Sustainability
The Return of the American Bison
North America’s largest mammal, the American bison, is an enduring symbol of the Great Plains. Bison once ranged from Canada to New Mexico and from Nevada to the Appalachian Mountains. By 1889, their populations were reduced from 30 to 60 million animals to fewer than 1000. Bison were pushed to the brink of extinction by…
Is The Tide Of Antibiotic Use On Farms Now Turning?
For the first time, government statistics show America’s pigs, cattle, and poultry are getting fewer antibiotic drugs. Public health advocates call the new figures encouraging.
Giving Away the (Wind) Farm
Mark Buck can see some of the 314 turbines in Kansas’ largest wind farm from his office window in Medicine Lodge, where he is superintendent of the Barber County North School District. The nearly $1 billion Flat Ridge project, built in two phases and owned in part by British Petroleum, spans 70,000 acres near the…
Federal Tax Credits Drive Foreign Wind Investment
Investment in U.S. wind energy production has increased tenfold over the past decade with the help of billions of dollars in federal tax help, with foreign companies making up much of the increase. Indeed, six foreign-owned wind energy companies have received at least $4.8 billion in federal tax credits between 2000 and 2015, according to…
Where Does Our Recycling Go?
Ted Baker has been recycling ever since Overland Park started its curbside program in 1990. But every Wednesday, as he dutifully treks to the end of his driveway, he ponders the question that he ultimately submitted to curiousKC: What happens to the stuff we pay to have recycled? “I’ve heard reports that they stick the…