climate crisis
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We’ve lived through the hottest 12 months since record-keeping began. It’s not just me saying this. It’s likely the hottest it’s been in 125,000 years according to scientists quoted by the Washington Post. It is not a risky thing to say that our planet will pass the tipping point of climate change. With the increased… Read more
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The climate crisis remains with us. A series of news articles reported stresses on Earth to which climate change contributed or caused: Canadian wildfires, heated ocean temperatures off the coast of Florida, the failure of a generation of Emperor Penguin fledglings to survive because of melting sea ice, Hurricane Hilary in California, Maui wildfires, and… Read more
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It has been ten years since I first attended former vice president Al Gore’s training on the climate crisis. Since then, the organization surpassed 50,000 trained climate leaders located in 190 countries. Every one of them will be needed because there is so much to be done to solve the climate crisis. July 2023 was… Read more
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There is an official Earth Day website which indicates how far the observance has come since 1970. In addition, there are proclamations by governing bodies, festivals supporting “Mother Earth,” and oil and gas companies touting their actions to capture CO2 emissions and recycle plastics. I’m not sure any of this helps reduce the impact of… Read more
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It was 64 degrees at 3 a.m. Saturday morning. That’s weird. A gardener contends with weather, so temperature anomalies come with the work. The vegetables I plant in my Midwestern garden have a wide range of tolerance to climate, moisture and light. They have been bred and propagated because of those qualities. Potatoes and onions… Read more
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Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity reported their warehouse in Iowa City was destroyed by a tornado. They sent this email yesterday: As a result of the March 31 storms that brought tornadoes through towns across Eastern Iowa, our 5,760 square foot warehouse used as the main storage space for our construction tools, supplies, materials, safety… Read more
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In 2019, the University of Iowa signed a 50-year contract for a consortium of private companies to operate their coal-fired power plant and more. They should have phased out the coal plant and initiated a plan to transition to alternatives to provide the electricity and steam required. No one was listening to any of the… Read more
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There is a lot of climate-related stuff going on in Iowa. The presumption that made Iowa an agricultural center is there would be enough naturally occurring rain in the growing season to support our major crops of corn, soybeans, and hay. I’m not sure where winter tornadoes fit in. On Jan. 16, two tornadoes were… Read more
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It is my minority opinion that avocados should be avoided in the United States. Don’t buy them, don’t eat them. The fruit has become popular, and because of it, Mexican growers can’t keep up with demand. This creates a problem. To meet surging demand in the U.S., farmers in Mexico have cut down swaths of… Read more
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When a person lives in Iowa it is hard to avoid noticing the harvest. 74 percent of Iowa soybeans and 38 percent of corn had been harvested as of Oct. 17. We are running a few days ahead of historical averages because it has been exceedingly dry. The entire state is experiencing drought conditions. I… Read more
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