On the heels of the release of their report to the governor on how climate change affects Iowans, Laura Jackson, Jerry Schnoor and Gene Takle penned a great column in today’s Des Moines Register summarizing their findings and calling for Iowans to act on climate change. Check it out.
Also, take a look at some of the other press the report has gotten:
- Cedar Rapids Gazette: Report finds climate change affecting Iowa
- Omaha World-Herald: A Warmer, Wetter Iowa?
And be sure to listen to their discussion of the report today on Iowa Public Radio’s The Exchange.
Iowa has experienced numerous extreme weather events in the past 20 years that have caused substantial destruction of property, economic loss and disruption of individual and community patterns of life. Extreme events are a part of “normal” climate, but the frequency of these events is changing and Iowa needs to plan for the future.
Climate change is much more complex than simply a rise in temperature as suggested by the term “global warming.” Other climate factors – specifically the frequency of extreme precipitation events, rise in humidity, lack of extreme summer heat and length of the growing season – are having much more impact on Iowa than changes in annual average temperature. We need to understand how climate change could affect agriculture, our health, the state’s wildlife and our economy. See the rest.
