Month: January 2023

Threshold the Novel

Threshold the novel published in 2016 has been selected for the Tucson Festival of Books Indie Author fair. I will be at the pavilion for Young Adults books at the Indie Authors on March 5, Sunday from 10 am to 1 pm. Please stop by to chat, buy a book, and pick up information for schools, home and community about resilience in climate change.

Threshold tells the stories of three teenagers and how they manage to find their place in a turbulent Tucson. It is getting hotter for longer. There is talk of water shortages and an unstable grid. Daniel, Luna, and Enrique navigate their own challenges and opportunities, while Duma–an albino jaguar–finds his own challenge on the U.S. – Mexico Border. Learn about the Sonoran Desert, conservation of animals and plants, and how communities can support youth to secure the future for themselves and those to come.

See the novel on Facebook and Instagram and this blog.

The Agriculture Resilience Act

Chellie Pingree, Maine Congresswoman, has introduced the Agriculture Resilience Act — a critical plan that will insure America’s agriculture sector will be resilient and strong even in climate change.

The six areas addressed in the Agriculture Resilience Act are:

  1. Improve Soil Health
  2. Protect existing farmland
  3. Support pasture-based farmland (grass-fed, grazing)
  4. Reduce food waste (30% currently wasted)
  5. Boost initiatives for our farms to utilize renewable energy
  6. Convert to regenerative farming and phase out industrial farming scale operations (put carbon back in soil and reduce carbon dioxide emissions).

See where this bill is in Congressional process. This is important to know about as the U.S. Farm Bill will be up for approval in 2023. Go here for an interview with AG Secretary Tom Vilsack with American Farmland Trust.

Last week, the USDA announced its “Agriculture Innovation Agenda” which aims to cut American agricultural emissions in half by 2050. Pingree’s bill would help USDA reach this goal more expeditiously by expanding the agency’s authority and increasing funding for key USDA programs.

What is “regenerative farming”?

Cutting Hay Photo by Susan Feathers