skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

South Dakota Conference Addresses Impact of Climate Change

play audio
Play

Friday, September 28, 2007   

Sioux Falls, SD – Policymakers, scientists, farmers, business professionals, and sportsmen are gathering in Sioux Falls this weekend for the South Dakota Climate Change Conference to talk about the impact of global warming and how to get the state's renewable industry off the ground through the next Farm Bill.

Andy Olsen with the Environmental Law and Policy Center says clean energy programs are hanging in the balance with the next Farm Bill. They’re hopeful Congress will approve $1 billion per year for the development of alternative energy technologies and sources, on which South Dakota can capitalize.

"We want to develop or expand our investments in biofuels, like ethanol and advanced ethanol, and cellulosic ethanol, as well as wind power and solar. Energy efficiency is also very important, and we want to study converting several fossil fuel plants to biomass."

Olsen says renewables are attractive to South Dakota economically, but there’s also strong public concern about reducing fossil fuel pollution.

"We can rise to this challenge of grappling with global warming. We certainly have the technological know-how. What we really need is the consistent willpower and the long-term commitment from our political leaders. We’re actually reaching a tipping point and we’re seeing that. For example, senators who have been adamantly opposed to acknowledging that human induced global warming is a problem, are now admitting, 'Ok, it’s a problem.'"

Olsen says a major concern is that the Senate Farm Bill will fall far short of where it needs to be in putting together a robust energy title.

"I’m hoping that South Dakotans who care about global warming, and who care about farm energy, will pay attention to this and will make their concerns known to their representatives in Congress. We want them to know that this needs to be a priority and that lawmakers need to champion, not just follow the lead, for clean energy in the Farm Bill."

Organizers say the climate conference is an important event for the state because South Dakota stands to be a big renewable energy winner. Olsen believes a good energy title in the Farm Bill would give the nation five years of effective federal energy policy that would steer the country on a path of clean air technology.

The conference will be held at the Oaks Hotel in Sioux Falls Sept. 28 through 30.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021