Many Feared Widespread Pig Slaughter During Coronavirus, But It Hasn't Happened : Coronavirus Updates When COVID-19 infections forced pork companies to close processing plants, some farmers predicted that it would force them to euthanize millions of hogs. The actual number has been much lower.A month ago, America's pork farmers were in crisis. About 40 percent of the country's pork plants because they had become hot spots of coronavirus . Pork producers who had been shipping, collectively, almost half a million hogs each day to those plants suddenly had no place to send of all their...…Many Feared Widespread Pig Slaughter During Coronavirus, But It Hasn't Happened : Coronavirus Updates When COVID-19 infections forced pork companies to close processing plants, some farmers predicted that it would force them to euthanize millions of hogs. The actual number has been much lower.A month ago, America's pork farmers were in crisis. About 40 percent of the country's pork plants because they had become hot spots of coronavirus . Pork producers who had been shipping, collectively, almost half a million hogs each day to those plants suddenly had no place to send of all their...WW…

Food Banks Get The Love, But SNAP Does More To Fight Hunger : The Salt The charitable organizations called food banks are getting a lot of attention and donations right now. But they aren't nearly as important or effective as SNAP, formerly known as food stamps.Toggle more optionsMillions of newly impoverished people are turning to the charitable organizations known as food banks. Mile-long lines of cars, waiting for bags of free food, have become one of the most striking images of the current economic crisis. Donations are up, too, including from a new billion-dollar government effort...…Food Banks Get The Love, But SNAP Does More To Fight Hunger : The Salt The charitable organizations called food banks are getting a lot of attention and donations right now. But they aren't nearly as important or effective as SNAP, formerly known as food stamps.Toggle more optionsMillions of newly impoverished people are turning to the charitable organizations known as food banks. Mile-long lines of cars, waiting for bags of free food, have become one of the most striking images of the current economic crisis. Donations are up, too, including from a new billion-dollar government effort...WW…

FACT CHECK: Coronavirus Treatment? That's Premature, Experts Say : Coronavirus Updates Lab studies have shown hydroxychloroquine has blocked the coronavirus from entering cells, but scientists have not reported results yet of whether it can work as a treatment.Scientists are currently carrying out a trial to see whether a drug that's currently used to treat lupus and to prevent malaria might also help treat COVID-19. Their interest is based on laboratory studies showing that the drug, hydroxychloroquine, blocked the coronavirus from entering cells. There's no solid evidence, as yet though,...…FACT CHECK: Coronavirus Treatment? That's Premature, Experts Say : Coronavirus Updates Lab studies have shown hydroxychloroquine has blocked the coronavirus from entering cells, but scientists have not reported results yet of whether it can work as a treatment.Scientists are currently carrying out a trial to see whether a drug that's currently used to treat lupus and to prevent malaria might also help treat COVID-19. Their interest is based on laboratory studies showing that the drug, hydroxychloroquine, blocked the coronavirus from entering cells. There's no solid evidence, as yet though,...WW…

Clean energy shift hits a snag in North Dakota Across the country, coal plants are shutting down. Wind turbines are going up. But the transition can be rocky. In North Dakota, some officials are trying to defend coal by blocking new wind turbines.Heard onToggle more optionsNorth Dakota has lots of coal. It also has strong and consistent winds. It might be the perfect spot to showcase the long-awaited "energy transition" from climate-warming fossil fuels to climate-saving renewables. Yet that transition has hit a snag. Two counties in the state have enacted drastic restrictions on new wind...…Clean energy shift hits a snag in North Dakota Across the country, coal plants are shutting down. Wind turbines are going up. But the transition can be rocky. In North Dakota, some officials are trying to defend coal by blocking new wind turbines.Heard onToggle more optionsNorth Dakota has lots of coal. It also has strong and consistent winds. It might be the perfect spot to showcase the long-awaited "energy transition" from climate-warming fossil fuels to climate-saving renewables. Yet that transition has hit a snag. Two counties in the state have enacted drastic restrictions on new wind...WW…

North Dakota has lots of coal. It also has strong and consistent winds. It might be the perfect spot to showcase the long-awaited "energy transition" from climate-warming fossil fuels to climate-saving renewables. Yet that transition has hit a snag. Two counties in the state have enacted drastic restrictions on new wind projects in an attempt to save coal mining jobs, despite protests from landowners who'd like to rent their land to wind energy companies. It's a sign of how difficult that transition can be for communities that depend on coal for jobs and tax revenue. The economic benefits...…North Dakota has lots of coal. It also has strong and consistent winds. It might be the perfect spot to showcase the long-awaited "energy transition" from climate-warming fossil fuels to climate-saving renewables. Yet that transition has hit a snag. Two counties in the state have enacted drastic restrictions on new wind projects in an attempt to save coal mining jobs, despite protests from landowners who'd like to rent their land to wind energy companies. It's a sign of how difficult that transition can be for communities that depend on coal for jobs and tax revenue. The economic benefits...WW…

Farms In The Midwest Have Lost Much Of Their Most Fertile Soil One third of the cropland in the upper Midwest has entirely lost its fertile topsoil, according to a new study. Other scientists doubt that figure, but agree that soil loss is a big problem.Heard onToggle more optionsFarming has destroyed a lot of the rich soil of America's Midwestern prairie. A team of scientists just came up with a staggering new estimate for just how much has disappeared. The most fertile topsoil is entirely gone from a third of all the land devoted to growing crops across the upper Midwest, the scientists...…Farms In The Midwest Have Lost Much Of Their Most Fertile Soil One third of the cropland in the upper Midwest has entirely lost its fertile topsoil, according to a new study. Other scientists doubt that figure, but agree that soil loss is a big problem.Heard onToggle more optionsFarming has destroyed a lot of the rich soil of America's Midwestern prairie. A team of scientists just came up with a staggering new estimate for just how much has disappeared. The most fertile topsoil is entirely gone from a third of all the land devoted to growing crops across the upper Midwest, the scientists...WW…

Natural Gas Battles Local Climate Efforts Natural gas utilities face a bleak future in a world increasingly concerned about climate change. An NPR investigation shows how they work to block local climate action and protect their business.Heard onToggle more optionsUpdated on March 10th at 12:30 p.m. ET Facing the rising threat of wildfire and extreme drought, Flagstaff, Ariz., unveiled an ambitious effort two years ago to cut the heat-trapping emissions that drive climate change. A critical part of Flagstaff's climate plan proposed that all new construction get to net-zero greenhouse gas...…Natural Gas Battles Local Climate Efforts Natural gas utilities face a bleak future in a world increasingly concerned about climate change. An NPR investigation shows how they work to block local climate action and protect their business.Heard onToggle more optionsUpdated on March 10th at 12:30 p.m. ET Facing the rising threat of wildfire and extreme drought, Flagstaff, Ariz., unveiled an ambitious effort two years ago to cut the heat-trapping emissions that drive climate change. A critical part of Flagstaff's climate plan proposed that all new construction get to net-zero greenhouse gas...WW…

In A Grain Of Golden Rice, A World Of Controversy Over GMO Foods : The Salt A rice enriched with beta-carotene promises to boost the health of poor children around the world. But critics say golden rice is also a clever PR move for a biotech industry driven by profits, not humanitarianism.Heard onToggle more optionsThere's a kind of rice growing in some test plots in the Philippines that's unlike any rice ever seen before. It's yellow. Its call it "." It's been genetically modified so that it contains beta-carotene, the source of vitamin A. Millions of people in Asia and Africa don't get...…In A Grain Of Golden Rice, A World Of Controversy Over GMO Foods : The Salt A rice enriched with beta-carotene promises to boost the health of poor children around the world. But critics say golden rice is also a clever PR move for a biotech industry driven by profits, not humanitarianism.Heard onToggle more optionsThere's a kind of rice growing in some test plots in the Philippines that's unlike any rice ever seen before. It's yellow. Its call it "." It's been genetically modified so that it contains beta-carotene, the source of vitamin A. Millions of people in Asia and Africa don't get...WW…

Some GMO Crops Are Losing Their Resistance To Pests Some of the first GMOs – corn and cotton plants that have been genetically modified to fend off insects – are running into problems. Bugs have become resistant to them because they've been overused.Some of the most popular products of biotechnology — corn and cotton plants that have been genetically modified to fend off insects — are no longer offering the same protection from those bugs. Scientists say that the problem results from farmers overusing the crops, and are pushing for new regulations. These crops were the original genetically...…Some GMO Crops Are Losing Their Resistance To Pests Some of the first GMOs – corn and cotton plants that have been genetically modified to fend off insects – are running into problems. Bugs have become resistant to them because they've been overused.Some of the most popular products of biotechnology — corn and cotton plants that have been genetically modified to fend off insects — are no longer offering the same protection from those bugs. Scientists say that the problem results from farmers overusing the crops, and are pushing for new regulations. These crops were the original genetically...WW…

Solar Farms Can Be Compatible With Farming Large-scale solar farms are running into opposition from people who want to save farmland. Now solar companies are trying to combine solar and farming.Heard onToggle more optionsClean, abundant, solar power comes with a price. It requires lots of land, and in some places that's provoking opposition from people who want to preserve farmland. In southern New Jersey, for instance, a company called wants to build an 800-acre solar power station, and the Pilesgrove Township planning board is hearing from local citizens who don't like it one bit. "The...…Solar Farms Can Be Compatible With Farming Large-scale solar farms are running into opposition from people who want to save farmland. Now solar companies are trying to combine solar and farming.Heard onToggle more optionsClean, abundant, solar power comes with a price. It requires lots of land, and in some places that's provoking opposition from people who want to preserve farmland. In southern New Jersey, for instance, a company called wants to build an 800-acre solar power station, and the Pilesgrove Township planning board is hearing from local citizens who don't like it one bit. "The...WW…