Land & Food

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. 

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.

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 …