Environment Resources
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Brassica carinata is an annual oilseed crop used for the commercial production of jet fuel, animal feed, and valuable chemicals. Carinata has recently been introduced in Georgia as a cool season cash crop with cover crop benefits. Because it is grown in the winter, it has the potential to sustain and recover from frost damage. This publication outlines conditions that can cause frost damage and how the plant will react to this stress.
This resource was written in collaboration with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension, the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and the Southeast Partnership for Advanced Renewables from Carinata.
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An abundant supply of clean, safe drinking water is essential for human and animal health. Water from municipal or public water systems is treated and monitored to ensure that it is safe for human consumption. Many Georgia residents, especially in rural areas, rely on private water systems for human and livestock consumption. Most private water systems are supplied by wells. Water from wells in Georgia is generally safe for consumption without treatment. Some waters, however, may contain disease-causing organisms that make them unsafe to drink. Well waters may also contain large amounts of minerals, making them too “hard” for uses such as laundering, bathing or cooking. Some contaminants may cause human health hazards and others can stain clothing and fixtures, cause objectionable tastes and odors, or corrode pipes and other system components.
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This field guide is based on a 2-year study of ground-dwelling spiders in blueberry farms in southeastern Georgia and shows the most common spider families and genera found. This guide is for farmers, students, and educators to help them recognize these groups. Spiders are helpful organisms that feed on insects and other small creatures. In many cases, they are among the most effective natural controls of pest insects in gardens, farms, forests, and even inside homes.
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Georgia is experiencing rapid growth in utility-scale solar energy development. This resource addresses some general concerns and questions residents have asked UGA Extension about how the construction and operation of these solar facilities could affect our soil and the quality of our shared surface and underground waters, including well water.
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An estimated 1.7 million people in Georgia rely on 640,000 private wells for their drinking water supply, and private well water users are responsible for ensuring the quality and safety of their water supplies for domestic, livestock, and irrigation use. This online tool provides interpretations and recommendations for drinking water quality.
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With growing demands for water that is suitable for drinking (potable) and expanding irrigated acreage, there is an increased pressure on irrigated farms to consider using nonpotable alternatives. However, low quality irrigation water can adversely affect soil physical conditions and crop production. This resource provides in-depth information on the importance of irrigation water quality, water quality attributes, salts content, toxicity and the sources of toxic components, and bacteria in water sources.
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The Joro spider is native to East Asia and was first detected in Georgia in 2014. Adult females become sexually mature in September and early October. The female is bright yellow with broad, horizontal bluish-green bands on the top side of the abdomen, large red markings on the bottom side of the abdomen, with long, black legs with yellow-orange bands. The male’s cephalothorax is light brown with two dark brown long bands on both sides. His abdomen is elongate-oval with a greenish-brown topside that has two yellowish long stripes on both sides of the dark brown middle line.
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This resource addresses some general concerns and questions about how data center operations could alter water availability and affect the quality of our shared surface water, underground water, and public water systems. The extensive demands for cloud storage, streaming services, and artificial intelligence (AI) in today’s digital economy has sparked a massive boom in the establishment of data centers. Although the concerns and public discussion around this are primarily focused on the huge electricity demands of the data centers, they also have a significant localized impact on our water resources.
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This management guide provides producers with specific tactics that may minimize the potential for short- and long-term problems during a drought. These tactics are based on specific characteristics including water loss, forage growth, and rainfall.
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