More investing opportunities in alternative energy

More investing opportunities in alternative energy

A look at wind and solar energies and electric vehicles

My last column looked at potential investments in nuclear and geothermal, two viable alternative energy sources. Let’s now look at possibilities in what’s considered the alternative energy holy trinity of wind, solar and electric vehicles. These three areas have taken most alternative energy investments over the past decade. Estimates of what has already been spent […] Read more

‘So what if cows eject a bit of methane out both ends. What in the name of common sense do climate alarmists think the 60-million-plus buffalo did when they roamed freely on the open Plains up until the late 1800s?’ – Les Henry.

Les Henry: Sequestering carbon with grass crops

The amount sequestered in the soil is significant

Carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere and organic matter (carbon) in our soils are topics of great current interest. Two big questions that take up much ink these days are: 1) how can we emit less CO2 with farming practices and 2) how can we sequester more carbon (C) in our soils to maintain high […] Read more


This photo shows the haze from a coal mine still burning beneath the borough of Centralia, Pa.

Les Henry: Climate and pandemics

Disease checks population growth — and CO2 emissions

About a decade ago, the hype about climate change led us to believe we would soon be frying out and it was all due to humans and fossil fuels. My argument has been, over the past million years or so, ice ages and glaciers have come and gone many times and our agriculture area was […] Read more

Native prairie near Hanley, Sask.

Restoring native prairie in Saskatchewan through reverse auction

Glacier FarmMedia – Tom Harrison is on a mission to reverse the tide of native prairie being converted to cropland in Saskatchewan. It’s not an easy task. Several factors are working against efforts to conserve, let alone restore, native prairie. Economics favour farming over ranching. Government programs and policies have encouraged farmers to cultivate the […] Read more


The 4R message is clearly resonating with western Canadian producers. But what’s unclear is exactly how many growers have really taken 4R nutrient management to heart with their farming practices.

New incentives for farmers to practice 4R

Most everybody knows how important 4R nutrient management is. Applying nitrogen and other nutrients from the right source and at the right rate, time and place ensures crops get all of the nutrients they need while also minimizing losses through nitrous oxide emissions.  Many believe 4R nutrient stewardship could also be key to reaching the […] Read more

In drier Prairie regions, there is less benefit to using enhanced efficiency fertilizers such as ESN or Super-U.

Nitrogen fertilizer management to reduce nitrous oxide emissions, Part 2

Adopt 4R practices appropriate for your farm’s crops, soils, landscapes and agro-ecological areas

In the last issue of Grainews (see ‘Nitrogen fertilizer management to reduce nitrous oxide emissions, Part 1’), I discussed the government of Canada’s target to reduce levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fertilizer application 30 per cent below 2020 levels by 2030. As stated in that feature, it is my opinion many western Canadian […] Read more



Farming Smarter used salvaged materials to construct this two-stage biobed at its research farm near Lethbridge, Alta., in 2019.

A better way to dispose of pesticide rinsate

Biobeds aren’t that difficult to build and can be relatively inexpensive

Biobeds are an environmentally friendly way to break down pesticides in the rinse water flushed out of sprayers as well as leftover or unusable pesticides once they’re sufficiently diluted. You’ll find biobeds in Sweden and other European countries, but they haven’t caught on with farmers in Western Canada. Farming Smarter, an applied research group that […] Read more


File photo of a rapeseed field in southern China’s Yunnan province. (YuenWu/iStock/Getty Images)

One-third of China’s land protected under ecological ‘red line’ scheme

Authorities crack down on farm encroachment

Shanghai | Reuters — Nearly a third of China’s land is now off-limits to development under a scheme known as the “ecological protection red line,” a senior official said at a news briefing on Monday, bringing the country in accord with global biodiversity targets. China first proposed its “red line” scheme in 2011 to put […] Read more

Prince Charles (now King Charles III) visits Shane Fitzgerald’s Kil Mige Mogue farm near Waterford in southeast Ireland on March 24, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Phil Noble/Pool)

What will King Charles’s reign mean for climate action?

Some projects may be handed to other family members

London | Thomson Reuters Foundation — As Britain’s King Charles III begins his reign after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, environmental campaigners will be watching closely to see if he continues to advocate for climate action and is able to help drive change as monarch. In his first speech to the nation […] Read more