Land & Food

Top-down view of fresh organic oranges arranged closely in a vibrant pattern.
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An Example: One property owner reacts to climate change

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Editor’s Note: climate change changes economic incentives, which change all sorts of things.  Here, a major land owner in Florida exits raising oranges and will use the land for real estate development and other uses because “we must now reluctantly adapt to changing environmental and economic realities. Our citrus production has declined 73% over the last ten years, despite significant investments in land, trees and citrus disease treatments. The impact of Hurricanes Irma in 2017, Ian in 2022 and Milton in 2024 on our trees, already weakened from years of citrus greening disease, has led Alico to conclude that growing citrus is no longer economically viable for us in Florida,” said John Kiernan, Alico’s President and CEO.”

Renewal Energy Boom Remaking Nevada Landscape

Renewal Energy Boom Remaking Nevada Landscape

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In Nevada, plans are moving ahead for transmission lines, solar farms, geothermal plants and more in the name of fighting climate change. Pictured above, a solar farm near Pahrump, NV. Yet even among environmental groups and government officials, the projects are controversial.

Nevada, where the federal government manages more than 80 percent of the land, is a key theater for such development—nearly 12 million acres are eligible for it under the Biden administration’s solar plan, approximately 17 percent of the state. More than one-third of the solar and wind proposals pending before the federal Bureau of Land Management nationwide, meanwhile, are located in Nevada. 

Finalized federal plan outlines future of Nevada, Western solar development
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Finalized federal plan outlines future of Nevada, Western solar development

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Nearly one-fifth of Nevada’s public lands could open up to utility-scale solar development under the Bureau of Land Management’s final Western Solar Plan — drawing the support of solar developers and the ire of conservationists.

The document released Thursday designates about 18,000 square miles or 11.8 million acres — roughly 17 percent — of the state’s public lands for possible large-scale solar projects, identified as 5 megawatts and larger.

Currently, only about 15 percent of the state’s BLM-administered land is available for possible solar development. In addition to calling for nearly 12 million acres in Nevada to be open to solar development, the final plan increases the total acreage available across the West from 22 million to 31 million acres.

EMIT LESS Act garners bi-partisan applause

EMIT LESS Act garners bi-partisan applause

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Enteric methane, which is naturally emitted during the digestive process of most livestock species, has been deemed the single largest source of agricultural methane emissions. Garnering support from a diverse coalition, U.S. Senators Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Jerry Moran, R-Kan., seeks to reduce enteric methane by integrating emissions-reduction practices into U.S. Department of Agriculture conservation programs and providing financial incentives to farmers that voluntarily adopt them.

Lobby for strong climate policies in the Farm Bill. What you need to know.

Lobby for strong climate policies in the Farm Bill. What you need to know.

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In the farm bill – a must-pass piece of legislation done every five years – Congress supports a range of federal programs that aim to make farmers and ranchers more competitive in global markets, mitigate agriculture’s climate impacts, and keep food prices affordable. These range from …