x-post from e/e- here's an idea for the green new deal-

[mopinko]

help farmers re-electrify rural america.

so, when that draft of the green new deal made the rounds, and everyone started stockpiling cheeseburgers, and drawing up plans for their govt home remodeling, msnbc had the good sense to track down the facts about cow farts and climate change.

first off, it's not the farts, its the belching. and there is good research underway to find better feeds that fix that.

but second, as we all know, it is manure and cafo runoff that are killing our waterways.

perhaps some of you have noticed that i have an obsession w 2 particularly glaringly stupid environment nightmares that have, imho, simple solutions.
one is coal ash, which is a mineral mine laying around waiting for someone to get rich on.
the other is manure. pig shit in particular, but manure in general.

a fairly simple anaerobic digester system makes free methane in a bottle.
the sludge that comes out at the end is far more useful as a fertilizer than raw manure. put it in a bag, and make a good buck w your green fertilizer.
such obvious low hanging fruit.

so, the msnbc spot was-
talking to a couple huge dairy farmers in iowa. got the facts about part one.

then this- the entire small town there was powered by electricity from a single dairy farm.

the barns were piped up so that the manure was automatically pumped into the digester.
the whole set up cost $20M.
it made sense for this farmer to invest in that system. so should the tax payers.

this is my pet theory, but there is plenty of good stuff down this same road.
like, how about the green new deal gives green farmers low interest loans and grants of "seed money" for green innovations to agriculture.
how about transition funds for organic farms?
how about increased conservation easements?
how about more wind and solar subsidies? (how about solar for rural schools and hospitals?)

seems like all these things are rich in opportunities for rural economies.

talk about reaching out to the rural voters. (i know, i know, they are crazies. but there are dems out there everywhere, and this could show everyone what we are made of in a way that pokes the dummies in the eye.)



https://www.democraticunderground.com/1127127536

[Farmer-Rick]

1. Good start

The Green new deal is, from what I understand, just a statement of intent. But if they can actually turn it into legislation they must consider farmers.

Did you know you can get an organic label on your produce if use some pesticides, underpay your labor and use more nitrogen fertilizer than your farm need so that it runs off into the streams and rivers around you. You can use just about any fungicide you want and their organic label on meat doesn't care if your cage your animals.

I think they need to "green up" the organic label. Or make a second "organic" label that encompasses actual care of the land and animals you are lucky enough to farm. Maybe rate farms on how many butterflies and insects have returned to the land. Did you know the dung beetle is rapidly disappearing because there is less dung out their for them and they get killed off by the chemicals on the farm. Or give them a grade on how many different species of birds visit their farm. Or count the lichen and see if the pollution rate on the farm has improved.

There is just so much more we could be doing to heal this planet.

[mopinko]

2. yeah, the organic label doesnt mean shit, if you ask me.

i get asked all the time if i am organic. since i have a teenie farm, they just assume that i am some kind of eco-traitor that i dont buy into that stuff.
we are organic first. that's the best i can do.
and i feed purina, not organic feed that doesnt get eaten the way pellets do, leaving plenty of scraps for the mice. and charging me twice as much.
the fact that you dont have to get soil testing of ANY kind tells me it is just greenwashing in a lot of cases.
and hell no i am not paying thousands to have somebody tell me what i already know.

there is a lot that green ag can do for the planet, but it takes money.
the slow growth in permaculture methods requires giving up a lot of near term money. someone has to help fill that gap.

i really think we need to sell "green bonds" to finance this stuff. there will be returns. they should be put back into the planet, and should pay off for those w the foresight to invest in the future.

ps- where are you rick?