“Howard said she wasn’t initially opposed to the solar farms, but after a second project…she’s had enough. ‘I just think we need to get to the bottom of this. It’s not about the money, it’s about the humans that are living on the earth’”…<chef’s kiss> kcrg.com/2024/09/16/rur…

Continued use of corn for fuel is the dumbest natural resource decision ever made in the US. 20% of Iowa’s land is used for this purpose, and it has changed for the worse the fabric of agriculture

This story about antibiotic resistance maybe killing 39 million of us by 2050 does not mention the words “animal agriculture,” which drives a lot of antibiotic resistance. (Also it has overrun a third of the land on earth - suboptimal!) washingtonpost.com/science/2024/0…

“Nashua Water/Wastewater Supervisor Nick Henningsen said he cannot be certain how long the leak occurred before a citizen reported it Wednesday night.” - When the water is already so degraded, it can be hard to recognize more pollution. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/09/19/160…

Pretty remarkable that after a wet Spring and early summer that brought flooding, we are back to worrying about drought. This is what a changing climate does to Iowa. desmoinesregister.com/story/weather/…

Former Iowa Senator Tom Harkin hit the nail on the head with this piece describe what CAFOs have done to Iowa—polluting water, poisoning air, and pushing independent farmers out of businesses. He's also right that we have to find alternatives. desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/…

If lawmakers won't give us clean water, then the citizens have to take matters into their own hands. desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/…

I grew up in a county in IL with "severe" density of CAFOs. I remember when pig barns and lagoons started popping up among the corn and soy fields outside of town. The reality for many rural communities is that they've become sacrifice zones of pollution from Big Meat

“Factory farms in Iowa produce 109 billion pounds of waste each year, according to a new report from Food and Water Watch…That’s 25 times more waste than what all Iowans combined produce, according to the report.” iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/09/24/rep…

“Anyone that thinks ethanol is good for the climate in 2024 thinks the world is flat,” Austin Frerick at The Harkin Institute

“Spare me the idea that a technological fix is going to correct [nutrient pollution],” Jonesingforthetruth said at The Harkin Institute. “Why should the taxpayer help farmers and the industry do this when they won't even buffer our streams? It’s bulls**t.”

“The way we regulate nitrate now, is probably not adequately protective for public health,” - ⁦Keeve Nachman⁩ 👏 👏 👏 ipmnewsroom.org/big-rains-are-…

A new location for me this week evening…

“The Mississippi River is America’s river, and it’s polluted.” A quote from David Cwiertny about PFAS in our water from an afternoon session at the Desk’s fall mini-conference.

It’s just mind boggling to me, as someone who worked deep in the climate movement for 15 years, that all we have to show for it are cleaner power and electric cars and *literally zero preparation or budget* for the massive human displacement and relocations already underway.