Record nitrate levels are wake-up call on Iowa water

by: desmoinesdem

Mon May 13, 2013 at 16:25:00 PM CDT

The news should be a wake-up call to state leaders: Iowa needs more than a voluntary strategy to reduce nutrients in our waterways. Not only are many of our rivers too polluted to support aquatic life, they are becoming more difficult and expensive to purify for drinking water. Nitrate levels are high in other parts of Iowa too, not only in the Des Moines area.

Another Iowa legislative victory for Big Ag

by: desmoinesdem

Wed May 08, 2013 at 09:49:00 AM CDT

But this year, the Iowa Pork Producers Association succeeded in convincing state lawmakers to relax requirements for CAFO operators to be able to store their own manure properly. All they had to do was dress up their effort as an attempt to help families with aspiring young farmers.

Bruce Braley explains his support for Keystone XL

by: desmoinesdem

Thu Apr 25, 2013 at 09:45:00 AM CDT

A Bleeding Heartland reader contacted Braley about his support for Keystone XL and shared the congressman's reply. I've posted it after the jump, along with information challenging some of Braley's assertions.

Earth Day open thread

by: desmoinesdem

Mon Apr 22, 2013 at 20:17:00 PM CDT

Today I had the pleasure of watching my friend and personal hero, 1000 Friends of Iowa co-founder LaVon Griffieon, educate groups of elementary school students about soil conservation. She carved up an apple to illustrate how little of the earth's surface is arable land, and by extension why we need to preserve our farmland. Several versions of this "apple earth" demo are available on YouTube. I've posted a couple of examples after the jump.

Speaking of our priceless Iowa farmground, Iowa State University is collecting data on soil erosion here. The researchers are interested in photographs of farm fields that have "experienced substantial soil movement or loss" due to spring rainstorms. You can submit photos to the Iowa Daily Erosion Project in the ISU Department of Agronomy.

Bruce Braley is no Tom Harkin

by: desmoinesdem

Sat Apr 20, 2013 at 16:45:00 PM CDT

The under-the-radar but more important news is that during a meeting of the House Energy and Commerce Committee this week, Braley joined conservative Democrats and all the Republicans to vote for H.R. 3, a bill mandating approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. An Energy and Commerce Committee press release explaining the purpose of this bill is after the jump.

For now let's leave aside the many environmental arguments against building the Keystone XL pipeline, and the big problems with the State Department's draft environmental impact statement on the project.

Braley is smart enough to know that Keystone XL won't create the thousands of jobs proponents claim. In fact, the pipeline is more likely to increase than decrease gasoline prices in the Midwest. Maybe Braley's longstanding support for Keystone XL is a gesture toward the labor unions that support the project, or maybe it's more convenient to vote for fake jobs than to explain why the jobs propaganda is wrong. Most of the House Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee oppose this bill. Braley's companions, aside from the committee Republicans, were John Barrow of Georgia, Gene Green of Texas, and Jim Matheson of Utah. They aren't pro-labor but have extremely poor voting records on the environment, a lot worse than Braley's.

Harkin has always been a strong supporter of organized labor, but he didn't let that cloud his judgment on Keystone XL. He has voted against that project repeatedly, most recently during the Senate's federal budget "vote-o-rama" last month. Iowa will be worse off without Harkin in the Senate.

UPDATE: Corrected the second paragraph to note that Braley voted for this bill when the full Energy and Commerce Committee approved it on April 17, not during the subcommittee meeting the previous day. Corrected the fourth paragraph to note that three other House Democrats supported the bill during the full committee vote. Added more details on the case against this bill after the jump.  

Iowa House votes to relax manure storage rules for CAFOs (updated)

by: desmoinesdem

Tue Apr 02, 2013 at 07:15:00 AM CDT

We live in Iowa, where most of our lawmakers take the Patty Judge view: "Iowa is an agricultural state and anyone who doesn't like it can leave in any of four directions."

Yesterday the Iowa House approved a bill to relax manure storage regulations for large confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). All of the House Republicans and two-thirds of the Democrats supported this bad legislation. Details on the bill and the House vote are below.

More than half of U.S. rivers "in poor condition for aquatic life"

by: desmoinesdem

Tue Mar 26, 2013 at 20:40:00 PM CDT

Compared to an EPA survey conducted in 2004, the latest data show a smaller percentage of rivers and streams in good condition and a higher percentage in poor condition.

An EPA summary of the key findings is after the jump. You can find more data on the National Aquatic Resource Surveys here, including this two-page fact sheet (pdf) and the full draft report (pdf). Iowa is part of the "temperate plains" region, discussed on pages 78 through 80 of that report. I've posted an excerpt below. Only 15 percent of rivers and streams in the temperate plains region were judged to be in good condition; 55 percent were in poor condition.

Iowa should reject the all-voluntary nutrient reduction strategy favored by agricultural interest groups. Given the awful state of our rivers and streams, we need some mandatory steps to reduce nutrient pollution, including numeric standards for nitrogen and phosphorus. Both EPA staff and environmental advocates in Iowa have called for strengthening the nutrient reduction strategy. Unfortunately, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey has a firmly closed mind.  

Six links to mark the International Day of Action for Rivers

by: desmoinesdem

Thu Mar 14, 2013 at 20:15:00 PM CDT

Contrary to what agribusiness industry lobbyists would have you believe, a majority of Iowa farmers "support expanding conservation requirements for soil erosion and the control of nitrogen and phosphorous runoff."

Iowa's confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs or factory livestock farms) create more untreated manure annually than the total sewage output of the U.S. population.

Aging sewer systems in urban areas also allow too much sewage to leak into watersheds. The I-JOBS infrastructure bonding initiative (signed into law by Governor Chet Culver) included some money to improve sewer systems in Iowa, but we need to do much more on this front.

Iowa Rivers Revival Executive Director Rosalyn Lehman recently published a call to revive Iowa's rivers in the Des Moines Register. I've posted excerpts from her guest editorial after the jump.

The Metro Waste Authority has created an Adopt a Stream website, with "resources to help you organize a stream cleanup in the Greater Des Moines area."

Dam removal as part of a river restoration project supports local economic activity as well as the environment.

Iowa Senate confirms Gipp, Lukan, and other Branstad appointees

by: desmoinesdem

Tue Mar 12, 2013 at 09:35:00 AM CDT

Chuck Gipp, who has been serving as director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources since last May, shortly after his predecessor resigned;

Steve Lukan, whom Branstad hired to run the governor's Office of Drug Control Policy last June;

Nick Gerhart, who replaced Susan Voss as state insurance commissioner at the end of 2012;

Robert von Wolffradt, whom Branstad appointed as Iowa's chief information officer last May.

Seven of the nominees senators confirmed yesterday will serve on state boards, councils, or commissions, including Joanne Stockdale, a former chair of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry who is one of Branstad's appointees to the Environmental Protection Commission.

Latest Obama cabinet appointments: Energy and EPA

by: desmoinesdem

Tue Mar 05, 2013 at 07:10:00 AM CST

McCarthy has served as the EPA's top air quality official since 2009. Because she is well-qualified for the position and committed to making the country's air cleaner, environmentalists are excited about this choice. I hope that Obama is not merely "promoting a climate change champion" to soften the blow when he approves the KeystoneXL pipeline. The State Department's draft report on KeystoneXL whitewashed the impact that project would have on the environment.  

Also yesterday, Obama formally nominated Sylvia Matthews Burwell to be the new director of the Office of Management and Budget. The White House announcement notes, "She served as Deputy Director of the OMB from 1998 to 2001, as well as Deputy Chief of Staff to the President and Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the Treasury during the Clinton administration." UPDATE: I should have added that Burwell is a former president of the Gates Foundation's Global Development Program, and that her most recent job was running the Wal-Mart Foundation.

The president has not yet announced his picks to run the departments of Labor, Transportation, or Commerce.

Fallon planning "Great March for Climate Action"

by: desmoinesdem

Sat Mar 02, 2013 at 10:09:00 AM CST

Last night Fallon revealed his plans: "This is a campaign to mobilize 1000 people to march coast-to-coast, demanding action on climate change - action from both the American people and from our public officials. The Great March for Climate Action will set-out from the west coast one year from today and arrive in Washington, DC the weekend before the mid-term election. It will be the largest coast-to-coast march in our nation's history."

The full announcement is after the jump. Organizing a march on that scale will be a tall order.

New jobs for former lawmakers and another term for Regent Craig Lang

by: desmoinesdem

Fri Mar 01, 2013 at 10:50:00 AM CST

Davenport municipal water high in "toxic trash"

by: desmoinesdem

Wed Feb 27, 2013 at 09:55:00 AM CST

Weekend open thread: Frightening news

by: desmoinesdem

Sun Feb 24, 2013 at 10:42:06 AM CST

To get the conversation started, I've posted some scary or disturbing news after the jump.

Iowa Congressional voting on the environment: Not a pretty picture

by: desmoinesdem

Thu Feb 21, 2013 at 10:55:00 AM CST

Mid-week open thread, with latest Obama cabinet news

by: desmoinesdem

Wed Feb 20, 2013 at 20:25:00 PM CST

Florida Governor Rick Scott is the latest Republican governor to decide to expand Medicaid under the 2010 health care reform law. He was one of those leading the charge to have the law declared unconstitutional. Some comments from today's press conference are after the jump as well. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, Ohio Governor John Kasich and Michigan Governor Rick Snyder are all Republicans who opposed the Obama administration policy but have agreed to expand Medicaid in their states. I hope that when Iowa Governor Terry Branstad meets with U.S. Health and Human Services officials later this week, he will find some face-saving way to agree to expand Medicaid here. So far he sounds determined to resist the policy, despite the consensus of every major Iowa medical group as well as a wide array of religious and social justice organizations.

This is an open thread: all topics welcome.

Bruce Rastetter tried to educate distinguished Iowa professor

by: desmoinesdem

Tue Feb 19, 2013 at 16:09:32 PM CST

Voluntary Nutrient Reduction Strategy Will Not Work

by: Francis Thicke

Thu Jan 24, 2013 at 20:30:15 PM CST

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture rules out big changes to water quality strategy

by: desmoinesdem

Wed Jan 23, 2013 at 14:10:00 PM CST

Cleaner air coming near three of Iowa's largest coal-fired power plants

by: desmoinesdem

Wed Jan 23, 2013 at 09:50:00 AM CST

Follow me after the jump for details on this very big news for Iowa air quality.