Update from November 15, 2007

Dear Friends,

Every week – nay, every day – some new news on climate change hits the fan, underscoring the reality and severity of Earth’s rising temperature.  Yesterday, the Associated Press (AP) published a story entitled “Climate panel seen as too conservative.”  The article talks about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which, with Al Gore, recently won the Nobel Peace Prize for raising public awareness about global warming.

Like most reasonable folks, I’ve been impressed with the work of the IPCC.  Yet according to the AP story, two well-respected independent organizations – Center for Strategic International Studies and Center for a New American Security – just released a report comparing the past two decades of IPCC predictions with what actually occurred.  The report found that IPCC’s climate change forecasts consistently fell short of what really happened. You can find the full spiel at http://www.cnas.org/en/cms/?1278.

Is the IPCC too “conservative?”  Given the eagerness of industry and its apologists to discredit the scientific community’s integrity on global warming, it is understandable that the IPCC might be overly cautious so as not to risk being labeled “alarmist.”  But if anything, it appears that IPCC’s assessment of both the depth and speed of climate change doesn’t go far enough.

Which means . . . we need action, and we need it now!

And action we’re getting on many fronts, including the Johnson County Board of Health.  Board chairperson, Paul Deaton, recently sent a letter to other Iowa board of health officials saying, “I am writing to ask you to consider the health effects of global warming and the negative impact of existing and proposed coal fired power plants on public health in our communities.”  The letter specifically calls for action to oppose the construction of new coal-fired plants in Marshalltown and Waterloo.

Deaton had earlier written to Governor Culver, but “was not satisfied with the response.”   So Deaton and his colleagues are encouraging local health officials across Iowa and us, the general public, to put pressure on Culver to take a stand.  We need to let the Governor and Iowa lawmakers know that merely doing more good stuff – i.e., conservation, wind, geothermal, biomass, etc. – is not enough.  If we are to wrestle this climate-change bear to the ground, we’ve got to stop doing the bad stuff as well,.  And that means, first and foremost, a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants.

To read the full text of Deaton’s most recent communiqués, go to our website – www.imforiowa.org – and click on “Information” and then “Global Warming.”

Regarding the proposed coal-fired plant in Marshalltown, it’s important to generate significant turnout for an Iowa Utilities Board public hearing on January 14.  The hearing begins at 10:00 a.m., and it will be held at the Iowa Veteran’s Home in Whitehall Auditorium, 1301 Summit Street in Marshalltown.  For more information, visit http://plainsjustice.org/.

Also, Physicians for Social Responsibility and other citizens groups are in the early stages of planning a public meeting involving state lawmakers sometime the week of January 14.  As plans develop, visit the group’s website for further details at http://www.iowa-psr.org/index.html.  This could be an important opportunity to bring the message home to lawmakers and the Governor that the next legislative session must take a stand on new coal-fired plants.

I know this is a lot to take in, but . . . one more item:  I serve on the state’s Climate Change Advisory Council.  Our first meeting went well.  We adopted 1990 as our base year for measuring reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.  (MidAmerica’s representative to the Council was the only “no” vote.)  Unanimously, we identified four target years for developing greenhouse gas reduction scenarios – 2012, 2020, 2040 and 2050.  And on an 11 – 6 vote, we established greenhouse gas reduction targets of 50% and 80%.

The next meeting of the Climate Change Advisory Council is December 17 from 9:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. in the Rogalski Center at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, and the public is welcome to attend.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to check the home page of our website for upcoming events.

Ed Fallon