‘Environment’

The Des Moines Register showered more poll numbers on readers today, and the news is better for Democrats than it was over the weekend.
Though each Iowan seems to have his or her own ideas for how money should be cut from the budget, few blame the Democrats for overspending on their key priorities over the [...]

The push is on to dilute the climate change bills moving through Congress, and it’s not coming only from conservatives. Mother Jones’ Kate Sheppard reports today that 14 Senate Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, are urging their leadership to amend the proposal to grant more free polluting permits to the coal-burning utilities that emit [...]

Iowa’s rural private drinking water wells “have several contaminant problems, some long-standing and some emerging,” according to the results of a two-year study released last week.

As the federal government weighs stricter rules governing the disposal of coal ash, and as awareness of the potential dangers in Iowa continues to increase, it is important to note that while health risks are a major concern, there are many others that must be considered.

State Rep. Ralph Watts (R-Adel), an outspoken critic of climate change science, has been reappointed to the Iowa Climate Change Advisory Council.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley has reiterated his call for Congress to abandon climate change legislation in order to wait for an international treaty.

The company that tried and failed to construct a coal-fired power plant in Marshalltown is contemplating giving it another try, this time with natural gas.

Of the three big issues before Congress this year — health care, cap-and-trade and banking regulation reform — U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said that cap-and-trade will be the most controversial.
“It just seems to me that the push for cap-and-trade has slowed down very dramatically since the [U.S.] House passed it on the Friday before the [...]

Protective liners, locations restrictions and groundwater monitoring are just a few of the regulations Iowa’s Department of Natural Resources would like to see implemented by the federal government in regard to coal ash disposal. But environmentalists believe if federal officials follow Iowa’s suggestions, the public will still be at risk for contaminated groundwater supplies.

More than 75,000 postcards will be delivered to the Iowa offices of U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin today by regional electric co-op leaders who want to express their concern about potential cap-and-trade legislation.