Publication archives

IATP has always had a strong local dimension to its work. The Institute was founded during the U.S. farm crisis of the 1980s, with a vision toward strengthening local action with an understanding of global pressures. Twenty years later, IATP's work on local food systems has taken on a new level of importance.

You may want to put down your BLT before reading this, because there's a chance that the most delicious part of your sandwich -- the bacon, of course -- may be playing a role in the latest national health scare.

IATP finds itself in an interesting place in the recent tidal wave of interest around biofuels. Our initial interest came from our work with local farmers and rural communities in Minnesota and surrounding states. These farmers and their communities were looking for a way to add value to their crops when prices were at record lows. The debate was far from today's discussion of food scarcity.

DOW CHEMICAL AND BASF, the world's two largest chemical companies, have separately agreed to fund groundbreaking academic research initiatives at two of the most prestigious U.S. universities. One of the partnerships, Dow's sustainability program at the University of California, Berkeley, is raising serious concerns among academics.

Large-scale fires in a western or southeastern state can pump as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in a few weeks as the state's entire motor vehicle traffic does in a year, according to newly published research by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the University of Colorado at Boulder.

'So I'm going to tell you about dust and how we're all doomed," began Jayne Belnap, a research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. She was among dozens of researchers gathered Tuesday at Northern Arizona University to present their findings on climate change on the Colorado Plateau.

As the winds have died down and firefighters have gained the advantage in battling the fires that roared through Southern California's rangeland and canyons, a couple of themes emerge. One should alarm us; the other should comfort us.

The cough-inducing haze eventually will clear, but Southern California's recent wildfires could lead to longer-lasting environmental consequences -- mudslides that send ash-ridden water to the ocean and the extinction of a few plants and wildlife.