Latest news with #environmentalnonprofit
Fast Company
5 days ago
- General
- Fast Company
There is a bizarre red-state quest to prevent community air quality monitoring
For years, Cynthia Robertson had a particular morning routine: Every day, she would display a flag on her front porch in Sulphur, Louisiana, the color of which corresponded to the current air quality. On one far end of the spectrum, a purple flag meant there was hazardous air filled with particulate matter, and everyone's health effects were increased; on the other end, a green flag meant the air quality was 'satisfactory,' with air pollution posing little or no risk. In between were red, orange, and yellow flags. Residents already know there's pollution in their neighborhood, thanks primarily to the 16-plus industrial plants that surround their city. 'We can smell it,' Robertson says. But the flags helped to quantify just how bad the air was on any particular day. Robertson is the executive director of Micah 6:8 Mission, an environmental nonprofit in Southwest Louisiana. The front porch where she would display flags was actually the nonprofit's property, where there's also a community garden, an orchard, a pond, goats, chickens, and educational programs open to the community. Micah 6:8 Mission would also post a picture of the day's flag, and the color chart explaining its meaning, to its Facebook page—details that helped residents gauge whether they should be spending time outdoors, or wait it out inside. 'Particulate matter is a killer,' Robertson says, referring to particles that are 2.5 micrometers or less in size, and which can come from all sorts of pollution, from vehicle exhaust to burning fuels. 'That tells you, 'Don't go out and garden this morning. Wait until the air calms down after the overnight releases from the plants.'' The super-early-rate deadline for Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Awards is Friday, July 25, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.
CBS News
23-05-2025
- Science
- CBS News
Nonprofit restores prairie, bison grazing at Illinois' Nachusa Grasslands
Drive two hours west of the Loop, and pristine prairie will appear. The Nachusa Grasslands are located in Lee and Ogle counties, 3 miles northwest of the town of Franklin Grove. The Nature Conservancy replanted and restored the prairie, and the nonprofit also manages the Nachusa Grasslands and the animals that graze there. Behind the gates to the prairie is a piece of the past. "There's really only a few thousand acres of tallgrass prairie like this left in Illinois," said research scientist Elizabeth Bach. But when Bach rolls over rolling hills of the Nachusa Grasslands in a sport-utility vehicle, she sees the future. "And that future is built on the foundations of our past," she said. That foundation is one where the prairie flourished, and buffalo roamed. At the Nachusa Grasslands, there are more than 4,000 acres of restored tallgrass prairie — and one herd of bison. "Grazing is something, especially from bison, that's been absent from this state of Illinois since the 1870s," Bach said. But in the 2014, the Nature Conservancy — a global environmental nonprofit — brought bison back. "The bison at Nachusa Grasslands have access to 1500 acres," said Bach. As a research scientist, Bach studies how the herd of about 100 bison impacts the prairie. "This is the best part of my job, is to get to be out here, and I look at these plants every year," Bach said. Every spring, as calves are born and flowers bloom, Bach checks on plots and areas where bison graze — and where they don't. "We can track how the plant community without grazing compares to the plant community with grazing," Bach said. Bach sees a noticeable difference. "Areas where the bison are grazing heavily will keep a shorter structure for the grasses and plants there, and that's a good thing for certain types of birds and insects and small mammals and reptiles," she said. Just by grazing and wallowing — the behavior where they roll around on their backs — the big mammals create microhabitats. "We are seeing changes in the abundance of certain insects like ground beetles and dung beetles," said Bach. And when the bison share their winter coats, their fur helps birds build their homes. "To keep those baby birds warm on these cold spring nights," Bach said. At the Nachusa Grasslands, the buffalo roam — and restore. "What we're really trying to do is to set up these native Illinois plants and animals for success into the future," Bach said. The Nature Conservancy keeps the herd to about 100 bison. They transfer surplus animals to the Intertribal Buffalo Council, whose mission is to restore buffalo to tribal lands.
