Blog

Soon confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) will be emptying their manure holding pits. The stench and pollution can be detected for several miles from the CAFO and fields where the manure is spread. Children face a special risk to air...

Pregnant women and infants are highly susceptible to nitrates in well water. If you live near farm fields where anhydrous ammonia is spread, a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO), or the fields where CAFO manure is spread, you should be...

The Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club released its report “Soil: Grounding Us in Transformative Systemic Change”. Patti Naylor, Agriculture Committee Chair, pointed out, “To address the multiple crises that our biosphere faces, we need to advocate...

Iowa’s farming systems will need to change in order to effectively adapt to the climate changes that are already occurring and that are predicted to occur in the near future. A number of states already have created plans to adapt to climate change...

In the search for economic development opportunities and the race to increase the tax base, environmental concerns are often tossed to the side or considered as an afterthought. Iowa does not have an environmental policy act that requires...

The legislature has the power to regulate the CAFO industry and to protect Iowa’s air quality, water quality, and the neighbors. It is time for the legislature to step up to the plate and begin a major overhaul of the CAFO regulations.

The state of Iowa has an interest in maintaining, protecting, and preserving the waters of the state for today and for future generations. The government must protect and maintain the waters of the state for the public’s use. That is why is makes...

The things that we share – the commons – have been ignored, have been degraded, and have been given away to private companies and individuals. It is now time to restore those things that we all share. That is where the Act to Protect the Commons...

The values and priorities of the legislature and governor are reflected in the state budget. Iowa has utterly failed in fulfilling its fiduciary duty to care for the common assets of the state. Revenue must be raised to match the need instead of...

Iowa’s constitution provides the authority for the State of Iowa to establish a state bank. But the state of Iowa has never done so. Creating a state bank would provide financial mechanisms for ensuring that Iowa’s money could be leveraged for...