Carbon Dioxide Pipelines

• Sept. 28, Webinar "Carbon Pipelines: A Disaster Waiting to Happen"

• Sign our petition telling decision-makers to reject CO2 pipeline projects

Healthy Soils

• Attend Our Annual Meeting, Sept. 26, 2:00 - 3:30, via webinar with keynote speaker Alan Guebert

• Kiss the Ground, movie screening Sept. 19 to 26

Voting

• Redistricting - 2 things you can do

• Upcoming Elections for School Board, City Council, & Mayor

• Petition to Repeal Iowa's New Voter Laws

Coal Update

• MidAmerican Energy - still greenwashing

• MidAmerican Energy - Green In Name Only

• Sioux City paddles with Beyond Coal’s Graham Jordison

• Take Action on MidAmerican’s Coal Fleet

• Muscatine Power & Water - planning transition from coal

Events

• Join us for interesting and informative webinars and Lunch and Learns

Plus

• Contribute to the Iowa Chapter

• Volunteer for the Iowa Chapter

• Calendar of events

• To see the archive of previous Iowa Chapter newsletters

• To see the White Pine Needle newsletter

Redistricting - 2 things you can do

On September 16, the Legislative Services Agency delivered a set of proposed congressional and legislative districts to the legislators.  The maps lay out the districts for each US Representative plus each Iowa House and Senate member.  The maps are based on the recent census data.  These maps will be used for the next ten years. 

The Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club has reviewed the maps.  We believe that the maps follow the US Constitution, the Iowa Constitution, and the Iowa laws, in that they have equal-sized districts, the districts are compact, and that they were developed without consideration of political party registrations of the citizens.  The districts are not gerrymandered.  See the maps

The Iowa legislature will be meeting on October 5 and will be considering these maps.  We encourage the Iowa legislators to approve the maps.

Step 1: Contact both of your legislators and ask that they approve the redistricting maps that were introduced on September 16, 2021.

You can use our action alert

or send your own email message

Email, address, and phone number for Representatives

Email, addresses, and phone numbers for Senators

Find your legislator

Step 2: While you are at it, the Temporary Redistricting Advisory Commission is also taking written comments about the maps.  These written comments must be made by 6:00 pm on September 22.  Tell them that you support the maps and that they satisfy the constitutional and legal requirements and ask that they recommend that they legislation approve the maps.

To make a comment to the Temporary Redistricting Advisory Commission

Kiss the Ground, movie screening Sept. 19 to 26

The award winning movie, Kiss the Ground, will be available to watch for free for all Sierra Club members during the week of September 19 at 12:00pm through September 26 at 12:00pm.  Click here to sign up to watch Kiss the Ground from home at your convenience!

Narrated and featuring Woody Harrelson, Kiss The Ground is an inspiring and groundbreaking film that reveals the first viable solution to our climate crisis.  Kiss The Ground reveals that, by regenerating the world’s soils, we can completely and rapidly stabilize Earth’s climate, restore lost ecosystems and create abundant food supplies. Using compelling graphics and visuals, along with striking NASA and NOAA footage, the film artfully illustrates how, by drawing down atmospheric carbon, soil is the missing piece of the climate puzzle.

This movie is positioned to catalyze a movement to accomplish the impossible – to solve humanity’s greatest challenge, to balance the climate and secure our species future.

Our Annual Meeting, Sept. 26, 2:00 - 3:30, via webinar with

Keynote Speaker Alan Guebert

You are invited to join us for our annual meeting which will be on September 26 from 2:00 to 3:30.   Alan Guebert is an award-winning agricultural journalist. He writes a weekly syndicated agriculture column “The Farm and Food File” that appears in more than 60 newspapers in the United States and Canada. After graduating from the University of Illinois, he worked as a writer and senior editor at Professional Farmers of America and Successful Farming magazine. He served as a contributing editor to Farm Journal magazine. From 1995 through 2007, Guebert wrote “Letter from America,” a monthly perspective on U.S. farm and food policy for European and Asian publications.  Register for the webinar and we will send you access information.

Sept. 28, Webinar "Carbon Pipelines: A Disaster Waiting to Happen"

Tue, Sep 28, 2021  7:00 PM  - 8:30 PM.  RSVP here and we will send you the link. 

Webinar co-Sponsored by Sierra Club Iowa Chapter and Food and Water Watch 

“It was just after 7 p.m. when residents of Satartia, Mississippi, started smelling rotten eggs. Then a greenish cloud rolled across Route 433 and settled into the valley surrounding the little town. Within minutes, people were inside the cloud, gasping for air, nauseated and dazed.” 
- Excerpt from Satartia, Mississippi Pipeline Explosion Investigation

This could happen in Iowa if two proposed carbon pipelines are approved.  

Join us on Tuesday, September 28 at 7:00pm to hear about the Carbon Pipeline disaster in Satartia, Mississippi and how we can stop the carbon pipelines in Iowa.
 

Iowa has two new pipeline proposals. Both are centered around Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). The lines would carry captured carbon from ethanol plants. CCS is very complicated but when you boil it down, the basic premise is that it captures the carbon and stores it underground (CCS) or it captures the carbon and uses it for industrial purposes. The two pipelines in Iowa are being offered as false climate solutions as they will be utilized for enhanced oil recovery and extending the life of coal-fired power plants. 

We already know the solutions to our climate crisis - we must end our dependence on fossil fuels and invest in solar, wind, storage, conservation and efficiency! 

Speakers: 

Carolyn Raffensperger, M.A., J.D. - Carolyn is executive director of the Science and Environmental Health Network and member of the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter Executive Committee. In 1982 she left a career as an archaeologist in the desert Southwest to join the environmental movement. She first worked for the Sierra Club in Chicago where she addressed an array of environmental issues, including forest management, river protection, pesticide pollutants, and disposal of radioactive waste. She began working for SEHN in December, 1994. As an environmental lawyer she specializes in the fundamental changes in law and policy necessary for the protection and restoration of public health and the environment. She is best known for her work on the precautionary principle. 


Dan Zegart - Dan is an investigative journalist and the senior investigator at the Climate Investigations Center.  A ten-year newspaper veteran, he has written, reported or produced for Ms., The Nation, Reader’s Digest, Salon, the Associated Press, The New York Times, PBS Frontline, ABC TV Directions - including the Emmy-nominated “Aging in Venice” - as well as ABC TV 20/20, and CBS Evening News. He is the author of two books, Civil Warriors: The Legal Siege on the Tobacco Industry, and Your Father’s Voice: Letters for Emmy about Life with Jeremy - and Without Him after 9/11.

Sign our petition telling decision-makers to reject CO2 pipeline projects

Sign our petition for NO CO2 Pipelines in Iowa  Tell our decision-makers to reject these projects! 

Iowa has two new pipeline proposals.  Both are centered around Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). The lines would carry captured carbon from ethanol plants. CCS is very complicated but when you boil it down, the basic premise is that it captures the carbon and stores it underground (CCS) or it captures the carbon and uses it for industrial purposes. The two pipelines in Iowa are being offered as false climate solutions as they may be utilized for enhanced oil recovery and extending the life of coal-fired power plants. 

We already know the solutions to our climate crisis - we must end our dependence on fossil fuels and invest in solar, wind, battery storage, conservation and efficiency!

Please sign our petition for NO CO2 Pipelines in Iowa!

Map of proposed Summit CO2 Pipeline:

Map of proposed Navigator CO2 Pipeline:

Upcoming Elections for School Board, City Council, & Mayor

We are in the midst of the campaign season for mayor, city council members, and school board members.  Mayors, city council members, and school board members can have a huge impact on the environment.  Get to know the candidates.  Ask them some environmental questions.  Most importantly, vote.

The calendar for the election follows

• October 5: city primaries
• November 2: city election, school board election
• November 30: city run-off, if needed

There are a number of ways that mayor and city council members are selected.  Based on how the seats are selected, the election cycle will vary.

• Some are selected at-large; others run in wards
• Some cities have primaries; others do not
• Some will have a run-off after the election if there is not a clear winner

If you have questions about the races or the issues that the city council or school board members have been confronting, here is who you can contact:

• County auditor - names of candidates and polling places
• City manager, mayor, council members - information about the council and mayor races, if candidates run in wards or at-large, if there are primaries
• School superintendent - information on the school board

Last month, the Iowa Sierran ran a number of articles about the upcoming local elections.  To see those articles:

• Advancing Environmental Issues One Step at a Time

• Get to Know Your School Board Candidates

• Get to Know The Candidates For City Council & Mayor

• School Boards Have a Role in Protecting Children From Factory Farm Emissions

• Solar for Iowa Schools

• Tips for getting involved in local government issues

MidAmerican Energy - still greenwashing

MidAmerican Energy - Green In Name Only.  Despite flashy branding and greenwashed marketing, MidAmerican Energy has no plans to say goodbye to fossil fuels and its five Iowa coal plants.  In fact, those five coal plants make MidAmerican Energy Iowa's number one climate polluter.  To learn more, see the flyer Blowing Smoke

Sioux City paddles with Beyond Coal’s Graham Jordison.  Nebraska Beyond Coal organizer Graham Jordison is paddling the full Missouri River this summer and calling attention to nearby coal plants along the way.  Several coal plants dot the riverside of the Missouri River in Iowa, including the George Neal North and George Neal South plants which are located south of Sioux City and owned by MidAmerican Energy.  The Northwest Iowa Group of the Sierra Club hosted Graham as he paddled through Sioux City and heard first hand from his experience.  A small flotilla of Sierra Club volunteers paddled with him when he relaunched the next day.  Graham was headed to Council Bluffs, where MidAmerican Energy has another coal-fired power plant - the Walter Scott Jr. Energy Center.

The Sierra Club is working on shuttering all coal plants.  At this point, MidAmerican refuses to retire their coal plants even though they claim that they are delivering 100% renewable energy to their Iowa customers. 

Photo: Graham Jordison (left), paddles in the morning light on the Missouri River near Sioux City along with Sierra Club members Andrea Porter and Bill Zales. Photo by Emma Colman.

Take Action on MidAmerican’s Coal Fleet:  The Iowa Utilities Board required MidAmerican Energy to file reports of their emissions.  We are engaged in the Emissions and Planning Budget docket (SPU-2021-0003) and are calling for more coal retirements. 

The Utilities Board is currently accepting public comments about MidAmerican Energy’s emissions.  Since the focus is tied to emissions that affect all Iowans we encourage any Iowan to comment.  Details on how to submit a public comment can be found here (https://iub.iowa.gov/online-services/open-docket-comment-form). You can submit a comment directly through the website or mail in a hard copy.

Are you definitely wanting to write but not sure what to say? Wanting some help?  Katie Rock will be hosting some lunch time office hours via Zoom.   RSVP for Open Work Session: MidAm Public Comments to IUB: 

• Wednesday September 22, 12 to 1pm
• Friday September 24, 12 to 1pm

Muscatine Power & Water - planning transition from coal

Muscatine Power & Water (MPW) recently announced an official retirement date for three of its four coal burning units for May 31, 2023. A decision on how to replace the remaining 170 megawatt unit 9 has been delayed until this fall.

MPW hired a solar company, Ranger Power, to begin building a 30 megawatt solar farm.

In August Sierra Club partnered with Clean Air Muscatine to host a public forum on Muscatine’s transition from coal.  You can watch the forum here to get caught up.

Lunch and Learns

Every Friday at noon, we do a Lunch and Learn livestream.  See us on Facebook at "Sierra Club Iowa Chapter".  These will be recorded so you can watch them anytime.  Topics will be selected based on what is happening during the week and will be announced the day before the livestream.  During the legislative session, we cover issues coming before the Iowa legislature.

In case you missed our past webinars and lunch and learn sessions, you can still see them.

We hope you can join us.

Volunteer for the Iowa Chapter

Almost everything we do is done by volunteers like you.  If you would like to volunteer for the Iowa Chapter, please let us know by sending an E-mail to Iowa.chapter@sierraclub.org.  Or sign up by using the online form.  There are many opportunities for you to make a difference:

• making phone calls

• developing graphics for banners and flyers

• working on legislative issues

• working on elections

• fundraising

• organizing events

• joining an issue committee

If you would like to join a committee on the Peoples Budget, sign up here please fill out our People's Budget Volunteer Form so we can build our organizing team for this project.  A large number of Sierra Club issues require some involvement with Iowa's state budget. Budgets reflect theories of government. Iowa’s political conversation rarely moves beyond the notion that government’s primary responsibility is to grow the economy. Hence we give corporations tax breaks, but slash funding for health care, environmental protections and public interest research at our three state universities.  We hold a different view of government and that is government is the trustee of all the things we share - public roads and bridges, water, wildlife, air, public universities, state parks, education and public health.  Therefore, protecting, enhancing and restoring our shared public wealth is the central responsibility of government. We must tie the budget to our priorities. 

If you would like to join our legislative action team, sign up here.  Keep on top of what is happening at the Iowa legislature.  Be alerted when you should contact your legislators about pending legislation.

If you would like to join the team on a public interest research agenda, send an e-mail to iowa.chapter@sierraclub.org.  The Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club is forming a team to design a public interest research agenda, determine needed policies, and develop a strategy to implement the public research agenda.  This project will be a year-long study and design group. We are especially looking for scientists who are working in climate, public health, sustainable agriculture, and related fields.

Sierra Club - the best bet for achieving bold solutions to Iowa’s environmental problems

Sierra Club is Iowa’s oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization.  Not only that, we are the best bet in the state for achieving bold solutions to Iowa’s environmental problems.

We work in the courts, before Iowa’s public agencies, and in the halls of the legislature.  The Iowa Chapter's effort to protect the environment takes financial support.  The Chapter receives very little financial support from the national Sierra Club.  Can we count on you for a donation to ensure even more victories?  Your contribution will be put to work here in Iowa on issues that affect every day Iowans – water quality, clean air, protection of Iowa's soil, parks and natural areas, and a strong democracy.  The Iowa Chapter is relentless in fighting back bad legislation that affects every one of us. 

Your non-deductible contributions make it possible for us to fight bad legislation and to promote good legislation.  We appreciate your past and on-going support of these efforts.  You can make a non-deductible donation with a credit card.   A non-deductible donation supports the Chapter's effective, citizen-based advocacy and lobbying programs.  If you prefer, a non-deductible check can be written to the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter and mailed to:

Treasurer
Sierra Club, Iowa Chapter
PO Box 1058
Marion, IA 52302

You can also make a tax-deductible donation with a credit card.  Tax-deductible activities are limited to public interest education, research and legal actions.  A deductible check can be written to the Sierra Club Foundation with “Iowa Chapter” written in the memo line.

Easier yet, become a monthly donor.

Thank you for your support.

Donate your used vehicle

As the Sierra Club Foundation's Iowa Chapter continues to raise charitable funds to support its work in Iowa, won’t you consider participating in our vehicle donation program?  Our partners over at CARS have made the process of donating your unused or unneeded car, truck, motorcycle, boat or RV easy, efficient and secure.  They’ll take care of everything from picking up your vehicle to sending you a tax receipt for your generous gift.  To learn more about The Sierra Club Foundation's Iowa Chapter vehicle donation program, please call 844-674-3772.  Or visit our webpage to get started today!

Sierra Club Foundation promotes climate solutions, conservation, and movement building through a powerful combination of strategic philanthropy and grassroots advocacy. The Foundation is the fiscal sponsor of Sierra Club’s charitable environmental programs.

For more information 

Planned giving . . . naming the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter in your will 

Thank you for supporting our work!