Iowa Independent

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Interview: Zero-Energy Homes and Green Building

Green building expert David Johnston will be in Grinnell on Thursday to talk about residential contractors and how to go green. He is the co-author of “Green from the Ground Up: A Builder’s Guide to Sustainable, Healthy, and Energy-Efficient Construction.”


Free Global Warming Flick in West Des Moines

Iowa Global Warming will host a free screening of "The 11th Hour," a documentary about ecological threats on the planet, to be shown in West Des Moines Monday night.


Culver’s Energy Plan Takes Three-Pronged Approach

Gov. Chet Culver announced his energy plan today in a phone call from Washington, D.C., where he is attending the National Governor’s Association Conference. The three-pronged proposal leans heavily on improving energy efficiency standards.

One part of his approach calls for the establishment of a new commission within the Department of Public Safety that would focus [...]


Author Michael Pollan: “Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants”

Michael Pollan, whose best-selling book, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, recently reached the top of The New York Times’ best-seller list, drew an overflow crowd of nearly 400 people in Iowa City on Sunday afternoon. He was in town to read from his latest food-related book. 

Pollan was also feted at a so-called [...]


Game Review: My Left Footprint = 4.5 Earths

There are more than 6 billion humans living on Earth and if we all consumed, traveled and lived as I do, we’d need about four and a half Earths to sustain us, that’s according to an on-line game produced by American Public Media. 

If I continue to need so much energy and supporting infrastructure, a [...]


Video: Waterloo Coal Plant Annex Rejected by CDB

The City Development Board today rejected a proposal for the annexation of 345 acres to build a 750-megawatt coal plant east of Waterloo.  Opponents of the plant are calling the decision a “major victory.”

The area under review contains the property of Merle Bell whose family has farmed the same 40 acres for over a century.

Carole [...]


Videos: Energy Expo Speakers Optimistic about Iowa’s Energy Future

During her featured speech at the University of Iowa Energy Expo on Wednesday in Iowa City, Hunter Lovins said that pursuing corn ethanol was “daft.”  The audience, mostly college students, did not challenge her claim.  Her presentation and the theme of the Expo was focused on reducing our carbon footprint to reduce global warming [...]