The U.S. is developing wave energy, and its success could help remote areas with no access to electricity

Waves could be a constant source of clean energy. (Photo by Todd Diemer, Unsplash)

In the simplest of terms, waves are energy moving through water. Given their existence as flowing energy, it's surprising that up until the past two decades, waves were untapped as a possible U.S. electricity source.

"At a moment when large offshore wind projects are encountering public resistance, a nascent ocean industry is showing promise: wave energy," reports Sarah Raza of The Washington Post. Off the coast of Newport, Oregon, "a $100 million effort with funding from the Energy Department aims to convert the power of waves into energy. . . . PacWave, a project of Oregon State University, represents a necessary step for commercializing wave energy."

Located about seven miles from shore, PacWave's site spans 2.65 square miles of ocean, where most testing is done underwater and unseen by Newport's residents. Raza explains, "Subsea connectors are waiting to be plugged in like extension cords to wave energy converters. . . . With deep-sea offshore testing, companies will see how much power these energy converters can produce, whether they can hold up in rough ocean conditions, what environmental impacts they might have and how the devices will interact with each other."

Once the technology undergoes more experimentation and decision-making by scientists, its potential success could be a "game-changer." Raza writes, "There’s enough energy in the waves off America’s coasts to power one-third of all the nation’s homes, said Matthew Grosso, the Energy Department’s director of the water power technologies office."

Wave energy could be particularly appealing for rural areas with high energy costs and little to no access to electricity. "In small, remote communities that depend on more expensive diesel fuel, wave power could ease energy woes," Raza reports. PacWave Director Dan Helli told Raza, "There are remote communities in Alaska where everyone is running on diesel generators, they’re not on the grid, they have no electrical system."

Is organic farming possible for large agricultural operations? In Iowa, it has been successful, and the trend is growing.

Jack Fehr harvesting organically grown soybeans.
(Photo by Keith Schneider, The New Lede)

Midwestern agriculture has its fair share of industrial farms that use chemicals to enrich soils, kill bugs and prevent weeds to increase crop yields. But amid the region's miles of traditionally grown crops, Clear Creek Acres farm is growing 50,000 acres of corn, soybeans, oats and other crops "without the use of synthetic chemicals," reports Keith Schneider of The New Lede. Clear Creek Acres "farmers fertilize the land with chicken litter and hog manure and weed much of the land by hand, or with non-chemical tools, such as new laser weeders."

Located in the rural northern Iowa town of West Bend, the farm's unconventional farming practices began in 1998 when "Barry Fehr experimented with raising chemical-free soybeans on 45 acres," only to produce, "the most expansive and profitable area of organic grain production in Iowa, and possibly the United States," Schneider writes. "Fehr family farms are nearly matching the yields of crops grown conventionally."

Meanwhile, agriculture chemical companies such as Monsanto-owner Bayer and Syngenta maintain that "weed killers, insecticides and other pesticides are essential to robust food production, and that a growing global population requires use of the chemicals in agriculture," Schneider reports. "But 71-year-old Dan Fehr, who has been farming more than 50 years, says 'that is debatable.'”

Organic farming isn't the most common practice in Iowa, but its popularity is growing. "Clear Creek is part of a wave of growth in chemical-free agriculture in and around Iowa," Schneider adds. "The number of organic farms in Iowa increased from 467 to 799 from 2011 to 2021, and ranks sixth in the nation for the number of chemical-free farms. The state is first in organic corn and soybean production."

Despite the sector's growth, many farmers still fear the investment involved in switching. Schneider explains, "Jack Fehr, 28, said his family is setting an example for other farmers who fear converting to organic farming takes too long, costs too much, yields too little, and can’t be done successfully except on small farms." 

The practice is "a high wire act balancing the lower cost for supplies [such as fertilizer and pesticides] against the higher costs for labor," Schneider writes. 

Still, many farmers see the benefit of avoiding farm chemicals. Schneider adds, "Iowa, in particular, suffers from extensive farm-related water pollution, and cancer is prevalent. Indeed, Iowa has the second-highest and fastest-rising cancer incidence among all U.S. states, according to a 2024 report issued by the Iowa Cancer Registry."

Expert, best practices resources for journalists from Reporting on Addiction are available and free

Reporting on Addiction is a collaborative movement staffed by media professionals working to decrease addiction stigmas by sharing leading practices for covering all types of addiction.

Photos can help readers connect and
remember. (ROA photo)

 

One of the project's best offerings is its website's visual guide, which allows journalists to access photo portrayals that illustrate addiction experiences from multiple real-life angles. This addiction-sensitive photography helps journalists report on substance use while sticking to a principle of "do no harm."

The photos also help readers develop a more memorable and connected understanding of how illegal drugs harm individuals and communities. Access their one-page visual style guide here.

Applying for Reporting on Addiction's expert database
takes less than five minutes. (ROA photo)

The project also gives options for newsrooms of various sizes, including professional and student newsroom training, research-based reporting resources, and an active expert database for question-and-answer sessions.

For journalists covering the opioid settlement's terms, disbursements and news, the site has a series of recorded "Fireside Chats" and a Slack channel to help reporters inform readers about where, when and how opioid litigation money will be handled in their community.

As added support, Reporting on Addiction offers downloadable, free resources that include:

• Language style guide
• Digital Security Toolkit
• Trauma-Informed and Empathetic Reporting Toolkit

They also offer one-to-one and group training for individual journalists or their newsrooms.

Working on behalf of an unknown data company, an electric utility plans to build a natural gas plant in rural Louisiana

The gas-fired power plant would increase greenhouse
gas emissions. (LED photo via Floodlight)

Electric utility Entergy wants to build a $3.2 billion natural gas plant in rural northeast Louisiana to provide energy for an unnamed company's data center. Some people are "calling the development a 'godsend' for the region, where one in five people live in poverty," reports Pam Radtke of Floodlight. However, environmental and economic concerns have left some officials and residents questioning the viability of a project that creates more fossil fuel emissions and could result in electricity rate hikes.

Whit Cox, regulatory director of the Southern Renewable Energy Association, told Radtke, "Entergy is proposing to add huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions." Radtke adds, "And a Louisiana utility consumer group questions whether the cost of the new plants will be passed onto residential customers."

If Entergy's construction is green-lighted by the Louisiana Public Service Commission, "Louisiana would join a cohort of states building natural gas power plants to meet the pressing demand for electricity to run data centers being built by Amazon, Meta, Google and others," Radtke reports. "Data centers are forecast to account for up to 12% of all U.S. electricity demand by 2030."

Like other plants intended to feed energy-guzzling AI owned by data behemoths, Entergy's project targets land in small-town rural America where good-paying jobs can be hard to come by and land is cheap. "In its filings, Entergy says the data center will employ 300 to 500 people with an average salary of $82,000," Radtke adds. "The utility calls the development a 'game changer' that will bring a 'historic investment' to the region."

Even if environmental concerns are put to rest, Louisiana residents are worried the plant could drive up their utility bills. "Costs not paid by the data center, either through electricity rates or separate agreements, would be spread across Entergy’s 1.1 million Louisiana customers, although the utility says the proposed deal 'largely insulates [Entergy’s] other customers from paying for the upgrades required' for the data center," Radtke reports. "The PSC will take up the project for the first time [this month] as it considers hiring outside consultants to help evaluate the proposal."

Growing up on a junkyard helped this sculpture artist learn how to 'find beauty in the overlooked'

Book cover jacket of Jeffie Brewer's newly released book Joy Machine  (K.Co Press graphic)

Growing up on a junkyard may sound depressing, but for Jeffrey or "Jeffie" Brewer, an East Texas native sculpture artist, his childhood days living among discarded things helped him develop his quirky, playful artistic style. He shares some of his artistic wisdom and childhood experiences with Olivia Weeks of The Daily Yonder. A condensed version of their Q&A is shared below.

Weeks: Tell me about yourself — who are you, what do you do, and where do you live?

Brewer: I’m just an artist specializing in colorful, silly, sometimes thoughtful sculptures that bring a touch of playfulness to public spaces, private homes, galleries, and museums. I live and work in East Texas, where I make things out of metal, often inspired by my childhood, the natural world, and whatever is rattling around in my brain at any given moment.

Weeks: Can you tell me about your town, Nacogdoches, and maybe a little about East Texas in general?

Brewer: Nacogdoches and East Texas in general have a character all their own – there’s something deeply rooted, raw, and nostalgic about the place. It’s home to lush, dense forests, rolling fields that stretch endlessly, and a lot of Texas history. The area has a quiet charm that speaks to a slower way of life, full of folks who are deeply connected to this place. . . . At my core, I am a redneck, with a thin veneer of culture and worldliness.

Weeks: In your book, Joy Machine, you write about growing up on a junkyard, and about how formative it was to your work. What were those early artistic explorations like? Did they all start with other people’s junk?

Jeffie Brewer's art brings a sense of playfulness into spaces.
(Photo by David Kimling via The Daily Yonder)

Brewer: Growing up in the junkyard taught me to find beauty in the overlooked, to take pieces from the past and either repurpose them or simply collect them. It was more a place for learning about industrial tools and working with my hands than a place for making art, per se. . . . The junkyard offered a space to destroy and rebuild, almost like a lens to see the world through. It gave me skills and memories that would later shape my understanding of what art could and would be.

Weeks: You seem to have always been into monsters and animals and creatures of all kinds — I’m thinking of your lovely 'Burds.' Where does that come from? And what’s your relationship like to the characters? Do they have personalities to you?

Brewer: Animals, creatures, and whimsical shapes have always fascinated me – they offer such freedom for imagination. 'Burds,' and other characters, let me play with personality, form, and storytelling. I see each creature as having its own charm and quirks, and in many ways, they become real to me, carrying a personality as I work on them.

Jeffie Brewer's book, Joy Machine, was released this month from K.Co Press.

Tired of big-city decisions, rural counties in some states work to form their own governments

New Illinois activists encourage residents
to "leave Illinois without moving."

Voters in rural towns and counties are working to break away from their state's blue-voting big cities and create their own governments. The "breakup" process has already begun in Illinois and California and is gaining momentum in "other states where vast swaths of red, rural counties are dominated by a few blue cities," reports Joe Barrett of The Wall Street Journal. "More residents are pushing to break off and form new states. . . . A group called New Illinois State declared itself independent from actual Illinois and passed the first draft of a new constitution."

On Nov. 5, voters in rural Iroquois County, Illinois, "backed the idea of forming a new state with every Illinois county except Cook, home to Chicago and more than 40% of the state’s population," Barrett explains. "The nonbinding resolution also passed in six other counties," which means nearly 33% of the state's counties voted to leave the Chicago area behind.

Location of Iroquois County
in Illinois (Wikipedia photo)

Iroquois County resident and "new state" activist Phil Gioja, explained his motivation to Barrett, saying, "There’s a lot of people in Chicago, and I think that they make a lot of decisions that affect people downstate. It’s just sending a message that ‘Hey, you know, there’s people that would like to be part of the conversation, and often aren’t.’" Still, Gioja "doesn't expect a New Illinois anytime soon."

Even if counties were allowed to form separate states, it's uncertain that new states could financially survive without the funding they receive from bigger city revenues.

Counties working to "divorce" their bigger city counterparts and create new states face potentially messy uphill battles. "Becoming new states would require the consent of the existing legislatures — extremely unlikely in most blue states — as well as Congress," Barrett writes. Paul Preston, founder of the New California State, "plans to petition Congress for statehood based on the argument that the current California government is a one-party communist state, and technically, they have seceded from the Union already.'"

Preston's approach may seem ridiculous to some but "appealing to Congress is a strategy that could work," Barrett reports. Jason Mazzone, a constitutional law professor at the University of Illinois, who told Barrett, "It seems far-fetched. But we live in uncertain times. So if you’ve got the right people in Congress — and I don’t think we do have the right people in Congress — you could do it.”

Some public schools continue to increase the number of vaccination exemptions given to kindergartners

Graph by Kavya Beheraj, Axios, from CDC data

Even before the pandemic years, the number of vaccination exemptions issued for kindergartners entering public schools was on the rise. According to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, when allowances from school years ending in 2012 to 2022 were tallied, the "nationwide median rate of kindergartners with vaccine exemptions nearly doubled," report Alex Fitzpatrick and Kavya Beheraj of Axios. The political debate over Covid-19 vaccinations could be adding to "vaccine skepticism among a relatively small but growing number of parents."

Schoolchildren are vaccinated to "reduce the spread of childhood illnesses — some potentially fatal — that once plagued the country, such as polio," Fitzpatrick and Beheraj explain. To be admitted to public school, children are required to have several vaccinations; however, "exemptions can be given for both medical and non-medical reasons." Some studies have "found an increased risk of infection from vaccine-preventable diseases among exempt children."

The number of exemptions public schools give varies by state, and the primary push to question vaccination requirements is driven by Republicans. Axios reports, "As of 2022, Idaho (9.8%), Utah (7.4%) and Oregon (7%) had the highest median kindergarten vaccination exemption rates. Mississippi, New York and West Virginia were tied for the lowest, at 0.1%. . . .with 85% of Democrats agreeing with such a requirement compared to 57% of Republicans. . . .While Democratic support for vaccine requirements held steady between pre- and post-pandemic years, Republican support took a remarkable nosedive, falling from 79% in 2019."

Despite the increase in parents seeking vaccination exemptions for their children, the number of students who aren't vaccinated remains relatively low. The nationwide median kindergarten vaccine exemption rate has "stayed at 2.5% or higher since 2020, coming in at 2.7% in 2022, the latest year for which data is available," Fitzpatrick and Beheraj write.

Most Americans support the national childhood vaccination program. A Pew Research Center survey revealed that "when it comes to the measles, mumps and rubella shot, 88% of Americans said the benefits outweigh the risks, compared to 10% who feel the opposite," Axios reports. "The share expressing confidence in the value of MMR vaccines is identical to the share who said this in 2019, before the coronavirus outbreak."

Office of Rural Health releases strategic plan to help address health disparities between urban and rural areas

The CDC will will release an updated method for
urban-rural classification in 2024. (Adobe Stock photo)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "unveiled its Rural Public Health Strategic Plan, which outlines the priorities, objectives and outcomes the agency hopes to see over the next five years as it collaborates with stakeholders on how to improve the health of rural residents," reports Liz Carey of The Daily Yonder. This plan is the overarching guide for CDC and its Office of Rural Health to use as it works to address health disparities between urban and rural areas.

The plan has four primary focuses: "Engaging with community health partners, strengthening rural public health infrastructure, advancing rural public health science, and improving rural public health preparedness and response," Carey explains. "The plan isn’t regionally or state-specific, but it is a step toward an action plan."

To help all stakeholders develop strategies within the four focus points, "the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the CDC, will release an updated method for urban-rural classification, before the end of the year," Carey reports. "That will make researching rural health issues easier, Katy Backes Kozhimannil, the co-director of the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center told Carey. One of the issues facing researchers is determining the rurality of subjects."

Dr. Diane Hall, the director of the CDC’s Office of Rural Health, told Carey, "We really wanted the strategic plan to actually be strategic, but also be actionable. But more than that, we wanted it to be relevant to the lives of people that live in rural communities.”

U.S. Surgeon General outlines ways to address disparities among smokers, including many who are rural Americans

Secondhand smoke harms people who don't smoke.
 (Adobe Stock photo)

Over the past decade, the rate of U.S. adults and teens who smoke has hit its lowest level since 1965, but "disparities remain among the 36 million adults and 760,000 kids who smoke," reports Ken Alltucker of USA Today. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released a report that outlined identifiers for those who continue to smoke, which are often the same descriptors used to depict American rural populations: Poorer, less educated, Native American, and lacking access to medical care.

Native Americans, specifically those in Alaska, often live in some of the most remote pockets of the country, where medical access isn't readily available and many residents live in poverty. Alltucker writes, "Smoking is more common among American Indian and Alaska Native people than other racial and ethnic groups. . . . People living in poverty are more than twice as likely to smoke than those who earn non-poverty wages."

Rural populations tend to be heavier smokers than their urban counterparts, and the more rural residents smoke, the unhealthier their broader community becomes. Alltucker explains, "Because cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke kill nearly half a million people each year nationwide, Murthy said an accelerated effort is needed to limit disparities in smoking rates and reduce secondhand smoke."

The report also calls for "limiting the nicotine in cigarettes and other tobacco products to 'minimally addictive or nonaddictive levels,'" Alltucker reports. "Such a move could prevent more than 33 million people from starting to smoke. . ." This change could have a positive effect in rural populations where "kids are also more likely to start smoking at a much younger age and smoke daily, making addiction more severe and smoking harder to quit," the American Lung Association reports.

The Surgeon General's report "cited 2023 research that projected a nationwide ban on the sale and marketing of menthol cigarettes would prevent up to 654,000 deaths in the next four decades," Alltucker reports. But controlling the flow of cigarettes isn't going to happen overnight, and in the meantime, rural access to medical education and smoking cessation programs is needed.

Murthy told USA Today, "What's at stake are the lives of our kids and adults across America. Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in the country − 490,000 lives we lose every year to tobacco-related disease. Despite all the progress we've made, that remains the truth today."

Cherokee Nation's mobile drug unit delivers life-saving care to some of its most remote-living members

A tribal member unloads the Cherokee Nation harm-reduction
van. (Photo by Shane Brown, Native News Online via The Guardian.)

A new program in Oklahoma is using a mobile drug unit to distribute harm reduction and drug safety supplies to rural Cherokee Nation members struggling with addiction, reports Elyse Wild of The Guardian. The traveling service is part of the tribe's overall "Native people taking care of Native people" effort to address the severe risks and lack of access facing Native Americans with substance-use disorders.

The drug unit van can be the first point of contact for an addicted tribal member to receive life-saving supplies and education. Coleman Cox, who drives the unit, stops along drug "hot spots" in remote northern Oklahoma and sets up tables "with black bins of naloxone, a drug to reverse opioid overdoses, along with testing strips, clean syringes and wound-care supplies," Wild writes. "The mobile unit typically sees 16 regulars from the community, he says. Some days, no one comes. It all depends on the patterns of drug use and the current drug supply."

The Cherokee Nation "is the largest of the tribes, with more than 450,000 citizens worldwide and 141,000 people living within its sovereign boundaries," Wild explains. "Mobile harm reduction is uniquely suitable for tribal nations. . . where culture and connection are measures of health, harm reduction mitigates the isolation of active addiction." Cox told Wild, "Native people heal as a community.”

With the mobile unit, the Cherokee Nation can reach more remote members who need physical and cultural help coping with addiction. "The effect of culture on addiction health in Native communities is not purely anecdotal," Wild adds. "A doctoral research project conducted by the University of Arizona in 1992 with the Shuswap First Nation community in Alkali Lake, British Columbia, found that employing substance abuse treatment with cultural practices such as sweat lodges, pipe ceremonies, drumming, singing and powwows were instrumental in reducing the tribe’s rate of drug and alcohol abuse by 95% from 1970 to 1985."

When it comes to thanking U.S. military veterans, Americans have many ways to show appreciation

Thanking military veterans can be in-person or through
advocacy. (Photo by Wesley Tingey, Unsplash)

The list of things most Americans can agree on might seem short sometimes. But surveys show it includes an affection for U.S. postal workers, pride in our National Park Service and a shared belief that our military veterans deserve good jobs and health care upon retirement. And while Veteran's Day is in November, the entire month can be a time for Americans to express their appreciation and care for military veterans.

One way civilians can support veterans is by getting to know their backgrounds and thanking them in person when possible. For instance, roughly 20% of the U.S. military hail from rural America and many experience homesickness. While serving in the U.S., most military personnel live on bases across the country. Here is a list of where you can find them. Thanking your serviceman or woman can begin with asking where home is or what branch they served in and where.

Another way to assist current veterans is to help them find viable employment as they re-enter civilian life. To that end, every November, Forbes magazine teams up with market research firm Statista to "survey more than 24,000 veterans (those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, the Reserves or the National Guard) working for companies with more than 1,000 employees in the U.S.," reports Rachel Rabkin Peachman of Forbes. Respondents are asked to rate and review their employers "on criteria ranging from work atmosphere and salary to health benefits, career development opportunities, and programs tailored to veterans." Forbes' full list of "Best Employers for Veterans" is here.

Providing medical and mental health care for veterans also needs civilian advocacy. Since 20% of the U.S. military call rural America home, it makes sense that around a quarter of all retired military live in rural places, which can be peaceful and scenic, but can also make getting to and from health care providers challenging. Supporting rural telehealth and broadband expansion can be another way to help veterans thrive.

For people looking for more hands-on ideas that make veterans know they are appreciated, the Wounded Warrior Project has more suggestions here.

A glimmer of hope for U.S. overdose deaths: They are at their lowest levels since 2020, but officials warn to press on

A snapshot of overdose deaths from January 2015 to January 2024
(CDC graph, based on data available for analysis)

The U.S. opioid epidemic isn't over, but national totals for overdose deaths have declined for 12 months in a row, with current numbers "slowed to the lowest levels since 2020," reports Alexander Tin of CBS News. The decrease in deaths is attributed to several factors; however, experts warn that now is a time to "double down" on current efforts and keep looking for new ways to prevent drug abuse from starting.

American overdose deaths peaked in 2023, but the latest trend offers hope and some reassurance that current treatments are saving lives. "Around 70,655 deaths linked to opioids like heroin and fentanyl were reported for the year ending June 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now estimates, falling 18% from the same time in 2023," Tin writes. "Almost all states, except for a handful in the West from Alaska through Nevada, are now seeing a significant decrease in overdose death rates."

In Appalachian states, such as West Virginia, where opioid addiction among residents was disproportionately high, overdose deaths have steadily declined with the rest of the nation. Emily Rice of West Virginia Public Radio reports, "A Sept. 1 analysis of provisional overdose death rate data from the CDC shows a rapid decrease in the number of drug overdose deaths in the U.S. and this time West Virginia appears to be keeping pace."

Even with good news, the current rates remain grim. Dr. Allison Arwady, head of the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, told Tin, "We are encouraged by this data, but boy, it is time to double down on the things that we know are working. It is not a time to pull back, and I feel very strongly, and our data shows, that the threat continues to evolve." Brian Mann of NPR reports, "Roughly 100,000 deaths are still occurring per year. . .fentanyl, methamphetamines, xylazine and other synthetic chemicals are more poisonous than ever."

But the roughly 10.6 percent decline in overdose fatalities still speaks to some success. Tin writes, "Arwady pointed to a long list of factors that officials hope are contributing to the decline, ranging from broader availability of the overdose-reversing spray naloxone, also known as Narcan, to efforts to ease gaps in access to medications that can treat opioid use disorder."

Youth education programs may be contributing to the decline. Tin explains, "Trends in what health officials call 'primary prevention' have also improved in recent years — meaning fewer people using the drugs to begin with. As an example, Arwady cited CDC surveys showing a clear decline in high school students reporting that they have tried illegal drugs."

Defying the odds, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez appears close to 2nd term in the House; she wants Democrats to change

Perez helped her constituents recover more than $3 million from federal agencies.

U.S. Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez would like Democrats to take a long look in the mirror and reconsider who they're villainizing and how that tactic has alienated voters. "For two years, Representative Perez, a Democrat from a rural, red district in Washington State, has been criticizing her party for being too dismissive of working-class voters," reports Annie Karni of The New York Times. "[She] says her party needs to stop demonizing others and change the candidates it supports."

Perez is a young, plain-spoken Democrat who is close to winning her second term in Congress after a neck-and-neck race. "Long considered perhaps the most vulnerable Democrat in the House, [Perez] defied the odds. . . . Even with President-elect Donald J. Trump at the top of the ticket and winning her district for the third cycle in a row . . . ," Karni writes. "She declared victory in a statement after a newspaper in her district called the election for her, although The Associated Press had yet to do so."

In the Q&A below, Perez shares some of her thoughts on her election and where she thinks Democrats should go from here. For the full interview, click here.

Karni: How did [you win], and what can Democrats learn from you?
Perez: I just refused to let this race be nationalized. It’s not about the message. It’s about my loyalty to my community. The fundamental mistake people make is condescension. A lot of elected officials get calloused to the ways that they’re disrespecting people.

Karni: How do you feel about the re-election of Donald J. Trump?
Perez: I guess I’m still wrapping my head around where to go and what to do. But even when the national current changes, we still have all the same issues here.

Karni: What were your thoughts about Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign?
Perez: When Harris first came out, I was open to talking with her. I know she called a lot of my colleagues; she never called me. I’ve had one interaction with Harris, at her Naval Observatory Christmas party. . . . I noticed that almost all of the garlands were plastic. My district grows a hell of a lot of Christmas trees. I was strong-armed into taking a picture. I said, 'Madam Vice President, we grow those where I live. ' She just walked away from me. There was kind of an eye roll, maybe. My thinking was, it does matter to people where I live. It’s the respect, the cultural regard for farmers."

Karni: Do you think the Democratic Party will be forced to change after this crushing election cycle?
Perez: It’s a lot easier to look outward, to blame and demonize other people, instead of looking in the mirror and seeing what we can do. It is not fun to feel accountability. It requires a mental flexibility that’s painful. So who knows?

All creatures big, small, tiny and 'ugly' are needed on this planet: Here's how journalists can cover them.

An orange fungus grows out of leaf debris in a Maine forest.
(Photo by Alyssa Mattei, National Park Service via SEJ)

It's small and somewhat weird, but let's protect it. Say what? If day-to-day environmental journalism is difficult, reporting on barely-known species, which often look like sci-fi inventions, can be more challenging. But it's worth noting that while some species lack the glamour or beauty of creatures "situated toward the apex of the food chain," [apex animals] are nothing without every lesser-loved organism below them," report Bethany Brookshire and Douglas Main for the Society of Environmental Journalists.

What's the best way to describe "seemingly unlovable species and ecosystems to life and get our audiences invested in their stories?. . . Often, the most compelling way to report on the non-human world is to talk about people — about how we are like those creatures or why we need those plants or ecosystems," Brookshire and Main explain. "That might seem a little self-centered. But looking closer, it becomes clear that what this kind of coverage cultivates is not self-obsession. It’s empathy."

Another option is "finding the larger stories that odd species are embedded within," SEJ reports. A National Geographic feature "[looked at] ice worms, tiny invertebrates that live on glaciers and climate change. . . . A slight tweak in the protein that makes ATP, the cellular currency of energy, helps these creatures stay active at very low temperatures. People might not care about ice worms. But they care about the effects of climate change on biodiversity, and they care about potential human benefits from other species’ quirks."

Benji Jones, an environmental correspondent, "believes that another way to get people to care about obscure organisms is to make them characters in a story — as he recently did when writing about Appalachian salamanders," SEJ reports. "That often means emphasizing that these organisms — whether plants or animals or yeast — are really not as different from us as they seem, Jones says. They, too, have wants and needs and challenges. . . . A tree or salamander can’t speak for itself, but the people who care about these species can."

Write with imagination. "It’s harder to get audiences to care about the small, the spineless, the aesthetically unappealing. But seeing ourselves in other creatures sparks curiosity. And from curiosity, it’s only a short step to caring," Brookshire and Main add. "Journalists might have to dig a little deeper to find the common ground humans share with other species. But it’s there if you dig deep enough. Making those connections can open the door to understanding and compassion."

The holidays can be emotionally difficult for many people. Here is a 'prescription' to help navigate the season ahead.

Teens and older adults are more likely to
face holiday loneliness. (Unsplash photo)

The holidays can be a source of good family times and celebration, but for many people the season is marked by severe loneliness and depression. With some inspiration from the U.S. Surgeon General's 5-for-5 connection challenge, Dr. Trisha Pasricha gives her 5-step "prescription to combat loneliness during the holidays" in her medical opinion for The Washington Post. "Even if you don’t feel lonely, try this challenge. You may be surprised by how much closer to others these small acts bring you over the next five days." To get readers started, the first three are shared below.

Day 1: Reach out to a former teacher or mentor and thank them.
I was recently at a wedding reflecting with others about all the teachers, friends and colleagues who have no idea how much they meant to us. Would they find it strange that we messaged them simply to express gratitude? I called my high school French teacher. She was as delighted as she was delightful. I found out she had retired but still loved to volunteer at my old school. She couldn't believe I was a physician. Today, thank someone. . . .and tell them how they influenced your life for the better.

Day 2: Join a group activity.
Whether you go into it with a friend or alone, sign up for a group activity to do for a few weeks. Get a ClassPass for aqua aerobics, plan a month of yoga in the park, or find a neighborhood book club. Choose something that gets you outside the house for part of your day. And if you're debating what to give someone this holiday, consider gifting an activity you'll do with them. It opens the door to a new community and is more valuable than any pair of cozy socks.

Day 3: Call a relative or friend you haven't spoken to in a while.
On my last birthday, a widowed uncle I've honestly never had much contact with called out of the blue to wish me happy birthday. It became one of the loveliest conversations I had that day as he asked all about my kids, and I learned he had an adorable new dog. Now, he and I text every month. Today, think about someone you've drifted away from and wish them a happy holiday season. 

Read Dr. Pasricha's full prescription here.

Another item to keep in mind: The people at greatest risk of loneliness are adolescents and older adults, those with poor physical or mental health, people living alone and single parents. Seek help if you are struggling during the holiday season and talk to a trusted friend, family member or physician, or call or text the 988 crisis line, which provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress.

Report on rural places with high broadband utilization rates shows dramatic growth for businesses

Many rural places with high broadband utilization
have increased business growth rates.

Reliable and fast broadband service can bring revenue and jobs to rural areas struggling with poverty and shrinking populations due to few work opportunities, reports Kristi Eaton of The Daily Yonder. A new report from the Center on Rural Innovation "found that in areas with high adoption rates of broadband, self-employment increased by 10% or more."

Amanda Weinstein, director of Research at the Center on Rural Innovation, told Eaton, "For those communities with high broadband utilization, they saw a tremendous difference, specifically with entrepreneurship. We saw not just our businesses not closing, but new businesses opening. The difference was so stark that it was a 213% difference in the business growth rate.”

The town of Statesboro in Bulloch County, Georgia, hopes improving its broadband "will help the community break its pattern of persistent poverty," Eaton writes. "Serial entrepreneur Adam Tsang believes reliable, super-fast Internet is paramount for his Statesboro business, Whiskey Grail. He said that in today’s world, slow connections, even when temporary, have an outsized impact on businesses such as his."

Bulloch County has benefited from the dedication of its broadband service provider, which has installed high-speed fiber broadband service to 100% of the region's locations. Weinstein told Eaton, "What you see from Bulloch Solutions – they are a broadband service provider -- is really this commitment that everyone, and they mean everyone across the county, should have access to high-speed internet.”

Rural places that have successfully installed fiber broadband have seen positive financial shifts, which can make a big difference for the community's quality of life. The report states, "Counties that effectively utilize broadband are seeing marked improvements in local economic dynamism, suggesting that broadband can help mitigate the economic disadvantages often faced by rural areas."

Opinion: Scholars have been asking the wrong question about what's 'wrong' with rural voters

What's wrong with American rural voters? Maybe the question is the problem, reports Emma Goldberg for The New York Times.

Kristin Lunz Trujillo

Kristin Lunz Trujillo grew up on her family's farm in rural Minnesota, and although her parents did go to college, they encouraged her to attend. During Trujillo's undergraduate years, she experienced new and somewhat confusing culture shocks. Goldberg explains, "She was dismayed when she checked out the farm club and learned that its members wanted to brew kombucha, not milk cows." During an art class, when the teacher "asked students which famous paintings they’d seen in person, Trujillo stayed quiet. She had never been to an art museum."

As Trujillo headed into graduate school, her earlier "sense of cultural alienation molded her research," Goldberg reports. As a political scientist, she has sought to understand what rural identity is and how it defines political choices. Recently, Trujillo was reading a "best-selling book that cited her research to explore those questions. But this recognition didn’t bring the thrill she might have expected."

Penguin RH photo

Trujillo was reading White Rural Rage by journalist Paul Waldman and political scientist Tom Schaller. The book "is an unsparing assessment of small-town America," Goldberg explains. "Rural residents, the authors argued, are more likely than city dwellers to excuse political violence, and they pose a threat to American democracy." Trujillo told Goldberg her thoughts on Waldman and Schaller's work, "It seemed to be more of a hit piece on rural America."

In her opinion for Newsweek, Trujillo said the book was "'a prime example of how intellectuals sow distrust by villainizing people unlike them,'" Goldberg reports. "This latest effort [by Waldman and Schaller] provoked a response that was swift and scathing and revealed something new: the existence of a tight-knit group of scholars who are clamoring for more empathetic political analyses of rural Americans."

Even though some academics were raised in rural America, as scholars, their identity and questions can drift away from the experience. Nick Jacobs, a political scientist at Colby College and co-author of The Rural Voter, told Goldberg, "We contribute to the further denigration of expertise when we say, ‘This is what the experts say about these rubes and bumpkins.' Who’s going to trust the experts when that’s what the experts have to say about you?”

Overall, rural Americans "see free trade and the rise of new technologies as hurting their communities while helping cities prosper, Jacobs said. . . . . The resentment they felt toward urbanites didn’t come out of nowhere," Goldberg writes. "Jacobs differentiated that resentment from the idea of 'rural rage.' . . . And while resentment, like rage, doesn’t easily dissolve, he suggests that trying to understand where it comes from could start to build a bridge over that ever-widening urban-rural divide."

Going against the current, Utah works to change an old western water rights rule to encourage conservation

Utah Department of Agriculture and Food photo

Many western states apply the "use it or lose it" rule to water rights, which penalizes land owners for using less water.  But Utah is working to reward conservation, reports Nina Elkadi of Grist. "Amid climate change, drought, and increased demands for water, Utah is trying to change the system, bucking one of the oldest water rules in the western U.S."

In the West, water rights come down to the 'beneficial use' principle that "declares that water rights holders must use their water for beneficial purposes, such as agriculture, or give up those rights," Elkadi explains. "In Utah, though, the state legislature has passed multiple statutes that are attempting to encourage farmers to use less water without losing rights to it."

Even as the federal government works with western states to reorganize the Colorado River Compact, Utah is doing its own water resource management. Utah wants "to encourage farmers to conserve water without punishing them for it," Elkadi reports. "It's tackling the problem through its Agricultural Water Optimization Program, which awards farmers funding to become more efficient with their water use. . . . [It's] meant to address stress and uncertainty for farmers. And aims to thwart, or at least delay, catastrophic water shortages in the region."

Utah's Agricultural Water Optimization Program provides support to farmers through grants "to improve water practices," Elkadi writes. "Farmers can also file a 'change application' to lease out any 'saved water' through a water marketplace. Utah's State Engineer Teresa Wilhelmsen told Elkadi, "It kind of gives an incentive to save that consumptive use and potentially be able to lease it or do something else with it."

Despite its benefits, some farmers have avoided participation. Wilhelmsen told Elkadi, “As you can imagine, there’s a fear of the state engineer with some folks." Elkadi adds, "This is why she is trying to frame these programs as opportunities to 'tune up your water rights.'"

While the state's water optimization program is a start, "some believe more needs to be done. Burdette Barker, an irrigation expert at Utah State University, thinks efficiency is not the only issue that needs to be addressed; adaptation needs to be at the forefront, too," Elkadi reports. Barker asked her, “Will [the optimization program] alone meet the objectives that the state and others have? Probably not. Will it allow farmers to adapt better as tighter crunches come? I think so. They will help provide farmers with tools to cope or adjust.”

Opinion: Many Americans didn't like either candidate for president, but maybe there's a better way to choose

Voting against what a candidate represents can 'yield
better results.' (Adobe Stock photo)

Before casting their vote, and maybe even after, many American voters voiced concern because they didn't like either candidate. But maybe liking a candidate isn't the point, writes essayist Amy Bauer in her opinion for The Wall Street Journal. Perhaps it's better to vote against a candidate or party instead of searching and voting for a "likable" one.

Her friends and family "all voted against Donald Trump and JD Vance or against Kamala Harris and Tim Walz," Baurer adds. "At a dinner party, I was lamenting this necessity and said, 'I’d love to see an election where voters are excited about the person they’re voting for.' A friend responded saying, 'I think this is optimal. An election where you vote against rather than for is more logical and less emotional. It yields better results.'"

Bauer writes, "I realized my friend had a point about the drawbacks of voting for a candidate. The last time I did so was in 2012. Barack Obama was smooth and kind and wicked smart. . . .Years later, the revelations about Obama started to emerge. Like old infidelities, each one was a slap. . .

"Voting for a candidate back then led me to soft criteria: charm, warmth, a quick smile. Ultimately, I felt disappointed and betrayed — the pitfalls of an emotional relationship. None of this is at play with Trump. I’m not looking for him to be charming or warm . . . I often dislike the things he says.

"His behavior on Jan. 6, 2021, was egregious, pure hubris, and it might have been disqualifying if not for the confounding response from Democrats, who seized on the event and used it to justify constitutional infringements from that day forward."

For some voters, a ballot cast for Trump and Vance equaled a vote to support those rights. Bauer explains, "More than anything, I cherish freedom of expression and believe it is our most spiritual right. Prayer, poetry, stories, music — they’re what lift us above this mortal space. . . . I’d rather die than live in a world without this freedom."

When Bauer spoke to her friend, she asked if he was happy about the election outcome. He told her, "Not exactly happy. But it was so much better than the alternative.”

Quick hits: Growing local rye for bourbon; winter's delights; farm radio plays on; a new way to support local journalism

Rye from thousands of miles away is used in many KY 
bourbons. (Graphic by Adam Dixon, Ambrook Research)

Bourbon's ingredients are relatively simple and most can be locally grown. But as history tells it, grain farmers in Kentucky, where 95% of the world's bourbon is produced, quit growing rye, reports Daniel Walton of Ambrook Research. "While its water is drawn from limestone-filtered springs, and its corn from nearby farms, the ingredient that gives good bourbon its distinctive pepper and herbal notes is shipped in from thousands of miles away. . . . In the interests of sustainability, supply chain resilience, and good old-fashioned local pride, the bourbon industry now wants to bring rye back to Kentucky."

Squirrels can provide winter
entertainment. (Unsplash photo)

Is it too soon to start planning springtime projects? For people who would like to build a chicken coop, heading into winter is a great time to learn what's required and start gathering supplies. If you're lucky enough to have any indoor building space, getting started now is ideal. Lisa Foust Prater of Successful Farming provides a step-by-step primer on building an idyllic home for your spring chicken flock.

The days of winter darkness are coming. Some call it dreary, others get ready to hibernate, and still, others continue to wear shorts in what appears to be a total denial of summer's end. "It’s not all dark mornings and bulky coats," writes Jancee Dunn of The New York Times. From making lists of books you want to read to exploring "slow hobbies" experts shared with Dunn how to "open yourself up to the delights of the season. . . .Take note of the birds and squirrels as you take a walk, or look at the moon or the changing sky outside your window."

Farmers love to "tune in from their tractors" to their ever-reliable and ever-useful farm radio station, reports Sarah Murphy of Ambrook Research. In fact, "83% of farmers with at least $100,000 of gross farm income listened to farm radio five days per week or more in 2023, according to a National Association of Farm Broadcasters survey. But even as the medium faces changes from podcasts to streaming services, farm radio's "staying power is impressive."

Journalism comes in many forms, but reporting on music may be one of the most challenging. Enter in NPR's "From the Top," which lets music do the reporting and highlights young musical talent from around the country, including students from rural America. In this episode, a 15-year-old violinist from the small coastal community of Damariscotta, Maine, and a talented young banjo player from the foothills of Leicester, North Carolina, are shared.

Photo by Max Kabat via The Daily Yonder

To help sustain local journalism, the small town of Marfa, Texas, created a place for community residents, tourists and local news to come together in a shared space, which they named "The Sentinel." The Sentinel's renovated, adobe-style building houses The Big Bend Sentinel and the Presidio International, which provide independent news to area counties, reports Kim Kobersmith of The Daily Yonder. The Sentinel's kitchen serves local food favorites, specialty coffee drinks and regional cocktails. All in all, the space supports independent journalism, while providing a friendly, reliable and delicious restaurant for the community to share.