Paula Crossfield writes in CivilEats.com:

This week, the House Agriculture Committee held the first hearing on the 2012 Farm Bill, the main piece of legislation that every five years establishes our nations food and agriculture policy. The Farm Bill affects farm payments, supplemental nutrition assistance programs (SNAP, formally called food stamps), international trade, conservation programs, the opportunities in rural communities, agriculture research, food safety, and more. Currently 70% of farm payments go to the wealthiest 10% of producers of corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton and rice. These kinds of oversights are the result of a Farm Bill that has been largely cobbled together over time.

[...]

New Urbanism, or Smart Growth, has always been sold as a green idea--high density, mixed use, walkable neighborhoods close to mass transit to lessen the need for car travel.

Montgomery County, with dwindling land for new development, has seized upon New Urbanism with a vengeance. In 2006, the county already had existing plans to bring in 160,000 more jobs, and build 80,000 to 90,000 more housing units--which would support some 200,000 more residents--a 20% population growth for the county.

A new study just released by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology predicts that the Earth's median surface temperature could rise 9.3 degrees Fahrenheit (5.2 degrees Celsius) by 210o, about twice what was predicted just six years ago. The study cations that it will take "rapid and massive action" to prevent a rise this large.

We are attempting to form a group of people who are interested in backyard farming. Our resident expert is Andrew Agostinelli who has years of experience producing an abundance of produce from a small plot of land.

If you are interested, contact me at dravidic@yahoo.com