West Coast Warming & WOTUS Still A Hot Issue

West Coast Warming & WOTUS Still A Hot Issue

West Coast Warming & WOTUS Still A Hot Issue plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

Not Global Warming. That's the findings of a new report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Washington. What is it then? It's naturally occurring changes in wind patterns that are responsible for most of the warming. The report says that, yes, indeed the west coast has been warming but not because of some man-made issues. NOAA and the University of Washington scientists studied the trends only at the regional level. They did not offer conclusions about the impact of changing wind patterns on warming across the globe.

Emotions are running high, as the White House reviews the EPA's controversial proposal to vastly expand the Agency's control of U.S. waters on and off farms and ranches. It's one of the most contentious fights in recent memory between a federal agency and U.S. agriculture. Both the EPA and producers have launched campaigns over the proposed rule. The Agency defends the rule as needed to protect water quality and human health and call the rule justified under the clean water act. Ag leaders like National Cattlemen's Kent Bacus say just the opposite is true.

BACUS: If anyone thinks that EPA has the best interest of farmers and ranchers in mind, I think they really need to look closely at this Waters of the United States. It doesn't matter what promises an agency makes, the proofs always in the pudding.

Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray.

I've done numerous Food Forethoughts on the subject of climate change. Over the years I myself have had to adjust my outlook on climate change. Not long ago I spoke about a report that listed the economic risks of climate change in the U.S.. It painted a dire picture of what climate change left unchecked could do to the American economy and the effect it could have on ag production by mid-century and beyond. Society as a whole remains split on climate change, but one would have to be completely out of touch with reality to say that the climate is not changing; whether by naturally occurring phenomenon, man's influence, or a combination of the two. This week world leaders gathered in New York for the UN Secretary-General's Climate Leadership Summit. But you don't have to be a state, federal, or world leader to make a difference when it comes to combating climate change. As the UN Secretary-General has said, "It's going to take all hands on deck" to tackle the problem that is climate change.

Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.

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