Toxicity of clothianidin to common Eastern North American fireflies

Background Previous research suggests that fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) are susceptible to commonly used insecticides. In the United States, there has been a rapid and widespread adoption of neonicotinoid insecticides, predominantly used as seed coatings on large-acreage crops like corn, soy, and cotton. Neonicotinoid insecticides are persistent in soil yet mobile in water, so they have potential to contaminate firefly habitats both in and adjacent to application sites. As a result, fireflies may be at high risk of exposure to neonicotinoids, possibly jeopardizing this already at-risk group of charismatic insects. Methods To assess the sensitivity of fireflies to neonicotinoids, we exposed larvae of Photuris versicolor complex and Photinus pyralis to multiple levels of clothianidin-treated soil and monitored feeding behavior, protective soil chamber formation, intoxication, and mortality. Results Pt. versicolor and Pn. pyralis larvae exhibited long-term intoxication and mortality at concentrations above 1,000 ng g−1 soil (1 ppm). Under sub-lethal clothianidin exposure, firefly larvae fed less and spent less time in protective soil chambers, two behavioral changes that could decrease larval survival in the wild. Discussion Both firefly species demonstrated sub-lethal responses in the lab to clothianidin exposure at field-realistic concentrations, although Pt. versicolor and Pn. pyralis appeared to tolerate higher clothianidin exposure relative to other soil invertebrates and beetle species. While these two firefly species, which are relatively widespread in North America, appear somewhat tolerant of neonicotinoid exposure in a laboratory setting, further work is needed to extend this conclusion to wild populations, especially in rare or declining taxa.

Impact Assessment of the Long-Term Fallowed Land on Agricultural Soils and the Possibility of Their Return to Agriculture

Agricultural land abandonment is a process observed in most European countries. In Poland and other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, it was initiated with the political transformation of the 1990s. Currently, in Poland, it concerns over 2 million ha of arable land. Such a large acreage constitutes a resource of land that can be directly restored to agricultural production or perform environmental functions. A new concept for management of fallow/abandoned areas is to start producing biomass for the bioeconomy purposes. Production of perennial crops, especially on poorer soils, requires an appropriate assessment of soil conditions. Therefore, it has become crucial to answer the question: What is the real impact of the fallowing process on soil, and is it possible to return it to production at all? For this purpose, on the selected fallowed land that met the marginality criteria defined under the project, physicochemical tests of soil properties were carried out, and subsequently, the results were compared with those of the neighboring agricultural land and with the soil valuation of the fallow land, which was conducted during its past agricultural use. The work was mainly aimed at analyzing the impact of long-term fallowing on soil pH, carbon sequestration and nutrient content, e.g., phosphorus and potassium. The result of the work is a positive assessment of the possibility of restoring fallowed land for agricultural production, including the production of biomass for non-agricultural purposes. Among the studied types of fallow plots, the fields where goldenrod (Solidago L.—invasive species) appeared were indicated as the areas most affected by soil degradation.

Adapt - On-farm changes in the face of climate change: NRCS Area 3

The agricultural economy is more vulnerable to projected changes in climate in some California counties than in others. This flyer highlights on-farm adaptation strategies to mitigate some of the effects of increased winter temperatures and more frequent summer heatwaves. Projected conditions will put the most strain on heat intolerant crops and crops with high chill requirements. When crops with these characteristics also have a high market value or are grown in large acreage, counties can be at risk for economic declines. Information on this flyer identifies the most vulnerable counties in California Area 3 for some key, climate-sensitive crops.

Adapt - On-farm changes in the face of climate change: NRCS Area 1

The agricultural economy is more vulnerable to projected changes in climate in some California counties than in others. This flyer highlights on-farm adaptation strategies to mitigate some of the effects of increased winter temperatures and more frequent summer heatwaves. Projected conditions will put the most strain on heat intolerant crops and crops with high chill requirements. When crops with these characteristics also have a high market value or are grown in large acreage, counties can be at risk for economic declines. Information on this flyer identifies the most vulnerable counties in California Area 1 for five key, climate-sensitive crops.

Adapt - On-farm changes in the face of climate change: NRCS Area 2

The agricultural economy is more vulnerable to projected changes in climate in some California counties than in others. This flyer highlights on-farm adaptation strategies to mitigate some of the effects of increased winter temperatures and more frequent summer heatwaves. Projected conditions will put the most strain on heat intolerant crops and crops with high chill requirements. When crops with these characteristics also have a high market value or are grown in large acreage, counties can be at risk for economic declines. Information on this flyer identifies the most vulnerable counties in California NRCS Area 2 for six key, climate-sensitive crops.

Adapt - On-farm changes in the face of climate change: NRCS area 4

The agricultural economy is more vulnerable to projected changes in climate in some California counties than in others. This flyer highlights on-farm adaptation strategies to mitigate some of the effects of increased winter temperatures and more frequent summer heatwaves. Projected conditions will put the most strain on heat intolerant crops and crops with high chill requirements. When crops with these characteristics also have a high market value or are grown in large acreage, counties can be at risk for economic declines. Information on this flyer identifies the most vulnerable counties in California Area 4 for five key, climate-sensitive crops.

Refugio en la Viña. *** Cottage in the vineyard.

Refugio en La Viña está ubicada en el término municipal de Fontanars, a las afueras del casco urbano, en una zona de grandes extensiones de cultivo. El proyecto busca la máxima integración paisajística y medioambiental, debido a su localización fronteriza entre una zona de pinada y los campos de vid de la nca, diluyéndose prácticamente en la vegetación. A ello contribuye la decisión de desarrollar todo el programa en una sola planta, además de la materialidad elegida, que aporta tonalidades coherentes con el lugar.***The house is located in the municipality of Fontanars, on the outskirts of the village surrounded by large acreage. The project seeks the maximum environmental and landscape integration because of its border location between a zone of pine forests and the grapevine fields, being practically diluted in the vegetation. This contributes the decision to develop the entire program in a single floor, in addition to the material chosen, which provides shade consistent with the place.

Adapting to climate change through crop choice by small and medium farmers in Southern zone of Tamil Nadu, India

Unpredictable changes in the climate can have a significant impact on crop yield in India in general and in particular in the climate vulnerable state of Tamil Nadu. This study evaluates how farmers in the Sothern Zone of Tamil Nadu adapt crop change as a technique to cope with uncertainty in crop yield. Three districts in the Sothern Zone, viz., Virudhunagar, Thoothukudi and Thriunelveli districts were adopted for this study. The sample size was equally distributed with 60 households randomly selected and who actively engage in agriculture. The results derived from the Multinomial Logit Model indicate that older farmers were more likely to choose sorghum, groundnut and less likely to choose maize, fruits and vegetables. Education had positive and significant influence on growing sorghum groundnut and chillies. Fruits and vegetables are more likely to chosen if farmer has large acreage. The climate variables seem to have neutral effect for sorghum and groundnut, hence farmers lend to choose theses crops for price stability. Farmers are most likely to prefer sorghum, cotton, maize and groundnut when income increases from other non-farm sources. When temperature increases by 1oC, farmers more often tend to choose pulses, sorghum, chilli and groundnut. If precipitation increases by 1 cm, farmers choose to cultivate pulses, maize, cotton, fruits and vegetable. Farmers adaptations may vary across agro climatic zones of Tamil Nadu. Hence local government policies and programs in agriculture should have a built in component to address the climate change issues. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/sja.v12i1.21120 SAARC J. Agri., 12(1): 139-149 (2014)

E&P Lending

Oil and gas companies frequently use debt financing in order to provide the large capital required to explore and develop large acreage blocks. With the rise of horizontal drilling in combination with multi-stage hydraulic fracturing, the average cost per well has skyrocketed. In order to access a bank’s cheaper money, an oil and gas company normally must have already found something worth finding. In return for a beneficial interest rate from a bank (as opposed to splitting the profits of the company with equity partners or paying mezzanine debt interest rates), the oil and gas company must get more ducks in a row than it had to get in a row to raise money from their friends and family, a venture equity, or a mezz debt source. Additionally, due to the special characteristics of oil and gas as an asset, special legal issues exist for bank lenders to navigate to insure they can recover on collateral in a first-priority lien position in the event that the oil and gas company borrower goes into bankruptcy. This Article explores the legal due diligence process of an oil and gas loan deal—addressing both the roles of the borrower’s counsel and the lender’s counsel in the process. Further, it addresses unique issues related to properly securing the collateral of an oil and gas company borrower under Texas law. It should be noted that this Article is related to exploration and production (E&P) companies, not companies involved with the midstream or downstream side of the business. This Article focuses on oil and gas properties located in the state of Texas; while the collateral rules will be almost the same in other states, only the Texas law perspective will be discussed. Some capitalized terms will be used. The term “Energy Lender” refers to a lender in an oil and gas loan transaction. The term “Borrower” refers to an oil and gas company borrowing money from an Energy Lender.