If you live in central Iowa, you’ll have a lot of fun events to choose from this weekend:

1. Saturday, April 21, “Blues for Greens” event at Water Works Park, Des Moines–10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Water Works Park is west of Fleur Drive and north of George Flagg Parkway.) 

The Iowa Department of Natural Resource, in association with the Iowa Clean Cities Coalition, and the Iowa American Lung Association, is planning an event that will feature E85, electric, hybrid, diesel, propane, natural gas and flex fuel vehicles at Waterworks Park in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday April 21st, 2007. 

“Blues for Greens” features environmentally friendly organizations, with blues music and ethnic food vendors acting as the backdrop for this family-friendly event.

2. Sunday, April 22: Earth Day at Greenwood Park ( 4500 Grand Ave., Des Moines ), 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Several activities that incorporate nature through the arts have been planned for people of all ages.

Go here and click 2007 Earth Day: A Greenwood Experience for more information about this free event sponsored by Metro Waste Authority, Des Moines Parks and Recreation, Polk County Conservation, Metro Arts Alliance and Open Arts.

3. Sunday, April 22: Earth Day in the Junction, Historic Valley Junction, West Des Moines. Click here for more information about this event.

5K Run ~ 10 am

Kids’ Fun Run ~ 11:30 am

Earth Day Celebration ~ 12 – 5 pm

Below are some of the activities planned:

An Inconvenient Truth will be played throughout the afternoon.

Rasmussen Bike will be providing free bike check ups to anyone who bikes to the event.

Heard Gardens is going to be doing a planting demonstration.

Toyota of Des Moines will be bringing hi-bred cars to the event.

Plus…local exhibitors, live music, kids’ activities and food vendors.

Feel free to post information about Earth Day events in your area.

The organization American Rivers has released its list of America’s 10 most endangered rivers, and the Iowa River is number 3 on the list, thanks to “weak enforcement of the Clean Water Act.”

Here is the short explanation for the ranking:

The Iowa River and its tributaries provide a boon to local economies, offering drinking water to nearby communities and wonderful recreational opportunities. Yet a host of polluters inundate the river with toxins and untreated sewage. Unfortunately, the state of Iowa trails far behind the rest of the country in implementing and enforcing the federal Clean Water Act. Unless the state wants water quality in the Iowa and other rivers to deteriorate even further, Iowa must adequately implement key provisions of the Clean Water Act and provide its Department of Natural Resources sufficient funding to enforce these regulations.

If you click through, you can download a pdf that has more detail about this assessment, and you can watch a video of Susan Heathcote, Water Program Director of the Iowa Environmental Council, explaining why the river is considered “endangered.”

At first I worried about this report, but then I remembered that Iowa is an agricultural state and anyone who doesn’t like it can leave in any of four directions.