Gumbo for Gulf house parties cook up response to Gulf disaster 7/02/2010

Like many others seeing the images of oil-covered birds and dead turtles washing ashore in the Gulf, Leslie Rennie from Beloit, WI felt helpless. Gumbo for the Gulf, a unique fundraiser launched by Environment America, gave her an easy way to make a difference.

Building a Solar Future: Repowering America’s Homes, Businesses and Industry with Solar Energy 3/09/2010

America has virtually limitless potential to tap the energy of the sun. Solar energy is clean, safe, proven and available everywhere, and the price of many solar energy technologies is declining rapidly. By adopting solar energy on a broad scale, the nation can address our biggest energy challenges – our dependence on fossil fuels and the need to address global warming – while also boosting our economy.

Plug-in Cars: Powering America Toward a Cleaner Future 1/21/2010

America’s current fleet of gasoline-powered cars and trucks leaves us dependent on oil, contributes to air pollution problems that threaten our health, and produces large amounts of global warming pollution. “Plug-in” cars are emerging as an effective way to lower global warming emissions, oil use, and smog. A plug-in car is one that can be recharged from the electric grid. Plug-in cars come in two types: plug-in hybrids that are paired with small gasoline engines, and fully electric vehicles that consume no gasoline at all.

Guest column: Clean energy would be a boon to Iowa 1/14/2010

Environment Iowa's analysis of investments in nuclear power concluded nuclear power is a wasteful, ineffective approach to the problem. It is a failing strategy that will actually set us back in the struggle to deal with a changing climate. Instead of building new nuclear reactors and instead of building more coal-fired power plants, we need to transition to clean energy. Iowa stands to benefit immensely in doing so.

Environmental group grades Iowa congressional delegation 12/30/2009

An environmental group has released a report outlining how Iowa’s Congressional delegation voted over the last year-and-a-half on bills designed to cut global warming and air and water pollution. Environment Iowa reviewed 15 votes in the House and seven votes in the Senate.

Guest column: Nuclear power not solution to global warming 12/13/2009

The Iowa Climate Change Advisory Council recently released its findings outlining the disastrous effects that rising global warming pollution will have on Iowa’s climate. Perhaps most alarming is the prediction that peak water flow in Iowa’s waterways will increase 50 percent by 2050, increasing flow and threatening Iowa’s cities and fields with more frequent and intense flooding. Clearly, swift action needs to be taken, both to anticipate the reality of our changing climate patterns and to prevent the worst effects of global warming. While smart, sensible solutions like energy efficiency, wind and solar are ready-to-go, proven ways to reduce our pollution, the nuclear energy industry has been quietly pushing for huge federal subsidies as part of a national clean energy and climate strategy and billing itself as the critical “solution to global warming.” The reality, though, is that nuclear power could barely make a dent in our global warming pollution in the next 20 years.