Today's Top 5

Study: Climate Change May Hurt Nation's Agricultural Productivity

The agriculture sector needs to ramp up its response to climate change, especially in the Midwest, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers at the University of Maryland used climate projections and historical trends in agricultural productivity to predict how changes in temperature and rainfall will impact food production. - Iowa Public Radio

UN Experts Denounce 'Myth' That Pesticides Necessary to Feed the World

The idea that pesticides are essential to feed a fast-growing global population is a myth, according to UN food and pollution experts. A new report, being presented to the UN human rights council on Wednesday, is severely critical of the global corporations that manufacture pesticides, accusing them of the “systematic denial of harms”, “aggressive, unethical marketing tactics” and heavy lobbying of governments which has “obstructed reforms and paralyzed global pesticide restrictions." - The Guardian

The White House Was On the Same Page As Exxon Mobile on Monday. Literally.

Some might even call it a mind meld. In a news release, ExxonMobil highlighted the oil giant’s plan to spend $20 billion over 10 years, build 11 chemical and natural-gas projects and create 45,000 jobs. Within the same hour, the White House put out its own statement claiming credit for the expansion and adding, “The spirit of optimism sweeping the country is already boosting job growth, and it is only the beginning.” One full paragraph appeared nearly identically word for word in each release. Another sentence appeared almost verbatim elsewhere. - Washington Post

Grim State of Environment Report Warns Climate Impacts Could be Irreversible

To be released on Tuesday by Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg, the five-yearly dossier says Australia lacks overarching national policies that establish "a clear vision" for protecting and managing the environment, including climate change, between now and 2050. A summary provided to Fairfax Media warns of increasing pressures from coal mining, the coal-seam gas industry, habitat degradation, land-use change and invasive species. - Sydney Morning Herald

Pipeline Owner Reaches Milestone In Iowa: 28 Spills Since 2000

The company whose pipeline dumped more than 46,000 gallons of diesel on northern Iowa farmland in January has had more spills than any other pipeline operator in the state over the past 16 years, according to a Des Moines Register analysis. Magellan Midstream Partners pipelines leaked 27 times in Iowa between 2000 and 2016, spewing tens of thousands of gallons of hazardous products, according to Iowa Department of Natural Resources data. Magellan's spills are nearly double the 14 of Enterprise Products Offering, the second most frequent offender. - USA Today

Today's Top 5

Climate Scientists Face Harassment, Threats and Fears of 'McCarthyist' Attacks

Threats and badgering of climate scientists peaked after the theft and release of the “Climategate” emails – a 2009 scandal that was painfully thin on scandal. But the organized effort to pry open cracks in the overwhelming edifice of proof that humans are slowly baking the planet never went away. Scientists are now concerned that the election of Donald Trump has revitalized those who believe climate researchers are cosseted fraudsters. - The Guardian

Standing Rock Protesters Arrested, Camps Burn

Most of the Dakota Access pipeline opponents abandoned their protest camp Wednesday ahead of a government deadline to get off the federal land, and authorities moved to arrest some who defied the order in a final show of dissent. The camp has been home to demonstrators for nearly a year as they tried to thwart construction of the pipeline. Many of the protesters left peacefully, but police made some arrests two hours after the deadline. - CBS

Exxon Relents, Wipes Oil Sands Reserves From Its Books

ExxonMobil announced Wednesday that it had wiped off its books all 3.5 billion barrels of tar sands oil reserves at one of its projects in Canada. Because of recent low oil prices, the company said none of those reserves can be considered economical according to the accounting rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The accounting change at its Kearl project, a momentous if expected development, represented a turnaround for the company, which has long resisted calls to revise its reserves estimates. Over the past decade, Exxon had steadily increased its holdings in Canada's tar sands to become a leading producer there. - InsideClimate News

What Next For Renewables In Cities?

A complex range of factors is shaping how and why cities adopt renewable energy, from costs to the need for stable power supplies. - The Guardian

Cracking the Case of the Counterfeit Makeup

Global seizures of counterfeit perfume and cosmetics jumped 25 percent from 2011 to 2013, according to a recent report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, making them a growing sector of the $461 billion annual trade in pirated and counterfeit goods. In 2015 the Department of Homeland Security, whose purview includes customs and thus counterfeits, began Operation Plastic Beauty after helping to bust a scheme on Long Island, N.Y., to make ersatz Vaseline, ChapStick, and other personal-care products, then sell them in Chinese-made counterfeit packaging. - Bloomberg Businessweek

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The Crisis Within: How Toxic Stress and Trauma Endanger Children

It has long been known that growing up in impoverished and dangerous neighborhoods dims life prospects. But now a commanding body of medical research presents a disturbing, biological picture of why. It suggests that the stress itself — if left unchecked — is physically toxic to child development and health. - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Colombian Court Bans Oil, Gas and Mining Operations in the Paramos

Colombia’s Constitutional Court has ruled against a controversial legal loophole permitting oil, gas and mining operations in the country’s paramos - high altitude eco-systems. Colombia’s paramos are the most extensive on earth and supply more than 70% of the country’s population with water, according to the Bogota-based Alexander von Humboldt Institute. - The Guardian

Scientists Urge American Geophysical Union to Cut Ties With Exxon

A letter from more than 100 researchers calls on the AGU to drop the oil giant as a sponsor of its annual earth science conference, the largest of its kind. - InsideClimate News

Ocean Acidification Expected to Cause Skeletal Deformities in 50 Percent of Juvenile Corals

Tiny juvenile corals face skeletal deformities as ocean acidification gets worse. New research shows that as more atmospheric carbon dioxide is absorbed in the ocean, corals develop deformed and porous exoskeletons, which does not provide the support required for a long and fruitful life. - International Business Times

Efficacy of Compensation for Nuclear Workers Program Under Scrutiny

An investigation by the McClatchy DC news service found that fewer than half of the people who have applied for benefits have received them, and workers’ complaints are often suspended in the complex process of paperwork or court hearings, with some claims languishing in the system for up to 10 years. A new documentary coming out in March, titled Safe Side of the Fence, questions why side-by-side workers with similar ailments would receive different judgments from the Department of Labor on the validity of their claims. - Santa Fe New Mexican

Today's Top 5 Trending

Tests Suggest Mercury In Air At Some Dental Clinics

Mercury exposure, experts say, reaches the worst levels when old mercury fillings are drilled out, sending toxic particles flying in the breathing zones of patients, dentists and their aides. Many dentists use high-speed vacuums to suction most of the debris away from patients. - McClatchy

Will Trade Trump Climate Pact? 

TransCanada’s lawsuit over Keystone XL is the tip of the iceberg: Protections in two new trade deals could undermine limits in the freshly minted Paris climate pact, as investors safeguard 'expected profits' - The Daily Climate

Industry Begins Pesticide Protection Compliance Efforts

Led by the Agricultural Retailers Association and the American Farm Bureau Federation, the representatives are pledging full commitment to meet compliance thresholds despite outlining a litany of complaints on the rulemaking in past comment periods. The EPA and others also are readying to collaborate on reaching out to farmers and growers. - Bloomberg BNA

Campbell Labels Will Disclose GMO Ingredients

The company, the maker of brands like Pepperidge Farm, Prego, Plum Organics and V8 in addition to its namesake soups, is taking the unusual step — and possibly risking sales by alienating consumers averse to genetically modified organisms — as big food corporations face increasing pressure to be more open about their use of such ingredients. - The New York Times

Vermont Governor Urges State to Divest From Coal, Exxon

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin said on Thursday his state should take action against climate change this year by divesting public pension funds from coal and from oil giant ExxonMobil, because of its history of sowing doubt about climate change despite the company's own scientists having studied it. - InsideClimate News