Pruecil pre-school kids came to IC city council and Mayor Throgmorton declared a no straw day.
(Photo/Above) Pigs in a CAFO (concentrated animal feed operation). — photo via the United States Geological Survey, public domain
Two thousand four hundred ninety-nine. That is the magic maximum number of hogs allowed to construct a new confined animal feeding operation (CAFO, or factory farm) in Iowa without notifying local or county officials or adhering to state government regulations. Only a cursory review and approval by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and filing a plan for manure management with the county auditor, are required. There are no minimum requirements for acreage or distance from residences, schools, parks and sources of water unless the CAFO contains 2,500 hogs or more.
Currently, there are approximately 11,500 CAFOs that have been approved by DNR, and another 5,000 operations never approved but detected by DNR satellite photos, according to a September 15, 2017 Des Moines Register article. Representatives of the state, Farm Bureau and meat packing corporations estimate that Iowa should be able to handle 45,700 CAFOs. CAFOs produce lots of cheap pork (one-third of which we export) and the vast majority of the chickens and eggs consumed in Iowa. CAFOs also provide jobs in many economically distressed areas of the state. So what is the problem?
First, we have a huge manure problem. CAFO manure is stored in concrete lagoons under the hog sheds that can and have leaked raw manure into our water supply. Farmers also spray liquified manure onto fields. Runoff and farmland tile drainage systems pollute our water supply and contribute to Iowa’s current ranking as the state with the third most contaminated water.
Particulate matter from all this manure pollutes our air and soil. Nationally, CAFOs produce three times the amount of feces produced by the entire human population of the United States according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Hog manure releases methane, carbon monoxide, nitrogen, phosphorous, heavy salts and minerals into our atmosphere, contributing significantly to global warming. And this concentrated quantity of manure stinks! Just ask those who live close to a CAFO or drive around the countryside yourself on a warm, breezy day.
Second, CAFOs are making us sick. Hogs living in overcrowded sheds and standing on metal grates directly over the manure pits are fed antibiotics to prevent disease and promote growth. We ingest these antibiotics when we eat pork. Research from the University of Iowa and other universities has linked antibiotic resistant diseases such as the deadly MERSA virus to CAFOS. In addition, headaches, nausea, respiratory illnesses and developmental delays in infants and children have been reported for those living close to CAFOs. (Jefferson County Farmers and Neighbors, Inc. has several excellent reports on the research documenting the harmful effects of CAFO manure on children’s health and the environment.)
Third, consumers have little to gain economically from CAFOs. Farm record data indicate that the costs of industrial factory hog farms are only slightly lower than costs of average commercial producers. And the lion’s share of profits from the sale of pork go to the corporate owners, not to the individual farmers. Corporations are locating CAFOs pretty much wherever they want and most of that is in rural areas where they meet less resistance, regardless of the economic or social consequences for citizens. Small rural communities surrounded by factory hog farms and manure odors are hardly attractive to new businesses and young productive people who might be considering moving into the state.
Fourth, CAFOs are cruel and inhumane to both workers and pigs. The meat-packing industry employs many poor and immigrant workers who may not have legal papers. These workers are exposed to harmful fumes and chemicals from all the manure and often work dangerous jobs with unpaid overtime and no benefits in the packing plants. The threat of losing their income and deportation always looms, so they cannot complain. When ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) does show up, the corporate owners typically never pay a penalty or change their exploitative practices. Only the workers suffer.
Pigs are forced to live out their lives in overcrowded, stressful pens and breathe ammonia fumes. CAFOs that use farrowing crates are particularly cruel to the sows who spend most of their lives in cages so small they cannot walk or turn around. The industry has even found an ingenious way to deliver electrical shock to the sow who has the misfortune of lying on her piglets. When it’s time for the pigs to go to market, their torture continues. They are herded into crowded semis using electrical prods, often applied to the rectum, if they don’t move fast enough. Transported without food or water, they must suffer under diesel fumes, ammonia and extreme heat in the summer and are subjected to freezing temperatures in the trucks in winter. There are documented cases of hogs whose skin has frozen to the metal truck trailer side.
After herding into the packing plant, again with the aid of the electrical prods, the animals are supposed to be put out of their misery with stun guns applied to the brain. But, evidence from outside observers and employees reported by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) indicate that the stun guns may misfire due to equipment failure or lack of employee training. The result is that some pigs are dunked in the scalding tank while still alive! These plants operate 24 hours per day, seven days a week and may kill 1,000 hogs per hour.
So, what can we do? Both rural and urban Iowans must become active in shaping the destiny of our communities and state. Factory farming is not just a problem for poor, rural communities. The current Iowa state legislature has killed our precious Iowa value of local control. Like Big Tobacco, Big Oil and Big Pharma, Big Ag has the money and the power to influence the majority of our state legislators and government officials. They become complicit as their hefty campaign chests assure reelection. We cannot allow self-interest economics and corporate greed to continue to destroy our land, water, air and rural communities.
In his book, The Essentials of Economic Sustainability, John Ikerd observed that just as the South gave birth to the civil rights movement, it can be the predominantly rural states that save our land, air and water. So we must be active. You may choose to not eat pork. If you enjoy meat, ask your grocer or restaurant where their meat comes from. Although roughly 90 percent of pork sold in grocery stores and restaurants comes from CAFOs, there are many remaining farms that produce quality meat under healthy, humane conditions. Ask before you buy.
Call, email or write your legislators and government officials. Sign petitions. Talk to your neighbors, friends and family. Ask your county board of supervisors how they intend to promote sustainable and responsible farming methods. Ask candidates who are running for office their position on these issues. And VOTE! Vote in every local, county, state and national election for which you are registered. The point is, DO WHATEVER YOU CAN, BUT JUST DO SOMETHING!! And do it now.
The CAFOs are coming to Johnson County.
This article was originally published in Little Village issue 246.
[Source: Little Village, Issue 246, 3 Jul 2018]
A few summers ago I was watching neighborhood kids playing in the backyard of my apartment complex. They rolled on the grass and ran barefoot. Suddenly, I realized the lawn had been sprayed; a little warning sign perched on the yard’s edge. These kids paid no attention.
I advised the children not to play there, but the incident illustrates one of many problems with spraying chemicals on our grass.
The poisons that kill dandelions also affect microbes, earthworms, birds, bees and fish. In humans, toxins like glyphosate and dicamba cause nerve damage, cancer and reproductive disorders. Children and pets are most easily exposed to these chemicals, and not only through direct contact. Pesticides seep into the water table, they drift in the air, they’re tracked indoors, and they may be applied in public places.
Such exposure should be limited as much as possible, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. A 2012 study shows a positive relationship between pesticide exposure and the development of some cancers, particularly in children. Pesticides include herbicides, fungicides and bug sprays. And studies show that they last longer than you’d think. Those little signs don’t reflect an accurate longevity. There are other effects. Pesticides are likely the reason for Colony Collapse Disorder, the great disappearance of bees. We face the real danger of losing our pollinators. Without bees, there’s no food.
We also know that Iowa has a serious water quality problem; any toxic addition to our water system is troubling.
Many people are working to spread the word about lawn chemicals. A subcommittee of the 100 Grannies organization has affiliated with a state-wide group called Good Neighbors, linked with the Center for Energy and Environmental Education at the University of Northern Iowa. Backyard Abundance and New Pioneer Co-op are also active.
Linda Quinn is chair of the local Good Neighbors group. “This brings the issue of climate change, which can seem so big, down to the local level,” she says. “It’s something people can do to make a big difference.”
The group has been tabling and asking people to pledge to make their lawns pesticide-free.
Free yard signs are available, which proclaim “Good Neighbor — No lawn weed killers used here.” I like this emphasis on neighborliness. We all want to be good neighbors, and indeed, this is the reason many people spray their lawns. But with a little reflection, it becomes clear we can do better by not spraying.
Adds committee member Jan Stephan, “A lot of people are already chemical- free. It’s mostly landlords, condos and developers who are not. Our mission is to educate. Many say they had no idea they were hurting their kids or pets.”
The Iowa City Community School District has stopped spraying their properties (except for athletic fields). Ditto the Iowa City parks. The Iowa Department of Public Health has issued a “best practices” statement for day care centers to stop using outdoor pesticides and indoor insecticides.
Developers and condo boards, here’s your chance to market your properties as truly forward-thinking!
Says Quinn, “People think they must have manicured lawns. But how much nicer it is to have some diversity, with clover, dandelion, purslane, violet. These are all edible, too.”
Alternatives to spraying? You can ask lawn services for organic treatment, which may cost more. Or you can use appropriate grass seed, aerate and add compost, caring for your lawn yourself without chemicals. You could also plant fruit trees, a vegetable garden or prairie grasses. I once lived in a house with a rock garden out front. The possibilities are many. Some have suggested our climate crisis demands a mobilization like that during World War II, when everyone had a victory garden.
Stephan suggests we move past the idea that a lawn has to look like a golf course. “People worry about impressing the neighbors. But it’s better to figure out who you are and be true to that.”
Writers Group member Andy Douglas is author of “The Curve of the World: Into the Spiritual Heart of Yoga.”
Andy Douglas
Writers Group Iowa City Press-Citizen USA TODAY NETWORK
Be a good neighbor: Avoid using pesticide on your lawn by Andy Douglas and Writers Group Iowa City published in Press-Citizen
A few summers ago I was watching neighborhood kids playing in the backyard of my apartment complex. They rolled on the grass and ran barefoot. Suddenly, I realized the lawn had been sprayed; a little warning sign perched on the yard’s edge. These kids paid no attention.
I advised the children not to play there, but the incident illustrates one of many problems with spraying chemicals on our grass.
The poisons that kill dandelions also affect microbes, earthworms, birds, bees and fish. In humans, toxins like glyphosate and dicamba cause nerve damage, cancer and reproductive disorders. Children and pets are most easily exposed to these chemicals, and not only through direct contact. Pesticides seep into the water table, they drift in the air, they’re tracked indoors, and they may be applied in public places.
Such exposure should be limited as much as possible, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. A 2012 study shows a positive relationship between pesticide exposure and the development of some cancers, particularly in children. Pesticides include herbicides, fungicides and bug sprays. And studies show that they last longer than you’d think. Those little signs don’t reflect an accurate longevity. There are other effects. Pesticides are likely the reason for Colony Collapse Disorder, the great disappearance of bees. We face the real danger of losing our pollinators. Without bees, there’s no food.
We also know that Iowa has a serious water quality problem; any toxic addition to our water system is troubling.
Many people are working to spread the word about lawn chemicals. A subcommittee of the 100 Grannies organization has affiliated with a state-wide group called Good Neighbors, linked with the Center for Energy and Environmental Education at the University of Northern Iowa. Backyard Abundance and New Pioneer Co-op are also active.
Linda Quinn is chair of the local Good Neighbors group. “This brings the issue of climate change, which can seem so big, down to the local level,” she says. “It’s something people can do to make a big difference.”
The group has been tabling and asking people to pledge to make their lawns pesticide-free.
Free yard signs are available, which proclaim “Good Neighbor — No lawn weed killers used here.” I like this emphasis on neighborliness. We all want to be good neighbors, and indeed, this is the reason many people spray their lawns. But with a little reflection, it becomes clear we can do better by not spraying.
Adds committee member Jan Stephan, “A lot of people are already chemical- free. It’s mostly landlords, condos and developers who are not. Our mission is to educate. Many say they had no idea they were hurting their kids or pets.”
The Iowa City Community School District has stopped spraying their properties (except for athletic fields). Ditto the Iowa City parks. The Iowa Department of Public Health has issued a “best practices” statement for day care centers to stop using outdoor pesticides and indoor insecticides.
Developers and condo boards, here’s your chance to market your properties as truly forward-thinking!
Says Quinn, “People think they must have manicured lawns. But how much nicer it is to have some diversity, with clover, dandelion, purslane, violet. These are all edible, too.”
Alternatives to spraying? You can ask lawn services for organic treatment, which may cost more. Or you can use appropriate grass seed, aerate and add compost, caring for your lawn yourself without chemicals. You could also plant fruit trees, a vegetable garden or prairie grasses. I once lived in a house with a rock garden out front. The possibilities are many. Some have suggested our climate crisis demands a mobilization like that during World War II, when everyone had a victory garden.
Stephan suggests we move past the idea that a lawn has to look like a golf course. “People worry about impressing the neighbors. But it’s better to figure out who you are and be true to that.”
Writers Group member Andy Douglas is author of “The Curve of the World: Into the Spiritual Heart of Yoga.”
Andy Douglas
Writers Group Iowa City Press-Citizen USA TODAY NETWORK
Letter to the future generations
I am sorry. I apologize. The landfills are filling up. There are many large floating trash islands in our oceans. Water levels are becoming low and/or contaminated. Icebergs are melting. Breathing problems are increasing. I need to change.
It’s 2018. I am sorry I am so late. I am on board now. I had plenty of excuses for not realizing the impact of my life on others. Time, knowledge, life in general made me uninformed, clueless and careless.
I have done some things so far but all was really for my benefit. Save money, save gas, save time. It was done to benefit me.
This along with everyone else have led us to the current crisis. I am sorry.
My personal quest:
Become informed. Become observant. Become aware. Become helpful. Become inventive.
I start now. I can help. There are things I can do. The first step is to see the problem. To the future generations: There is a problem. I am trying and I will change.
— Charlene Lange, Iowa City
We take for granted today that the use of lead paint, asbestos insulation and mercury fillings are health hazards to be avoided. Likewise, herbicides in lawn chemicals pose grave dangers.
The poisons that kill violets, clovers and dandelions also affect soil microbes and earthworms, and are ingested by squirrels, birds, pets, deer, bees, fish and other wildlife, and can be found in our drinking water.
These agents — which include toxins like 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (usually called 2,4-D), glyphosate and dicamba, and have friendly names like Roundup — cause cancer, nerve damage, and endocrine and reproductive disorders. And those most susceptible are children.
Studies have found that our brains are vulnerable to these chemicals, especially during fetal and early childhood development.
Despite the 24-hour signage, these poisons can be found on lawns for as long as two months. Homes where sprays have been used are found to have these chemicals in carpets and furniture. A 2001 study found that a week after lawn treatment, 2,4-D could be detected on indoor surfaces, including tabletops and windowsill. Scientists found that indoor exposure to this toxin for children was about 10 times higher during the week after lawn chemical application than the week before.
There are many books on the subject of these chemicals and better solutions to minding our grounds, and websites including the Rachel Carson Council, Beyond Pesticides and many others.
Protect your family, the neighborhood and our wildlife, and say no to the chemical lawn.
— Brandon Ross, Iowa City
The national Community Rights movement represents a local level cultural and legal strategy for communities, both conservative and progressive, to begin to dismantle corporate rule from the local up! If you’re a single issue activist, as Paul Cienfeugos was for decades, using conventional methods, mostly regulatory hearings, protest marches, petitions, lawsuits, etc, it’s time to recognize corporate harms as merely symptoms of allowing corporations to claim constitutional “rights”, sometimes referred to as corporate personhood.
Join with Community Rights activists, be trained and guided, to pass enforceable laws that prohibit harms, by reigning in corporate “rights”. Join 200 communities in nine states which have already done so. Paul Cienfuegos offers his knowledge and expertise as a leader in the Community Rights movement. His email address is Paul@CommunityRights.US. For a selection of Paul and others’ writings, interviews, and speeches, and for more info on bringing Paul or other resource people to your community or registering for an upcoming teleconference workshop, go to www.CommunityRights.US
Interview and film by Barry Heidt of Sustainability Action Media (SAM) with help from Ruth Ann Barrett of EarthSayers.tv and Tom Hopkins of Sustainable Today. An earlier edition of this video was published here in October 2012. [View older version]
Barbara Schlachter Memorial Lecture Series: Stories from Brave Mother Earth Protectors
Fee: none. No registration. Open to All Ages
Mondays, 3/5 – 3/26
6:30 – 8 PM in room 202
Presenter: 100Grannies.org for a Livable Future
3/5: Jerry Schnoor, “Climate Change and Policy” (video)
In this talk, we will investigate the most recent effects of climate change and discuss how to mitigate and adapt to it. In addition, the latest developments on policy, both nationally and internationally will be discussed. Jerry Schnoor is a Professor of Environmental Engineering and Co-Director of the Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research.
3/12: Del Holland and Carolyn Dyer, “Iowa City Cohousing, the First Cohousing Community in Iowa”
Topics we will address are: the concept and brief history of cohousing in the United States and the roles it serves in maintaining an interdependent community for those who live there; the development of Prairie Hill, the community Iowa City Cohousing is building; the opportunities it provides for Iowa City folks, and how it will contribute to workforce housing and serve as a model in Iowa City of sustainable living. Del is a retired teacher who worked in the Iowa City and Cedar Rapids school districts. He is also active in environmental and sustainability organizations. Carolyn is a professor emerita of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Iowa.
3/19: Tim Dwight, “Solar Power: The Second Coming or Powering the World on Solar”
Tim’s solar energy journey began in 2008. He became involved with Integrated Power Corporation from Novato, CA, after leaving the NFL. Being involved in the day-to-day operations of iPower, researching and asking fundamental questions regarding solar’s growth potential, he has become passionate regarding solar. Direct legislative advocacy brought Dwight back to Iowa. He travels around Iowa with his trailer, educating people about solar and how it is cost effective. Come listen to Tim’s journey and hear about his solar energy companies. Tim Dwight is a Solar Energy Advocate with Integrated Power Corporation and President of Iowa Solar Energy Trade Association.
3/26: Suzan Erem, “Leaving a Healthy Farm Legacy: SILT’s Impact on Future Generations”
Escalating land prices jeopardize the hard work that has built our vibrant farmers’ markets, locally-sourced restaurants, Community Supported Agriculture and food co-ops. But without immediate and lasting action, local healthy food will become a passing fad. The Sustainable Iowa Land Trust is making it forever instead, through permanent protection of the land for sustainable food farming. Hear from one of SILT’s founders how this 3-year-old organization has already changed lives and local economies and how its mission will improve public health and the environment for generations to come. Suzan Erem is the president and co-founder of the Sustainable Iowa Land Trust, launched in January 2015 to permanently protect land to grow healthy food.
RESTAURANT LIST
These restaurants told us they have vegan options, but don’t be afraid to ask for vegan options anywhere. This page was originally a Word document from 2017 available for download here.
2 Dogs Pub
1705 S. 1st Ave, Iowa City
Atlas Restaurant
127 Iowa Ave, Iowa City
Backpocket Brewing
903 Quarry Rd. Coralville
Crust and sauce are vegan ( beer is vegan, too).
Basta Pizzeria Ristorante
121 Iowa Ave, Iowa City
319 337-2010
Blackstone Restaurant
503 Westbury Dr, Iowa City
Blaze pizza
201 S. Clinton St Unit 167, Iowa City
Bo-James
118 E. Washington, Iowa City
Bread Garden Market
225 S. Linn St, Iowa City
Salad bar with soup and lettuce salads and hot food. Lots of options. Some are labeled. Also have a vegan muffin and brownie.
Big Grove Brewery
Chips, salsa, guacamole; hongos tacos are vegan minus the dairy cheese.
Chili’s
2651 2nd St, Coralville
They will make it vegan at your request.
China Wok
2302 S. Clinton St., Coralville
Chipotle
201 S. Clinton St., Iowa City
Website says that beans, rice and tortillas are vegan( might ask), sofritas-tofu.
Cortado Coffee & Cafe
Vegan falafel, hummus, and pita, sandwiches and salads can be made vegan. Non-dairy milk available for coffee drinks. Also some vegan muffins.
Dumpling Darling
Vegan kimchi dumplings, green curry bao buns, edamame etc.
El Bandito’s
327 E Market St. Iowa City
Has separate vegan menu – fajita salad, black bean salad, chips and guacamole, portabello mushroom tacos, black bean tacos, portabella tacos, potatoes with rajas calabacitas, green gigantic. Some salsa is vegan, some is not—you need to ask. Specify vegan when ordering to make sure they don’t sauté anything in butter.
Fairgrounds
Vegan breakfast burrito, different wraps and sandwiches, roasted potatoes with salsa, waffles,pancakes, baked goods including regular and gluten free muffins, and cookies etc.
Forbidden Planet Pizza 111 S Dubuque St., Iowa City
Forbidden Planet is a non-vegan restaurant, but all three kinds of crust are vegan. They also have several different sauces that are vegan: traditional marinara, garlicky olive oil, and black bean sauce. (Their slow cooked marinara is not vegan. It contains cheese.)
Hamburg Inn No. 2
214 N. Linn St. Iowa City
Heirloom Salad
211 E Washington St, Iowa City
Most days have a vegan soup. Salads and sandwiches can be vegan.
Her Soup Kitchen
625 S. Dubuque St. Iowa City
High Ground Café
301 E. Market St. Iowa City
India Café
227 E. Washington St. Iowa City
Joseph’s Steakhouse
212 S. Clinton St. Iowa City
La Regia Taqueria
436 IA-1 Iowa City
Leaf Kitchen
301 Kirkwood Ave. Iowa City
Masala Indian Cuisine
9 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City
Buffet has vegan options and they are labeled. Several options on the regular menu. They
told us that the white rice is vegan.
Mellow Mushroom
1451 Coral Ridge Ave, Coralville
Several vegan options for pizza etc
Molly’s Cupcakes
14 S Clinton St, Iowa City
They have some vegan options.
New Pi
22 S Van Buren St, Iowa City
1101 2nd St, Coralville,
They have vegan sandwiches, wraps and salads, cookies, peanut butter bars, cake etc
Nile Ethiopian Restaurant
89 2nd St, Coralville
They have many vegan options.
Noodles and Company
2451 2nd St, Coralville
Some noodles are vegan, They said to let them know you want vegan dishes and they will assist.
Oasis
206 N Linn St, Iowa City
Lots of vegan options: humus, pita falafel, tabbouleh salad, red cabbage salad and majadra (lentils with caramelized onions).
Oyama
1853 Lower Muscatine Rd, Iowa City
Gomale (steamed spinach with sesame oil and sesame seeds), age tofu –fried, gyoza (vegetable) dumplings, miso soup, garden salad with ginger dressing, seaweed salad, rolls—peanut avocado, mantato ( mango and sweet potato), shitake maki, fried sweet potato, tofu teriyaki, vegetable yaki with udon or soba noodles.
Pancheros
32 S Clinton St, Iowa City
Rice is not vegan ( has butter ), but beans and veggies are vegan and so are all the toppings except sour cream and cheese.
Red’s Alehouse
405 N Dubuque St, North Liberty
They have a separate vegan menu with great options including a beetburger and flatbreads.
Short’s Burger’s & Shine
18 S. Clinton St, Iowa City
Short’s Burger’s Eastside
521 Westbury Dr., Iowa City
Sushi Popo
725 Mormon Trek, Iowa City
Takanami Resturant
219 Iowa Ave, Iowa City
Several rolls are vegan such as vegetable roll, cucumber , avocado, green monster—ask to be sure. Some soups, salads and entrees are vegan —need to ask.
Taste of China
1705 S 1st Ave, Iowa City
Several options, but you just need to ask.
Teddy’s Bigger Burger
324 E Washington St., Iowa City
Thai Flavors
340 E Burlington St, Iowa City
Thai Spice
1210 S Gilbert St, Iowa City
Several options, but ask about animal products like fish sauce or eggs.
The Airliner
22 S. Clinton St., Iowa City
The Mill
120 E Burlington, Iowa City
Trumpet Blossom
310 E Prentiss, Iowa City
All vegan restaurant with great patio. Try the reuben.
The Wedge
517 S Riverside Dr, Iowa City,
Which Wich
23 S Dubuque, Iowa City
925 25th Ave, Coralville
Wig and Pen East
363 N 1st Ave, Iowa City
Z’Mariks Noodle Cafe
19 S Dubuque St., Iowa City
Some noodles are vegan and tofu is an option. Some dishes are vegan minus the cheese.
Zombie Burger
180 E Burlington St., Iowa City
Vegan burger and salad is vegan minus the cheese.
Big kudos to the Iowa City Council for unanimously passing this resolution last week: Resolution calling on the United States Congress to pass a Revenue Neutral Carbon Fee and Dividend Program.
This proposed legislation is supported by about 400 local branches of Citizen’s Climate Lobby across the U.S. and Canada. Citizen’s Climate Lobby is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, grassroots advocacy organization focused on national policies to address climate change. The local Climate Lobby branch, Iowa City Climate Advocates, has been active for about five years, and it lobbied this week in the Cedar Rapids offices of Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst for support of this proposal.
The Climate Lobby’s proposal puts a price (“fee”) on carbon where it is extracted or imported, and returns the proceeds (“dividend”) to the public to offset the increasing cost of carbon-related daily living. Widely studied, the plan actually helps those at the bottom of the economic ladder and is minimally costly to those at the top without harming the economy. The plan’s predictable fee increases are supported by many corporations, as it helps them to plan ahead for making gradual energy transitions.
Because this plan relies on the market instead of regulations, it has found increasing support on both sides of the political aisle. Most importantly, many leading economists and climate scientists affirm that it will be effective at significantly reducing carbon in our biosphere.
This is timely and critically important.
A new study from the Carnegie Institution for Science published in the journal Nature indicates that climate change is occurring at a faster rate than previously predicted, and carbon emissions must be reduced more quickly to avert increasingly catastrophic consequences.
Twenty-five years ago, the Union of Concerned Scientists and over 1,500 independent scientists sent out a “Warning to Humanity.” The authors of the 1992 declaration feared that humanity was pushing Earth’s ecosystems beyond its capacity to support the web of life.
Now, “World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice” has been issued, and signed by 13,524 credible climate scientists from 180 countries. Despite notable progress with renewable energy and carbon, methane and other greenhouse gas reduction efforts, they tell us “humanity is not taking the urgent steps needed to safeguard our imperiled biosphere.”
Meanwhile, Reuters news just informed us: “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could launch a public debate about climate change as soon as January, Administrator Scott Pruitt said on Thursday, as the agency unwinds Obama-era initiatives to fight global warming.” This so-called debate about climate warming and its causes has been over for a long time, so this appears to be an obvious ploy to confuse the public and attempt to continue to raise doubts about anthropogenic climate change. The foxes in Washington are not just guarding the hen house, they are systematically tearing it down.
The American public is connecting the dots with regard to our rapidly increasing global climate crisis, and numerous polls indicate the majority now understands that the crisis is real, and human activity is the root cause. Overwhelmed by the current political upheaval and myriad attacks on environmental safeguards, many people do not believe they can make a difference.
The good news is: There are now 62 members of the congressional Climate Solutions Caucus — half Republicans and half Democrats. That number is steadily growing, and there is a movement afoot to initiate a similar caucus in the Senate. Every one of us can make a call to our senators and representatives to encourage them to join the caucus and support carbon fee and dividend legislation.
“Dangerous times are a crucible for change.” — Philippa Gregory “If the people will lead, the leaders will follow.” — Gandhi Miriam Kashia is a resident of North Liberty. She is a member of Iowa City Climate Advocates and the advocacy group 100 Grannies for a Livable Future.
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