On this week's Under the Microscope, water quality in Missouri does not meet federal regulations, a lawsuit over eggs between Missouri and California, and plant seeds kept in a mountain in case of a catastrophic event.
Missouri’s new water quality standards have now received federal approval, adding pollution limits to tens of thousands of miles of state rivers and streams. But as Véronique LaCapra reports, the regulations still leave many waters unprotected and out of compliance with federal law.
Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster spent tens of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money suing the state of California. The case was over a state law that mandates the size of cages for egg-laying hens. Mike McGraw reports.
If a catastrophic plant disease wipes out the crops that we rely on to feed us, we might turn to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.
Close to a million seed packets in the vault are tucked inside a frozen mountain on a Norwegian island. It includes samples from similar vaults in Fort Collins,
Colorado and Ames, Iowa. And the man who pushed for the vault’s creation, Cary Fowler, says the facility will be essential to plant researchers as they attempt to help farmers adapt to climate change. He spoke to Harvest Public Media’s Luke Runyon.
