Ice cover on the upper Mississippi was fleeting this winter. Is this our future?
The above-average temperatures across the upper Midwest, driven in part by the El Niño climate pattern and in part by human-caused climate change, made for less than one month of safe ice on the Mississippi River this winter, scientists estimate.
School meals participation declined in 2022-23 school year
The number of students eating meals at school declined in 42 states and the District of Columbia during the first year since the expiration of pandemic-era waivers that allowed all students, regardless of family income, to eat for free. But eight states — all of which continued to serve meals for free to all, or used the Community Eligibility Provision to offer free meals at a significant number of schools — bucked the trend and reported increases in participation, according to a new report from the Food Research & Action Coalition.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
California water cuts: The state has agreed to make long-term cuts to the amount of Colorado River water it uses, according to a proposed plan for managing the river released earlier this month by California, Nevada, and Arizona. (Maven’s Notebook)
Mystery PFAS: A new study of food packaging found 61 “forever chemicals” that are not authorized for use in such products. “It’s very hard to explain where they come from,” said the study’s senior author. (Scientific American)
Pennsylvania woos new farmers: The state’s investment in agriculture, including a tax credit for beginning farmers and a program to save farmland from development, has a new generation trading in keyboards for tractors at higher rates than in other states. (Politico)
GMOs dominate crops: Virtually all corn, cotton, and soybeans are genetically modified, and they occupy more than half of all cropland in the United States. (Food Politics)
Polish farmers protest: Polish farmers blocked roads with tractors and flares on Wednesday in escalating protests against EU environmental regulations and cheap food imports from neighboring Ukraine. (Reuters)
