EPA Submits Greenhouse Gas Findings & Stormy Weather Out West

EPA Submits Greenhouse Gas Findings & Stormy Weather Out West

EPA Submits Greenhouse Gas Findings & Stormy Weather Out West plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

Many days you can catch me humming or whistling the old standard “Stormy Weather.” And while it’s one of my favorites…it’s also what folks out west can expect over the next few days according to USDA meteorologist, Brad Rippey.

RIPPEY: The one area that is going to have stormy weather for the rest of the week will be the west. We’ve got a pretty steady onslaught of Pacific moisture coming in and conditions will be cooling off and turning stormier in the west although the impact on the major production areas is going to be minimal. It’s really the mountain areas and the Northwest that looks like the stormy weather will be the most significant. And in fact in the northwest rain and snow this time of year is beneficial for winter wheat so not too much crop impact or agricultural impacts in the west despite an increase in stormy weather.

The Environmental Protection Agency has sent its final scientific finding on greenhouse gases to the White House, a step that could trigger regulation of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases as pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Sources said the document concludes the emissions pose a threat to the public's health and welfare. The Office of Management and Budget now has 90 days to sign off on it.

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

President Obama’s administration has done several things toward making Americans more aware of their close connection to our nation’s farmers, (you can’t get much closer than the food on your plate!) There’s the Whitehouse Farmer’s Market, Healthy Food Healthy Children, and Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food programs to name just a few, but we still seem to be fighting an uphill battle when it comes to produce imports far exceeding exports, or local food for that matter. On average each American consumes roughly fifty pounds of imported fresh fruits and vegetables in any given year. That’s a lot of food NOT benefiting local communities, economies and farmers. And as we have so tragically discovered in the not so distant past imported produce is four times as likely to have illegal levels of pesticide residue or illness causing bacteria as domestic produce. The current administration appears to be working hard to develop more sustainable agriculture in America, but there is still ample room for improvement. Guess it’s a good thing the United States is a continuing work in progress.

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

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