Drying out in California

As Portland, Seattle, and British Columbia bake, seeing temperatures hotter than ever recorded in Las Vegas, California is starting its fire season with the Lava Fire in the extreme northwest of the state. The rising heat is sucking dry the state's water reserves as well: as reported here, farming is under increasing pressure to cut back water usage. The preceding article talks about a few farmers who have taken some of their almonds out of production, and the end is about building solar arrays. What does the future hold for the state with the most amazing soil and climate for agriculture?

Market concentration in meat

I've covered chicken in the past: students in my class will have watched either Supersize Me 2 (an entertaining film by a director with a checkered past) or Eating Animals. Both talk about the difficult conditions faced by chicken farmers working for the big names in chicken like Tyson or Perdue.

 This week's article is about how control over the beef industry by meat processors is leading to profits for the meat packers at the expense of farmers. Such is modern capitalism: keep growing until you have a large enough market share to mess with people, and then do so....

Postsecret

 Just saw this on postsecret.com, though it's labeled "classic secrets" so it isn't a new one....