Environment
Kansas researchers tackle crop production as national assessment warns changing climate can damage agriculture
TOPEKA — Kansas State University researchers have been given millions in funding to study ways to increase crop yields as national reports warn of worsening agricultural conditions in the Midwest. Kansas State University researchers will collaborate with other U.S. Corn Belt universities on research meant to bolster understanding of how agricultural practice impacts local environmental […]
Kansas task force’s report set to ignite debate about improving wildfire prevention, response
Gov. Laura Kelly's task force report issued 30 recommendations and proposed earmarking $12 million to preventing and responding to wildfire disasters.
Kansas and Missouri have 256,000 lead pipes. EPA wants them removed within 10 years.
Utilities in Kansas and Missouri would have to pull hundreds of thousands of lead pipes out of the ground within 10 years under a proposed rule the Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday. The EPA announced a proposed update to the lead and copper rule strengthening President Joe Biden’s earlier goal of eradicating lead pipes. The […]
Kansas advocates plant seeds of new farm bill addressing needs of diverse agricultural economy
Kansas Farmers Union and Kansas Rural Center advocates looking for 2024 debate on farm bill emphasizing farm conservation, nutrition and equity.
As the year burns to a close, be unafraid to ponder hard questions. Answers may be in the asking.
There’s a little candle in a glass jar on the table where Kim and I have just finished our Thanksgiving dinner. The flame flutters as she clears some plates, and the room is suffused with the subtle aroma of spiced apples, just as promised on the candle’s package. It’s a cheerful touch that unexpectedly becomes […]
Pollution from coal plants contributes to far more deaths than scientists realized, study shows
Air pollution particles from coal-fired power plants are more harmful to human health than many experts realized, and it’s more than twice as likely to contribute to premature deaths as air pollution particles from other sources, new research demonstrates. In the study, published in the journal Science, colleagues and I mapped how U.S. coal power plant emissions […]
State funding set aside for Kansas River trash removal, high-risk dam repairs
TOPEKA — The Kansas Department of Agriculture gives a dam. The department has been allocated $10 million in funding for several state water projects, including dam rehabilitation and repair and irrigation technology improvements. About $7 million of the funding will go toward projects in eastern Stafford County, where the Rattlesnake Creek and Quivira National Wildlife […]
Governor’s new adviser on Kansas water crisis working to influence policy talks
Hiring a dedicated staff member to advise Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly on water is a move meant to bring the often-siloed issue front and center, said Vijay Ramasamy, who started the job this fall. “My job is to make water central to a lot of our conversations,” Ramasamy said on the Kansas Reflector podcast. Ramasamy, […]
Nebraska plan to divert water could put destructive carp in Kansas lakes
Back in the 1970s, in an attempt to control algal blooms in wastewater treatment plants and aquafarming ponds, managers imported four species of Asian carp. Unfortunately — as with many well-intentioned plans that tamper with ecosystems — the carp were inadvertently released or escaped through flood events, and quickly spread to wreak havoc in nearby […]
Why a ‘Super El Niño’ could help drought-stricken Kansas, Missouri this winter
The phrase “El Niño” can conjure up images of horrendous weather: severe storms in the southern U.S. and droughts in Asia and Africa. But for Kansas and Missouri, El Niño, a months-long weather pattern that typically brings warm winters and extra precipitation to the central U.S., brings hope. Both states have been stuck in a […]
Kansas abandoned wells project reinvigorated, but thousands left to plug
TOPEKA — The state’s efforts to plug abandoned wells are back on track after delays in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to project coordinators. Ryan Hoffman, conservation division director with the Kansas Corporation Commission, updated lawmakers on the well situation during a Tuesday legislative meeting. The Kansas Corporation Commission oversees the well plugging […]
In Kansas, federal officials unveil $2 billion initiative to cut down carbon in federal buildings
TOPEKA — Standing outside the Frank Carlson Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse on Monday, two members of the Biden administration announced a $2 billion investment for making federal buildings more eco-friendly in the latest federal attempt to combat the climate crisis. John Podesta, senior adviser to the president on clean energy innovation and implementation, and […]