A hot summer and dry spring have brought drought to a large part of the Midwest. The situation highlights the complexity of exiting drought when a state or region can slip into it relatively easily. Rainfall across parts of the Midwest in recent weeks is helpful, but it may not be enough to alleviate the dryness.
As climate change worsens, transit-dependent residents are among the most vulnerable to the elements — extreme heat, bone-chilling cold and everything in between. Here’s how Cedar Rapids and Iowa City are looking to make their transportation networks more accessible.
Several businesses report decreased yields, smaller produce and fewer customers.
Carbon tax credits are a “challenge to industry that says ‘if you can do this thing that makes sense for the climate, the U.S. government will pay you potentially tens, if not hundreds, of billions of dollars in funding for solutions’,” said Noah Deich, deputy assistant secretary for carbon management at the U.S. Department of Energy.
The lingering presence of wildfire smoke has made for an unusual start to summer across the Midwest. It also comes during a near-record drought and the threat of hotter summers.
Chris Gloninger is departing KCCI and his career in TV news in July, he announced Wednesday, citing family health issues and post-traumatic stress he suffered after receiving the threats.
Smoke from Canadian wildfires that turned skies along the East Coast a sickly yellow also brought air quality alerts to much of the Midwest last week. Climate experts say that as the planet continues to warm, this kind of spring will become less of an anomaly. In the process, air quality will continue to worsen, as will its impact on human health.
A new inventory maps which sectors decreased — or increased — their contributions to climate change.
International Paper’s Cedar River Mill plant at 4600 C St. SW — the largest 100 percent recycled paper mill in the Americas — broke ground Monday on its expansion project to generate an alternate steam supply and transition off coal-powered steam.
Three of Iowa’s largest metro areas -- Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Iowa City -- will seek $1 million each in federal climate change planning money available because the state declined the funds.
Another eight Cedar Rapids parks are slated to be revamped with community garden plots over the coming years as a step toward expanding access to healthy food and advancing climate action across the city.
While historical trends are tough to analyze, severe weather of the future may shift to be more variable and severe.
The area is one of 18 communities chosen by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for its urban heat island mapping campaign.
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.
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