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The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives may also pursue further cuts to food assistance to shrink the U.S. deficit. "It’s going to put millions of households at risk of hunger," said Eric Mitchell, president of the Alliance to End Hunger. The changes mean cuts of about $82 a month beginning in March for recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, said Ellen Vollinger of the Food Research & Action Center, an anti-hunger group. But in December's spending bill fight, Congress negotiated a compromise to end them in February in exchange for a new summer food program for children. More than 76% of the current farm bill's $428 billion price tag went to food assistance programs that serve 41 million people annually.

"We believe there's a better alternative than go big or go out," Vilsack said, speaking to members of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, an advocacy group. The agency will also introduce a new grant program later this year to expand processing capacity for non-livestock commodities, he said. Farmers should be educating lawmakers about the importance of these programs as discussion of the next farm bill begins in earnest on Capitol Hill, Vilsack said. The current farm bill, which is passed every five years and funds major nutrition, subsidy, and conservation programs, expires on Sept. 30. Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 6 climate wins from 2022 that are worth celebrating
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Sweeping climate legislation passed, climate candidates won, and animals got important protections. Here are six of the year's highlights in climate progress, according to experts. But through it all, there was encouraging progress on climate that's worth celebrating. Peter B. de Menocal, president of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, told Insider that the event featured the first-ever Ocean Pavilion. "I want to invite other Indigenous communities in Ecuador and the world to join these collective fights happening in Amazonia," Lucitante previously told Insider.

☆ In 'Wildcat', Amazon fauna helps heal emotional wounds of war
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Rollo Ross | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Their triumphs and travails are at the heart of "Wildcat", a documentary filmed deep in the rainforest that premieres on Amazon's Prime Video on Friday. Then they get a call from a friend that an ocelot kitten was found by loggers and little Keanu helps Turner out of his grief. The documentary came about after Zwicker shot videos documenting Khan's upbringing, hoping it would help other conservationists return cats to the wild. Directors Trevor Frost and Melissa Lesh came on board to document the lives of Turner, Zwicker and their animals after receiving Keanu. With proceeds from the reported $20 million Amazon Studios paid for the documentary, Zwicker is building up her conservation program Hoja Nueva, while Turner has set up his own charity, Emerald Arch.

☆ King Charles leads Remembrance Day silence for first time as British monarch
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Britain's King Charles attends the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph on Whitehall in London, Britain, November 13, 2022. REUTERS/Toby Melville/PoolLONDON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Britain's King Charles led Remembrance Day commemorations in London on Sunday for the first time as monarch, laying a newly designed wreath after a two-minute silence at The Cenotaph war memorial. Charles, who became King following the death of Queen Elizabeth in September, was joined by other senior members of the royal family including his son and heir Prince William. Chief of the Defence Staff Tony Radakin said the ceremony to honour Britain's war dead had an "additional poignancy" after the loss of the queen. Reporting by Kylie MacLellan Editing by Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Emperor penguins are now a threatened species due to climate change, U.S. officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Endangered Species Act. Fish and Wildlife Service said emperor penguins should be protected under the law since the birds build colonies and raise their young on the Antarctic ice threatened by climate change. The agency’s review followed a 2011 petition by the environmental group Center for Biological Diversity to list the bird under the Endangered Species Act. Tuesday’s designation was described as a warning that emperor penguins need “urgent climate action” in order to survive by Shaye Wolf, the climate science director at the Center for Biological Diversity. The 1973 Endangered Species Act is credited with bringing several animals back from the brink of extinction, including grizzly bears, bald eagles, gray whales and others.

☆ Emperor penguins now a threatened species due to climate change, U.S. says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Clark Mindock | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Endangered Species Act. Fish and Wildlife Service said emperor penguins should be protected under the law since the birds build colonies and raise their young on the Antarctic ice threatened by climate change. The agency's review followed a 2011 petition by the environmental group Center for Biological Diversity to list the bird under the Endangered Species Act. Tuesday's designation was described as a warning that emperor penguins need “urgent climate action” in order to survive by Shaye Wolf, the climate science director at the Center for Biological Diversity. The 1973 Endangered Species Act is credited with bringing several animals back from the brink of extinction, including grizzly bears, bald eagles, gray whales and others.

☆ Conservationists are using artificial intelligence to map out the best ways for saving threatened wildlife and resources
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Tim Paradis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AI tools can help with efforts like identifying tracks to better understand animal populations. Using AI can help conservationists more wisely deploy scarce resources. So Jewell, a cofounder of the US nonprofit WildTrack, turned to artificial intelligence to help identify animal tracks using photos. Yet the AI system Jewell and her collaborators developed can so far identify dozens of animal species with more than 90% accuracy. "The things that limit AI can be augmented with that human input," Jewell said, "the AI can definitely learn from the skills of the trackers."

☆ Rescue efforts underway for about 230 whales beached in Australia
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

HOBART, Australia — About 230 whales have been stranded on Tasmania’s west coast, just days after 14 sperm whales were found beached on an island off the southeastern coast. Griffith University marine scientist Olaf Meynecke said it’s unusual for sperm whales to wash ashore. The department said it is not unusual for sperm whales to be sighted in Tasmania. The pilot whale is notorious for stranding in mass numbers, for reasons that are not entirely understood. Two years ago, about 470 long-finned pilot whales were found beached on sandbars off Tasmania’s west coast in the largest mass-stranding on record in Australia.

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