climate change

Report: Public Filings Lack Enough Information On Climate Change Risks

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Investors may not know the risks climate-related events could have on companies based on public filings, a new report from the Government Accountability Office found. The Securities and Exchange Commission reviews filings to make sure that companies follow federal securities laws in disclosing information to investors. In 2010, the SEC issued guidance on how climate-related information should be disclosed in public filings. But the oversight office cannot fully review the climate-related risks companies disclose in public filings because of inadequate information, according to the independent report publicly released March 22. “When companies report climate-related disclosures in varying formats and specificity, SEC reviewers and investors may find it difficult to compare and analyze related disclosures across companies’ filings,” the GAO reported.

agriculture

EPA Eased Herbicide Regulations Following Monsanto Research, Records Show

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lessened protections for crops and wildlife habitats after Monsanto supplied research that presented lower estimates of how far the weed killer dicamba can drift, according to a review of federal documents. In its final report approving the usage of dicamba on soybeans, the agency expressed confidence that dicamba, new versions of which are made by Monsanto and German chemical company BASF, would not leave the field. The registration covered both herbicides, an EPA spokesperson said. “The EPA expects that exposure will remain confined to the dicamba (DGA) treated field,” the agency wrote in the final registration approving the use of dicamba in November 2016. However, drift from dicamba damaged more than 3.6 million acres of soybeans in 2017, according to data from Kevin Bradley, a professor at the University of Missouri.

Pesticide drift

Pesticide Buffer Zones Crop Up In Other States But None In Midwest

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Midwest U.S. states do not require any buffer zone between schools and crop fields and seldom require any notification that pesticides are about to be sprayed, a review of laws by the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting has found. University of Iowa researchers are analyzing chemical spray drift for advice on such a buffer.

dicamba

Complaints Surge About Weed Killer Dicamba’s Damage To Oak Trees

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As soybean and cotton farmers across the Midwest and South continue to see their crops ravaged from the weed killer dicamba, new complaints have pointed to the herbicide as a factor in widespread damage to oak trees.

water quality

Troubled Water: A News21 Documentary

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Troubled Water is a 30-minute documentary about drinking water contamination in the United States. The film explores nine locations across the country where water has affected people.

News21: Troubled Water

Farming Activity Contaminates Water Despite Best Practices

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Lynda Cochart did not realize her water in Wisconsin was contaminated with coliform bacteria until she contracted MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant skin infection. Another News21 report that puts farm run-off, including some in Iowa, into perspective.

News21: Troubled Water

Lax Oversight Puts Millions Of Private Well Users At Risk

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Most of the 43 million Americans who rely on private wells — some 288,000 in Iowa — don’t know if their water is safe to drink because unlike the regulation of public water systems, there is no government monitoring of wells. Another New21 water quality report, with links to IowaWatch reporting.

News21: Troubled Water

Fear Of The Unknown: The Effect Of Water Contamination On Health

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Many Americans don’t always know what’s in their water – and even when they do, the science can’t always make definitive connections between tainted water and health problems. Health officials, from the federal level down to the local authorities, also face budget constraints that can limit how they investigate, monitor, report and treat water contamination.