The Iowa Environmental Council’s (IEC) Green Gala & Art Auction filled Mainframe Studio’s Big Room on Friday, Nov. 10, with guests dressed in shades of green to support a greener future. As people sipped their wine over tunes from DJ Jaide Knight, eyes canvassed pieces of art that were to be auctioned. The main event […]
Climate Change
Posted inCommunity/News
Meet Alicia Vasto, the Iowa Environmental Council’s new water czar
Growing up in the small town of Adel kept a young Alicia Vasto in the outdoors, exploring nature along rivers and streams. She developed a deep love for what naturally existed around her. Understanding the grim realities of climate change, Vasto realized she could only make a big impact using a top-down approach. “To see […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa City’s new electric buses quietly creating a ‘paradigm shift’ in public transit
They’re symmetric and kinetic. They’re also electric. Four new electric buses are now rolling through Iowa City streets. “Transit in Iowa City has been here since 1971, and this is the first paradigm shift in vehicle technology that there has been, so we are on nerdy levels excited about it,” said Transportation Director Darian Nagle-Gamm. […]
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: A year of climate change and records broken
By Jerry Schnoor, Iowa City Extreme climate events led the news in 2021. Among the rarest events, an unprecedented heat wave in the Northwest that busted all records. Portland was scorched by an average high temperature of 112 degrees F from June 26-28, when normal high temperatures are in the seventies. Seattle, Washington set an […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Photo Gallery: Locals paint a mural by the numbers for Iowa City Climate Fest
Community volunteers helped paint a by-the-numbers mural on the Resource Management Center building Thursday as part of Iowa City’s second annual Climate Fest. Local artist Erika Danner designed the mural with a climate and environment theme, featuring worms, centipedes, fungi and plants. The mural shows how healthy soils and composting can remove carbon from the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Linn County publishes first greenhouse gas emissions inventory
Linn County released its first greenhouse gas emissions inventory on Tuesday. The report was prepared by the Linn County Office of Sustainability and is the “first step” in documenting emission levels and sources of emissions, the county said in a news release. The inventory compiled data from the year 2010, and includes estimates of greenhouse […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Linn County wants to know how climate change is impacting residents, what actions should be prioritized
Linn County wants to know how climate change is affecting its residents and what climate action the county should prioritize. The county’s sustainability department is collecting public input through an online survey. The survey asks how residents think about climate change and what challenges they faced during climate disaster events, including the derecho and the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Linn County climate czar Tamara Marcus reflects on derecho impact, lays out sustainability plans for 2021 and beyond
The Aug. 10 derecho showed why environmental justice and listening to the voices of those most vulnerable to climate change are important, said Linn County Sustainability Program Manager Tamara Marcus. Last month, the Linn County Board of Supervisors adopted a climate resolution that calls for the prioritization of the voices of vulnerable communities in Linn […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Cedar Rapids launches online climate survey, seeks members for the city’s Climate Advisory Committee
The city of Cedar Rapids launched an online survey for residents to provide input about the city’s climate action plan. The survey, which is online until Nov. 20, will be used to make the city’s Community Climate Action Plan. The survey is available in five languages: English, Spanish, French, Swahili and Kirundi. In February, the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
City of Cedar Rapids shares how residents can get involved in its climate action plan
The city of Cedar Rapids is organizing opportunities for residents to get informed and involved with the city’s ongoing climate action efforts. The public engagement process will kick off on Thursday and wrap up in December, according to Eric Holthaus, the city’s sustainability coordinator. The process includes virtual presentations, a community survey and details on […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Linn County hires Tamara Marcus as its first sustainability program manager
The Linn County Board of Supervisors has hired Tamara Marcus as the county’s first sustainability program manager. Marcus is a Ph.D. candidate in the Natural Resources and Earth System Sciences program at the University of New Hampshire. “Her research interests include using bioinformatic techniques to understand the impact of warming on microbial mediation of carbon […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Cortado: El duh-ray-CHO y los árboles caídos
Derecho es una palabra que en español tiene múltiples significados: «voy a estudiar la carrera de derecho»; «tengo derecho a salir a las calles a protestar»; «camino derecho al altar», etcétera. Pero en ningún diccionario de lengua española encontramos un significado de derecho asociado a la meteorología y a las tormentas de verano. Es en […]
