EPA

It’s Clean Air Month, and roadside trees are cleaning the air and helping us feel better. If you live in an area where there’s a lot of people and traffic, air quality may have crossed your mind at one point or another—and rightly so. In recent years, the health of people living, working or going to...

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from the USDA’s rich science and research portfolio. You’ve probably heard that the honey bees in this country are in trouble, with about one-third of our managed colonies...

I’d been told the neighboring towns of Ranson and Charles Town, West Virginia, are vibrant communities where people want to live, work and raise a family. During a recent visit with local leaders and USDA’s community economic development partners in the area, I saw first-hand how regional approaches...

Late last month, I was privileged to deliver the keynote address at the 2014 National Environmental Justice Conference here in Washington. Environmental justice is “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the...

Cross posted from DOI News: California is in the throes of the worst drought in the 160 years during which records have been kept. As a result, the state’s overextended water system is in crisis. All segments of California’s economy— one of the largest in the world—are experiencing the effects of...

Balance sheet, database, ledger, fertilizer. Which of these does not belong? Trick question – they all belong and all are important to a farmer, but sometimes even farmers don’t realize just how important. Farmers face a multitude of challenges every day, but record keeping is usually not the first...

Visitors to wilderness areas treasure the stunning vistas and pristine scenery. Now there is good news for the millions of people who recreate in these special places: less haze exists in most wilderness areas allowing them to see farther and enjoy more color and texture in the scenery. “We have...

Last fall, USDA brought together a group of Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) awardees, state policymakers, and other stakeholders involved in one of the most challenging nutrient management initiatives in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed: enabling water...

Yesterday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited a Virginia Century Farm in Stafford County to release a new report that shows how farmers like Gerry Silver are helping make significant progress in reducing sediment and nutrient runoff into the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The Secretary lauded...

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA's rich science and research portfolio. An award-winning watershed assessment tool, the Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (AGWA), was deployed to assess...