By Katie Doonan, Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University Okay, okay- while baby kangaroos singlehandedly solving climate change is out of the question, the potential for baby kangaroo droppings to help decrease methane emissions is an exciting prospect! Methane from ruminant digestion is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in […]
By Morgan Lawrence, USDA Northwest Climate Hub Wildfires in the Great Basin are bigger and badder than ever. In fact, the 12 largest fires on record in the region have all burned in the last two decades, and more acres of rangeland burn annually than forest in the U.S. Rising temperatures and changes in precipitation […]
By David I Gustafson, Adjunct Research Faculty at Washington State University When it comes to climate adaptation and mitigation opportunities in agriculture, few (if any) are of greater importance than practices that sequester more soil carbon, which can directly reduce the heat-trapping effects of atmospheric CO2. Boosting soil carbon also has multiple direct benefits for […]
By Janelle Christensen, USDA Northwest Climate Hub Atmospheric rivers are a buzzword right now. A few years ago, I had never heard the term, and now I hear it on the news and tossed about in everyday conversation with colleagues and friends. Although atmospheric rivers are not a new phenomenon, they were only given a […]
By Doug Finkelnburg, University of Idaho Extension The largest grant ever awarded in the history of the University of Idaho will explore how Idaho’s agriculture can address climate change. Over the next five years, $55 million will be spent to research and implement greenhouse gas (GHG) reducing practices in Idaho’s farming and ranching systems. The […]
Morgan Lawrence, USDA Northwest Climate Hub You may know hazelnuts (also called filberts) for their starring role in everyone’s favorite hazelnut-chocolate spread. Or perhaps you’ve enjoyed a delicious hazelnut latte while eating a hazelnut-filled truffle. But did you know that Oregon produces 99% of U.S. hazelnuts, and Washington produces the other 1%? Under the right […]
By Karie Boone, Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University, and Clark Seavert, Oregon State University For the inland Pacific Northwest, climate change predictions including wetter springs and drier, hotter summers leads to production system uncertainties and risks for dryland, small grain farmers. Annual precipitation is projected to increase by about 5-15% […]
By Janelle Christensen, USDA Northwest Climate Hub Grazing lands in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington—from state, tribal and federally managed rangelands and forests to privately owned pasturelands—are an important part of each state. Livestock are a critical part of each state’s economy and contributed about $8.4 billion in sales in 2017. They are also important to […]
By Karen Janowitz, Washington State University Energy Program The passage of Washington State’s Clean Energy Transformation Act in 2019 mandates an electricity supply free of greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. Large-scale renewable energy projects are one way to achieve this mandate. Solar companies see this as an opportunity and are pursuing projects in the sunniest, […]
By Tyler Harris, Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center, Oregon State University With climate change, growers in the Pacific Northwest are facing a myriad of new challenges. These include a longer fire season and more frequent fires, warmer and drier summers, and increased drought potential in summer. A question that is becoming more pertinent every day […]
