Ag and Environment

Nations can kick-start a “green economy” by redirecting $1.3 trillion a year from industries that overuse resources to 10 areas ranging from forestry to buildings, Bloomberg reported after the release today of a United Nations …

Clean energy advocate Jerome Ringo, who worked more than 20 years in Louisiana’s petrochemical industry and appeared in the Oscar-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” will speak at Iowa State University next week.

His speech, “Diversity …

Know an organization that’s making strides in its sustainability efforts? The Greater Des Moines Partnership, the Center on Sustainable Communities and Metro Waste Authority will honor local organizations and leaders for their sustainability efforts in …

Otter Tail AG Enterprises will put its 55-million-gallon-a-year ethanol plant in Fergus Falls, Minn., up for auction on Feb. 16, Bloomberg reported. At auction, the $62.54 million opening bid will come from Omaha-based Green Plains …

President Barack Obama will back new tax incentives and government financing to make buildings more energy efficient as a way to cut energy costs and encourage job growth, Bloomberg reported.  

Obama wants Congress to …

The Center on Sustainable Communities (COSC) and Greater Des Moines Partnership’s sustainability lunch and learn, originally scheduled for Wednesday, was postponed to Monday, Feb. 28. 

The topic will be an introduction to LEED certification. Registration …

The Greater Des Moines Partnership, Center on Sustainable Communities and Metro Waste Authority are looking for applications to honor local organizations and leaders for sustainability efforts for the Environmental Impact Awards.

Applications will be accepted …

Metro Waste Authority (MWA) operating revenues totaled $22.5 million for the year ended June 30, a less than 1 percent increase from 2009. Expenses for the fiscal year totaled $16.9 million, a half-percent decrease from …