By Jacqueline Covey for Civil Eats.Broadcast version by Roz Brown for New Mexico News Connection reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public News Service Collaboration Tucked high in a mountain range in San Diego County, California, ranch managers Rob Paulin and Jeremey Walker rely on "spunky" cows to mitigate wildfire by grazing on the chaparral brush and shrubbery that traditional market cattle won t seek-let alone eat. "Spunky," Paulin said with a smile as he surveyed his herd coming into a valley from mountain foraging. "That s one way to put it." Originally from the Andalucía region of Spain, these Raramuri Criollo cattle are small and trim-weighing about 800 pounds each, compared to a 1,200-plus-pound Angus cattle. " .
A Texas environmental group is sounding the alarm about seawater desalination plants proposed for Corpus Christi Bay, warning they could have disastrous impacts on fishing and tourism. Supporters believe that desalinated seawater is key to a sustainable, drought-proof water supply for the region, but Robin Schneider, executive director of the Texas Campaign for the Environment argued that the briny waste that would be dumped into the shallow bay system would harm sensitive coastal ecosystems. "There is a much more sustainable option," she said, "which is to use groundwater and water conservation, and potentially to prevent evaporation on the reservoirs by using floating solar panels." The first desalination plant, scheduled to be built on Harbor Island, is one of four proposed for the Bay - two being pushed by the Port of Corpus Christi and two by the city. " .
Farmers in Pennsylvania need to do more to improve soil and water quality, and the state needs to do more to support those efforts. That s the finding of a new Chesapeake Bay Foundation report. It cites big economic reasons for improving the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and estimates the benefits for the state could total more than $352 million a year. .