Recent action

Environmental report card for Congress

In June, Environment Iowa released our 2008 Congressional Scorecard, which ranks the environmental records of Iowa’s delegation. Overall, we found more champions than in the last several years and more solution-oriented bills, but not enough.

Additionally, the number of environmental champions nationwide doubled from 77 in 2006, to 154 in 2008. Here in Iowa, Reps. Bruce Braley (Davenport) and Dave Loebsack (Cedar Rapids) and Sen. Tom Harkin ranked champion scores.

“We applaud these members in Iowa’s congressional delegation for being champions of the environment. These members received 100 percent scores for consistently voting to protect the environment,” said Advocate Andrew Hug.

While the 110th Congress made progress in several key areas, such as raising the gas mileage standard, our elected officials jettisoned proposals to set a national renewable energy standard and to cut subsidies to oil, gas, coal and nuclear power.

More flooding, heat waves, drought forecast for Iowa

In December 2007, we released a report, “When It Rains It Pours,” which showed that storms packing heavy rainfall are 14 percent more frequent in Iowa than they were 60 years ago. A June 2008 study by NOAA confirmed our findings and predicts that things will get worse.

These storms inflict the greatest damage on annual row crops like corn and soybeans, the root systems of which do not hold soil or water very well. Weather extremes, plus skyrocketing energy costs, will force the greatest change to agriculture since the Great Depression.

As agriculture changes, Environment Iowa is promoting environmentally positive options, including winter cover crops, increased pasture and perennial energy crops as farmers adjust to these extremes.

Environment Iowa research predicts that Iowa’s weather will be disturbed by greater extremes as a result of global warming.

Mission Statement

We all want clean air, clean water and open space. But it takes independent research and tough-minded advocacy to win concrete results for our environment, especially when powerful interests stand in the way of environmental progress. That’s the idea behind Environment Iowa. We focus exclusively on protecting Iowa’s air, water and open space. We speak out and take action at the local, state and national levels to improve the quality of our environment and our lives.

Credits

Photos: Front page: George Burba under license from Shutterstock.com, Jixue Yang, Tim Lindenbaum (CC); Page 2: Mark Evans , staff, Joseph Ellis; page 3:Lars Lindblad under license from Shutterstock.com, Joshua Wanyama (CC); page 4: Luke Healey , Madeleine Openshaw under license from Shutterstock.com.

Editor: Andrew Hug Contributors: Jim Amspacher, Justin Boyles, Zach Cullimore, Matthew Curtis, Richard J. Hannigan, Sara Landis, Ethan Lavine, Jesse Littlewood, Leana Nordstrom, Jenna Perry Leschuk, Ryan Moeckly, Brittany Paris, Dan Platt, Nathan Proctor, Heather Shute, Drew Stephan, Jenne Turner. Publications Director: Richard J. Hannigan.

Design: Public Interest GRFX (215) 985-1113
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