Michael Bomford is a research scientist and extension specialist at Kentucky State University, and an adjunct faculty member in the University of Kentucky Department of Horticulture. His work focuses on organic and sustainable agriculture systems suitable for adoption by small farms operating with limited resources. His projects examine practical ways to reduce food system energy use and meet farm energy needs using renewable resources produced on-farm. Michael has a Master of Pest Management from Simon Fraser University, and a PhD in Plant and Soil Sciences from West Virginia University, where he conducted research on one of the nation’s first land grant university farms operated entirely according to national organic standards.
Articles / Blogs
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Against the Grain
Jason Bradford, Michael Bomford, Richard Heinberg
By Ellie Winninghoff PCI Board Member Jason Bradford leads the farmland management program at Farmland LP. While farmland is a hot alternative vehicle among institutional investors like Harvard University and TIAA-Cref, some wonder how alternative an investment it really...
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Organics and Sustainability: Reflections on my New York Times Misquote
The phone rang as I was tying up loose ends for my last day in the office before Christmas. New York Times reporter Elisabeth Rosenthal wanted my thoughts on the sustainability of organic agriculture… a subject that I think...
Reports
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Natural Gas Report Supplements: Public Health, Agriculture, Transportation
Anthony Perl, Cindy Parker, Brian Schwartz, Richard Gilbert, Michael Bomford
The challenges posed by shale gas production have serious implications for the future of agriculture, transportation, and health in the United States. In this collection of articles, PCI Fellows explore what the Hughes Report means for these sectors. SUPPLEMENTAL ARTICLES INCLUDE: Agriculture and Natural Gas By Michael Bomford The vast majority of natural
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Getting Fossil Fuels Off the Plate
My grubby little town was full of young men in big trucks and muscle cars who had come north to make their fortunes in the oil fields. During oil booms they kept the bars hopping and the hookers busy, dropping hundred dollar bills like candy…When the wells ran dry the young men disappeared,
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The Food and Farming Transition: Toward a Post Carbon Food System
Michael Bomford, Richard Heinberg
How can we continue feeding humanity in a future of declining resources and environmental crisis? This report explores the growing vulnerabilities of the current food system, and the steps needed to transition to a post-carbon food system. The Food and Farming Transition Toward a Post Carbon Food System Post Carbon Institute –
Books
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The Post Carbon Reader: Managing the 21st Century’s Sustainability Crises
John Kaufmann, Daniel Lerch, Bill Sheehan, Anthony Perl, William Rees, Tom Whipple, Stephanie Mills, Peter Whybrow, Michael Shuman, David Orr, Cindy Parker, Chris Martenson, Brian Schwartz, Richard Gilbert, Warren Karlenzig, Wes Jackson, David Hughes, Rob Hopkins, David Fridley, Gloria Flora, Joshua Farley, Hillary Brown, Michael Bomford, Asher Miller, Zenobia Barlow, Sandra Postel, Richard Heinberg, Erika Allen, Bill Ryerson