Recycle Utah

Nonprofit Summit County, Utah Recycling Center

climate

Regenerative Agriculture

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Food – it’s said we can live three weeks without it. We rely on farmers to grow our grains, produce, meat and dairy and like everything, technology has changed with farming, too. Climate change is affecting farmers through higher temperatures, extreme weather events, drought, and floods. Europe has aggressive bills to cut subsidies on diesel, restore native ecosystems and limit pesticide use, but they also know that farmers need to live off their land and be able to invest in the future. How do we grow food without further wrecking Earth’s climate and biodiversity?

Like European farmers, U.S. farmers are also burdened by climate in addition to inflation, debt, and lack of control over pricing from big companies. Shifting our global food system in an era of higher temperatures and need for lower emissions is challenging! People need to be fed but how do we do it without further harming our environment?

What does this shift involve? It involves climate-smart practices that help farmers store more carbon pollution in soil and trees – agroforestry. When trees and shrubs are integrated with animal agriculture, carbon is sequestered, soil health improves, erosion is reduced, water is retained and crop yields increase. Regenerative agriculture including crop-rotation, cover-cropping, biochar and reforestation has been practiced worldwide for centuries but very little in the U.S.A. Funding is required for this transition from traditional practices.  

The United States Farm Bill package is revised every five years; it provides financial support to our farmers and forest-owners covering everything from food assistance and conservation practices to crop insurance and equipment purchases. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) bill has allotted 20 billion towards the 2023 Farm Bill (extended to fall 2024) to incorporate climate-smart practices within our farms and forest. Ask your member of Congress to protect this IRA funding to protect our forests and assist our farmers with the necessary transition to climate-smart farming: https://www.utah.gov/government/contactgov.html.

By Mary Closser

Talking About Climate Change

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How often do you talk about climate change or hear someone else talk about it? If you responded, “not much,” you are not alone. Only 24% of Americans have heard Climate Change discussed in their social circle.

To stop the goliath that is climate change, we need to talk about the issue and solutions. We also need to get as many people on board with climate initiatives as possible, including people who are otherwise unmotivated or unconvinced of the need to act. The only way to do that is, you guessed it, to talk about it. So, how should we go about this?

  1. Have non-judgmental discussions. Open-minded discussions about emotional topics lead to lasting opinion changes and increased concern about an issue. They increase the chances that participants want to act.
  2. Focus on values and personal experiences. In climate discussions, this could mean talking about family, religion, community, recreation, patriotism, and how climate change affects them all.
  3. Rather than focusing on doom and gloom facts, be optimistic. Discuss the potential for solutions that benefit not just the planet, but also our economy, health, and equality.

Here is the best part about all of this: those who we talk to about climate change then discuss it with their social circle, creating a positive feedback loop. Only 22% of those who rarely discuss climate change talk about it with their family and friends, while 76% of those who discuss climate change at least once a month talk about it to their family and friends.

So, let’s all challenge ourselves to talk to someone about climate change and see where the action takes us.

Montana Burack, Senior at Park City High School