This year's extreme weather was one for the record books; 2012 is slated to be the hottest summer on record.
The worst drought in 50 years struck the South and Midwest, devastating the U.S. agriculture industry. Deadly floods and superstorms paralyzed the northeast and other parts of the country.
While the public is in shock by extreme weather events that have taken place, environmentalist Bill McKibben and other members of the science community say it is a result of climate change.
Originally published on Mon December 31, 2012 8:24 am
Global health advocates often argue that the tropical diseases that plague many countries, such as malaria and dengue, can be conquered simply with more money for health care – namely medicines and vaccines.
The Seattle area is seeing widespread, well-organized opposition to an export industry: coal. Thousands of people have turned out to express their disgust with a plan to build export terminals on Puget Sound to ship American coal to Asia. Opponents cite noise, traffic delays, coal dust and global warming.
Photographer Freya Najade journeys into the weird sci-fi world of Europe's agricultural production. In one cow-milking facility she visited, "two people are needed to milk twice a day 300 cows," she writes.
Credit Freya Najade
Apple Tree, 2011: Modern apple growers use apple varieties that are grafted onto Dwarfing Rootstocks. Developed at a research station in the U.K., these ... trees need less water and less space than traditional apple trees, which makes high density planting possible. The fruits are more accessible and easier to pick, because the trees are smaller.
Credit Freya Najade
Tomatoes I, 2012: In order to have total control over the nutrients and the irrigation, tomatoes are planted in sterile material such as rock wool and not in soil. By doing so, the tomatoes are, according to the growers, less likely infected by diseases, a smaller amount of pesticide is needed and the yield can be increased.
Credit Freya Najade
Lettuce, 2011: Lettuce is grown in a stacking system to provide a maximum use of space. Plants grow inside of plastic trays without soil. A conveyor belt is moving the plants to ensure they get all round sunlight. The whole growing process is computer controlled.
Credit Freya Najade
Cress, 2011: Cress, tomatoes, cucumbers, or lettuce are grown in closed systems just with LED lights. There is no sunlight and no direct exchange of air with the outside. Day and night, summer and winter stop existing. Humans are able to determine the shape, taste and color of plants and fruits. They can be grown anywhere from the desert to inside of restaurants and supermarkets.
Credit Freya Najade
Tomato Vines, 2012
Credit Freya Najade
Eggplants, 2012: A computer manages precisely the irrigation, the nutrients given to the plants and also the climate inside the greenhouse. Automatically windows open, sunscreens move, and waste, water and nutrients are collected, purified, and recycled.
Credit Freya Najade
Tomatoes II, 2011: In order to consume locally grown tomatoes in ... the U.K. or Germany, the tomatoes need to be produced in heated greenhouses. ... To produce in more sustainable ways and to keep the cost of energy low, the greenhouse above is heated by the waste heat from a nearby nuclear power station.
Credit Freya Najade
Strawberries II, 2012: Strawberry crops are grown on tabletop-raised beds. The tabletop system makes it easier to pick the fruits and eases the weed and pest control. A leaf and sap analysis determines the nutrient's compound, which is fed with the irrigation water. To accelerate the growth of the plants, growers above add CO2 from a close-by Shell refinery.
Credit Freya Najade
Milking Parlor, 2012: Two people are needed to milk twice a day, 300 cows.
Credit Freya Najade
Milking Robot I, 2012: One milking robot milks three times per day, 60 cows. The cows are in a stable, in which they can move around freely. They can use the robot whenever they need to. No human needs to be present.
Credit Freya Najade
Mushrooms, 2012: To allow an all-year-round production of mushrooms and to increase the yield, mushrooms are grown in a microclimate inside growing rooms. A stacking system maximizes the production per square meter.
Credit Freya Najade
Chicken, 2011: Since the mid-1990s the consumption of chicken has increased by 75 percent worldwide. Chicken are often reared in barns. One chicken barn has the capacity to rear 50,000 chickens.
We all have an inkling of how our food is grown these days, but increasingly we don't really know what it looks like. You'd probably recognize a tomato plant or a cornfield — but these photos offer a perspective that a lot of us haven't seen.
Even though Christmas is over, your tree can keep on giving.
WDSU-TV reports officials in Orleans and Jefferson parish are again picking up live trees for use in marsh restoration.
Folks are asked to remove all tinsel and ornaments from trees and then put them on the curb for pickup. Collection dates for both parishes are Jan. 10 through the 12th.
Flocked or painted trees are not eligible for the recycling program.
Also last month, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency joked to an environmental law conference: Everyone who wants my job, stand up. Yesterday, Lisa Jackson turned serious and made it official: She's leaving the EPA next month.
As NPR's Selena Simmons-Duffin reports, there are mixed feelings about Jackson's departure.
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish.
The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that she's stepping down. Lisa Jackson won praise from environmentalists for efforts to cut air pollution and greenhouse gases. But she faced fierce opposition from the coal industry and congressional Republicans. And she sometimes found herself at odds with the White House.
