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Researchers say there's plenty the beef industry can do to use less land and water and emit fewer greenhouse gas emissions. But producers may need to charge a premium to make those changes.

Researchers say there's plenty the beef industry can do to use less land and water and emit fewer greenhouse gas emissions. But producers may need to charge a premium to make those changes. iStockphoto.com hide caption

itoggle caption iStockphoto.com

The Salt

Do We Need A New 'Environmental Impact' Label For Beef?

Labels like "organic" and "grass-fed" don't capture the beef industry's true environmental impact, researchers say. Why not have a label that assesses water use, land use and greenhouse gas emissions?

Corn farmer Jerry McCulley sprays the weedkiller glyphosate across his cornfield in Auburn, Ill., in 2010. An increasing number of weeds have now evolved resistance to the chemical.

Corn farmer Jerry McCulley sprays the weedkiller glyphosate across his cornfield in Auburn, Ill., in 2010. An increasing number of weeds have now evolved resistance to the chemical. Seth Perlman/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Seth Perlman/AP

The Salt

New GMOs Get A Regulatory Green Light, With A Hint Of Yellow

Farmers will be able to plant types of corn and soybeans that can tolerate doses of two weedkillers. It may be one of the most significant developments the world of weedkilling in more than a decade.

Millennials seem to prioritize the environment, but may want to dissociate from the "treehugger" baggage of the term "environmentalist."

Millennials seem to prioritize the environment, but may want to dissociate from the "treehugger" baggage of the term "environmentalist." Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Getty Images

New Boom

Millennials: We Help The Earth But Don't Call Us Environmentalists

Millennials are the most likely to favor traditionally pro-environment policies and believe climate change is man-made. But they are also the least likely generation to identify as environmentalists.

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Cindy Minnix waits for a bus in a flooded street on Oct. 18, 2012, in Miami Beach. A changing climate is making floods related to high tides more frequent, scientists say.

Cindy Minnix waits for a bus in a flooded street on Oct. 18, 2012, in Miami Beach. A changing climate is making floods related to high tides more frequent, scientists say. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Science

Climate Change Worsens Coastal Flooding From High Tides

Flooding from extreme tidal swings was once just a rare nuisance for coastal cities. But rising sea levels have increased the frequency of these nuisance floods as much as tenfold since the 1960s.

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Pine nuts aren't farmed; they're harvested from forests. The nuts are hidden inside the cones of certain species of pine, such as this pinyon in Utah's Fishlake National Forest.

Pine nuts aren't farmed; they're harvested from forests. The nuts are hidden inside the cones of certain species of pine, such as this pinyon in Utah's Fishlake National Forest. Scott Smith/Corbis hide caption

itoggle caption Scott Smith/Corbis

The Salt

Love Pine Nuts? Then Protect Pine Forests

An expensive delicacy among nuts, pine nuts are foraged — not farmed — from distant forests. In some places, the delicate ecosystems that produce the nuts are disappearing.

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Yoram Bauman jokes about "hyperinflation in hell" and on earth. Case in point: the Zimbabwe hundred-trillion-dollar note.

Yoram Bauman jokes about "hyperinflation in hell" and on earth. Case in point: the Zimbabwe hundred-trillion-dollar note. Lejia Lombardi/Courtesy of Inter-American Development Bank hide caption

itoggle caption Lejia Lombardi/Courtesy of Inter-American Development Bank

Goats and Soda

So A Global Economist Walks Into A Comedy Club ...

Yoram Bauman is an economist. And a stand-up comic. Who makes jokes about climate change and global development, among other topics. At the Inter-American Development Bank this week, he killed!

Melbourne visitors and residents took to the waters of Australia's St. Kilda Beach in January 2013 to escape a fierce heat wave.

Melbourne visitors and residents took to the waters of Australia's St. Kilda Beach in January 2013 to escape a fierce heat wave. Scott Barbour/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Scott Barbour/Getty Images

Science

When Can A Big Storm Or Drought Be Blamed On Climate Change?

Scientists wince when people blame every big tropical cyclone, heat wave or drought on a shifting climate. But now some are trying to figure out just what the evidence for such a link would be.

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California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed the nation's first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags. Here, mixed plastic items are seen at a recycling plant in Vernon, Calif., earlier this year.

California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed the nation's first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags. Here, mixed plastic items are seen at a recycling plant in Vernon, Calif., earlier this year. Reed Saxon/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Reed Saxon/AP

The Two-Way

Ban On Single-Use Plastic Bags Is Enacted In California

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed SB 270, the first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags in the U.S. It requires a 10-cent fee for the use of compostable or paper bags.

The rendering industry likes to call itself the world's oldest recycling system. Nearly 100 percent of processed pigs will eventually get used — as meat and in uses as varied as medicine and pet food.

The rendering industry likes to call itself the world's oldest recycling system. Nearly 100 percent of processed pigs will eventually get used — as meat and in uses as varied as medicine and pet food. iStockphoto hide caption

itoggle caption iStockphoto

The Salt

Everything But The Squeal: How The Hog Industry Cuts Food Waste

Large-scale hog operations get a bad environmental rap. But when it comes to processing the animals, the industry is a model of efficiency, making use of every last bit in sometimes surprising ways.