We All Want Clean H2O

Megan Brown talks about the struggles of farming in California, how she is working to make her ranch sustainable, including her direct marketing to consumers and her experiences with sexism in agriculture and its relationship to many of its structural problems. 

Dave Swenson comes back for the third time to discuss his ideas about rural Iowa going forward. He talks about how we got here, the role of agriculture and the importance of centering our rural residents and thinking more holistically about regions and "micropolitan" anchor communities. 

In this episode, we reflect on the most memorable events of the year and declare our new year's resolutions. Happy holidays to all (including the hate listeners).

In this episode we discuss the proposed withdrawal of the Cedar River TMDL for nitrate with Allen Bonini. Allen was the Watershed Section Supervisor at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.  We explain what is the role of Total Maximum Daily Loads in the Clean Water Act, how the TMDL process is related to the Nutrient Reduction Strategy, and the broader implications of this delisting. 

We talk with Tom Philpott about his book, Perilous Bounty, the future of the US farm system, its history and some book recommendations. We also plan his next trip to Iowa to enjoy some of our choicest birdwatching: eagles eating CAFO hog carcasses. 
We apologize for the sound quality in a couple of spots, we recorded this literally in the middle of a storm. 

Environmental communication expert and friend of the podcast Don Carr joins the hosts to discuss regional differences in approaches to environmental problems, the role of storytelling in engaging the public and the biggest environmental  fraud (yes you guessed right it's ethanol).

The podcast co-hosts discuss the issues associated with USDA's Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities funded projects and whether they really address greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector or whether they are FARTs

One can find the project summaries for the funded proposals here:
 https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/partnerships-climate-smart-commodities-project-summaries.pdf 

Anne Schechinger, the Midwest program director at Environmental Working group, talks to us about her experience as a woman social scientist at an NGO, farm policy and EWG's  latest report on USDA’s conservation programs and how (in) effective they have been is supporting  ‘climate-smart’ agriculture.

Dr. Ben Maas, who lived in Storm Lake until recently, talks about the issues of the lake and the watershed around it. From Koi herpes to zebra mussels, and lake dredging Dr. Maas gives us a comprehensive look at a town and lake that suffer from severe water quality problems. 

Prof. Emeritus Neil Hamilton reflects on the past, present and future state of water in Iowa, the role of the courts and other institutions such as conservation districts.  He also gives us some highlights from his recent book "The Land Remains: A Midwestern Perspective on Our Past and Future".