Farmers have a vital role to play in producing and utilizing compost to restore depleted soils. Some states have instituted permit exemptions and other regulatory pathways to support on-farm composting. This webinar will explore models from around the country and explore the impact these rules are having.… Read More
More than 42 million tons of food scraps are landfilled or burned in the US each year, as estimated by the EPA. One reason among many is lack of adequate funding to prevent, rescue, and recycle wasted food. One funding mechanism with a proven track record of raising funds to reduce and recycle waste is the establishment of a per-ton surcharge on waste landfilled or incinerated. This article features ten examples of existing regulations that allocate revenue from waste disposal surcharges to fund waste diversion, reuse, recycling, composting, and other sustainability efforts, and extracts best practices and possible roadblocks that may help to guide the development of new legislation to fund composting and divert waste.… Read More
Currently, no federal policy exists that encourages or provides resources to mobilize a national composting effort, though several states do have policies that support and recognize the benefits of composting. The Cultivating Organic Matter through the Promotion of Sustainable Techniques (COMPOST) Act is a newly-proposed federal bill that aims to proactively advance composting infrastructure and support across the country. … Read More
In a policy briefing paper released today, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance forcefully argues that the immediate federal response to the Covid-19 crisis must focus on enabling small, independent businesses to weather the economic collapse, while longer term federal efforts need to tackle the larger structural obstacles that have long impeded small businesses and left them vulnerable to the current crisis.… Read More
In the WSJ, ILSR’s Christopher Mitchell also explains the failures of US broadband policy that has kept communities from getting connected.… Read More
For years, federal and state governments have spent billions of dollars on efforts to build broadband networks in underserved rural communities while doing very little to bring home Internet access to unconnected Americans living in our nation’s cities. A new white paper, released recently by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), outlines how this policy decision has a racist impact — benefiting mainly white, non-Hispanic people while disadvantaging many Black Americans and people of color in urban areas, where the majority of unconnected households are.… Read More
On National Public Radio’s 1A, ILSR Co-Director Stacy Mitchell talked about how the pandemic crisis is impacting small businesses and why the federal government’s current response is inadequate. … Read More
Although California now requires new residential construction to include solar, the mandate allows community solar subscriptions to substitute. ILSR submitted these comments to the California Energy Commission as it reviewed the first utility-proposed substitute program, Neighborhood SolarShares, by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District.… Read More
In this webinar, Institute for Local Self-Reliance Energy Democracy Initiative director John Farrell is joined by Karl Rábago of the Pace Energy and Climate Center to discuss city-level strategies to reduce gas use.… Read More
