Page 8 - Duron Chavis News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

GREENE, Iowa -- The proposed Build Back Better bill is getting attention for a host of funding possibilities, including one area flying under the radar: sustainable agriculture. Programs to reimburse farmers for adopting environmentally friendly practices could see benefits. The Biden administration's proposed public spending package includes $13 billion for the Working Lands Program, which provide financial and technical assistance to help farmers reach their conservation goals. ...

RICHMOND, Va. -- In central Virginia, permanent access to land is one of the biggest barriers to farming. A new land-trust model aims to secure both rural farmlands for affordable housing and agricultural practice for new farmers, while also acquiring land in urban centers to foster economic growth. ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Succession is an inevitable process for Ohio farmers, and it can also be an opportunity to re-imagine the land. Vicki Harder-Thorne is steward to 80 acres in Ottawa County, farmed for nearly a century. Her grandfather felt modern agricultural practices did not account for the wildlife that depended on land used for farming, and so her mother eventually returned the land to wildlife through the Conservation Reserve Program. ...

In Richmond, you can see how climate change inequity plays out most dramatically in the urban heat island map that was generated with community science observations of air temperature during a heat wave in July 2017.

Across the country, neighborhoods that were formerly redlined are 5-20 degrees hotter than neighborhoods that were not. Now, both the city of Richmond, VA and community members are trying to remedy this disparity with more parks and gardens.