Articles Tagged: Climate change

The impacts of climate change hit communities across the country, yet voters in rural communities are the least likely to feel Washington is in their corner.

Shanza Sami’s invention could soon bring one of the first major updates to the catalytic converter in decades.

States across the Mississippi River basin are experiencing drought more commonly found in the arid Southwest, federal data show. The dryness has disrupted agriculture, beached barges and upset ecosystems across large swaths of the Midwest, Great Plains and beyond, in epic proportions — even as the region also sees climate change-induced increases in rainfall.

The 4-plus years since Justin Glisan was hired have included historic droughts, flooding and storms like the 2020 derecho.

As rainfall has increased — a symptom of our warming atmosphere — the frequency of flooding has intensified. Now, river-adjacent communities like Cedar Rapids are turning away from flood mitigation to instead make room for the water.

A journalism partnership of more than 14 newsrooms — including The Gazette — asked climate scientists to analyze 50 years of rainfall patterns. They found that some parts of the U.S. now receive up to 8 more inches of rain each year than they did 50 years ago.

Climate change is redrawing the agricultural map of the United States. As corn becomes less economically viable with changing Midwestern weather patterns, farmers look to a more diverse future.

After regent Nancy Boettger warned Iowa State University last month to keep free speech in mind while teaching on the “politically charged topic” of climate science, she gave ISU a pair of books from the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change — which denies the notion of human-induced climate change.

Brenna Bird pointed to several administrative rules that she said she’d challenge in court as Iowa’s attorney general, including plans to change the Waters of the U.S. rule.

State officials want to develop a drought plan that would include a trigger point to call for precautions, such as water rationing. Iowa has been ruled highly vulnerable to drought in part because crops are not irrigated.

Iowa’s nine coal-fired power plants produced about 24 percent of the energy in the state in 2020.

A NASA climate research scientist who has spent much of her career explaining how global food production must adapt to a changing climate was awarded the World Food Prize on Thursday.

In celebration of Earth Week, the Linn County Office of Sustainability invites the public to join in an engaging conversation on climate change and climate action. This in-person event is free and open to the public, and will be held Wednesday at 6 p.m.

Iowa lost some of its largest trees in the 2020 derecho. Given that climate change may increase frequency and strength of storms, how can we increase the odds future generations have big trees to enjoy?

Love them or hate the devices, the City Council is slated to consider keeping electric scooters and bikes. The city may OK a three-year contract extension with VeoRide for the device rental program with changes to address safety and clutter concerns.