhance the presence of cooperatives.

"Minnesota has always been a leader in the cooperative movement," she said, "and this is just another opportunity for farmer ownership and rural community ownership of the things that we produce."

U.S. farmers have called attention to corporate consolidation among fertilizer companies, making prices out of reach for smaller independent operations. Next month's gathering is expected to include feedback about how to scale up the manufacturing of green fertilizer to help combat those market forces.

Disclosure: Fresh Energy contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Energy Policy, Environment, Environmental Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
David Bintz' brother, Robert Bintz, was also released from prison this year and was represented by the Great North Innocence Project. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

The Wisconsin Innocence Project is ending the year with some key victories including helping with the release of two men who each spent decades in pri…


Health and Wellness

play sound

By Dawn Attride for Sentient.Broadcast version by Shanteya Hudson for California News Service reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collabora…

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri has stepped up to fight childhood hunger by providing food aid over the summer for kids who rely on school meals for nutrition. The U.S…


A 2022 study of evictions in Lancaster County by the University of Nebraska College of Law found a high level of non-compliance in moving forward with such proceedings when tenants lacked counsel. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

The public housing agency serving Nebraska's largest city faces legal action amid claims of poor living conditions for a tenant with disabilities…

Social Issues

play sound

Five years ago, Minnesota established a program to bolster well-being metrics for children of color and young Native American kids. Today, fund …

Out-of-pocket costs increased by $1700 on average for older Coloradans with Medicare Advantage coverage, plans claiming to limit health costs for people living on fixed incomes. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Between 2013 and 2022, health care spending in Colorado surged by 139% to nearly $30 billion, according to a new analysis by the Center for Improving …

Health and Wellness

play sound

Indianapolis is expanding its innovative Clinician-Led Community Response program, offering Hoosiers a new approach to handling mental health crises…

Social Issues

play sound

Worker-owned cannabis cooperatives in Rhode Island are striving to help those affected by the war on drugs. State law mandates at least six retail …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021