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Iowa waterways are a disgrace
Posted by Des Moines Register: None Given on August 23rd, 2015
Des Moines Register: “Thank you for calling the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ Beach Hotline… There are currently bacteria advisories at the following state park beaches: Backbone Lake, Brushy Creek Lake, Clear Lake, Lake Geode, Lake Ahquabi, Lake Darling, Lake Macbride, Lake of Three Fires, McIntosh Woods State Park … Thanks and have a fun and safe time at the beach!” Less than 48 hours after that Aug. 15 warning went out, hundreds of dead fish washed up on the shores of Swan Lake in the state park near Carroll....
Study: Climate change increases chance slowdown in yields
Posted by Des Moines Register: None Given on July 28th, 2014
Des Moines Register: The odds of a major production slowdown of corn and wheat are as much as 20 times greater with climate change, according to researchers at Stanford University and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The authors used global climate computer models, along with data about weather and crops, to calculate the chances that climatic trends would slow the growth in yields by 10 percent during the next 20 years. The result, researchers found, would mean yields would grow about half as quickly as...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Study: Climate change increases chance slowdown in yieldsNew ethanol industry blooms in Iowa, but it could soon be uprooted
Posted by Des Moines Register: None Given on February 23rd, 2014
Des Moines Register: The line of headlights begins close to 6 a.m. as trucks and other vehicles file into the $250 million construction project south of this northwest Iowa town of 3,900.
Some of the 300 construction workers come from Iowa. But most — with license plates from Nebraska, Texas and Minnesota — fill about every apartment, hotel and trailer in a 30-mile radius. The workers pack the local Casey’s for breakfast pizza, line up at Fareway’s meat counter and drop by Don Jose’s for dinner.
“I’m pretty sure...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on New ethanol industry blooms in Iowa, but it could soon be uprootedDoak: We need to focus on coping as climate fluctuates
Posted by Des Moines Register: None Given on September 15th, 2013
Des Moines Register: About the same time President Obama was addressing the nation about Syria last week, a state senator in Iowa was lecturing about climate change to a college audience.
The two talks weren’t as far apart as they might seem.
The state senator, Rob Hogg of Cedar Rapids, is a crusader who argues that climate change not only is the defining issue of our times but that response to climate change will shape almost everything that happens this century.
Syria is a case in point. Absent climate change,...
Iowa View: It’s time for Iowa to lead on climate change
Posted by Des Moines Register: None Given on June 22nd, 2013
Des Moines Register: Iowa seems to have become a state of extremes.
Last year, record early warmth prompted fruit blossoming in March and corn planting in early April, only to be severely challenged by late freezes and widespread drought. This year, a cold start to the planting season, followed by the wettest spring on record, has delayed planting and produced widespread soil erosion from extreme rainfall.
Last year along the Mississippi River, low water brought barge traffic to a standstill. This year, barges...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Iowa View: It’s time for Iowa to lead on climate changeVilsack: Climate change will soon affect agriculture
Posted by Des Moines Register: None Given on June 6th, 2013
Des Moines Register: U.S. farmers and ranchers must adapt or risk getting left behind as climate change becomes an increasingly influential part of the agricultural landscape, the head of the U.S. Agriculture Department said Wednesday.
During a speech in Washington, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said better technological advancements through products such as seed so far have been enough to maintain production levels despite more intense storms, forest fires and an increase in invasive species.
But Vilsack,...
Fuels battle heats up as Congress mulls law change
Posted by Des Moines Register: None Given on April 21st, 2013
Des Moines Register: The battle between U.S. ethanol producers and oil companies has reached a turning point, with the winners poised to gain an advantage over the future of the country’s energy mix and the losers forced to cede profits and jobs to their bitter rival.
Ground zero of the battle is the country’s Renewable Fuel Standard — an 8-year-old law that requires refiners to produce alternative fuels from corn, soybeans and other products in an effort to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil.
The drop...
Water-use record again shattered in Des Moines as heat wave continues
Posted by Des Moines Register: None Given on July 28th, 2012
Des Moines Register: Whoever asked, “Can it get any hotter?” before Wednesday, you have your answer.
Des Moines’ high was 106 degrees, a degree above Monday’s temperature, and the warmest reading in almost 29 years. It’s hot everywhere: Dubuque made it to 100 degrees Wednesday for the first time in 24 years.
The high temperatures are not helping with efforts to conserve water in central Iowa.
On Tuesday, Des Moines Water Works supplied 96.64 million gallons of water to customers, breaking the previous record...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Water-use record again shattered in Des Moines as heat wave continuesIowa View: More extremes seen as climate changes
Posted by Des Moines Register: None Given on July 2nd, 2012
Des Moines Register: Summer 2012 is barely a week old, but already Iowans are wondering if we’re headed for a record setting season. Temperatures in Des Moines have flirted with 1934’s record of 102 degrees. It’s been a hot start to 2012.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the period of January to May was the warmest on record for Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Nebraska. Minnesota and Pennsylvania ranked “much above normal.”
The notable anomalies began...