Category Archives: Sustainability

Small Modular Reactors And Iowa

Posted on April 12, 2026 by Paul Deaton

A joke is circulating on the internet that SMR stands for Spending Money Recklessly. It isn’t funny because it is true, even if big money investors have a plan to recoup their investment in Small Modular Reactors with interest. Regular … Continue reading →

Posted in Sustainability | Tagged nuclear power, nuclear energy, Duane Arnold, sustainabiilty, small modular reactors, electricity generation | Leave a comment

Stories About Forests

Posted on April 11, 2026 by Paul Deaton

I was taken aback by the administration’s decision to dismantle the U.S. Forest Service. Jim Pattiz outlined what happened in his substack post, “Trump Administration Orders Dismantling of the U.S. Forest Service.” What they are doing is bad. While the … Continue reading →

Posted in Sustainability | Tagged Environment, public commons, sustainability, U.S. Forest Service | 1 Comment

Nuclear Power In A Wind State

Posted on March 29, 2026 by Paul Deaton

If Iowa is a net exporter of electricity, why the push for new nuclear reactors? I get it. Duane Arnold Energy Center has infrastructure to add/renew generating capacity: connections to the electrical grid, access to water for cooling, and transportation … Continue reading →

Posted in Sustainability | Tagged Iowa nuclear power, nuclear power, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, sustainability | Comments Off

Nuclear Energy Revisited

Posted on July 19, 2025 by Paul Deaton

On July 1, Interstate Power and Light Company, the parent company of Alliant Energy, filed an application to add 1,000 megawatts of wind energy “to help boost Iowa’s electric grid and further diversify its energy portfolio,” Olivia Cohen wrote in … Continue reading →

Posted in Sustainability | Tagged Duane Arnold nuclear plant, Linn County, nuclear energy, nuclear power, sustainabiilty | Comments Off

Enough Groundwater?

Posted on November 28, 2023 by Paul Deaton

Will the Silurian Aquifer have enough water to support the population that draws from it? Answers to that question are a bit sketchy due to infrequent research into groundwater projections. A 2011 study published by the Iowa Department of Natural … Continue reading →

Posted in Sustainability | Tagged #iowawater, #waterquality, environment, Groundwater, sustainability | Comments Off

Innovations In The Climate Crisis – CCS

Posted on November 10, 2021 by Paul Deaton

I viewed the S&P Global Market Intelligence discussion between reporter Taylor Kuykendall and Former U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz on Nov. 8. The thirty minute video is worth viewing to hear Moniz on major technologies and technological developments that will … Continue reading →

Posted in Sustainability | Tagged ActOnClimate, Bold Iowa, carbon capture and sequestration, CCS, climate change, climate crisis, Ed Fallon, environment, Ernest Moniz, Navigator CO2 Ventures, net zero, Summit Carbon Solutions | Comments Off

August Is No Recess When Working Poor

Posted on August 25, 2016 by Paul Deaton

School is out for Iowans who work yet remain on the margins of society. There is no recess from the constant demand to secure basic needs of food, shelter and clothing. The add-on expenses of transportation, health care, interest on … Continue reading →

Posted in Progressive Community, progressive values, Sustainability, working poor | Tagged Progressive Community, sustainability, working poor | Comments Off

Opioids: A Conjured Crisis

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Paul Deaton

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack scolded the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine about opioid abuse on Friday. The institution is not doing enough to train its soon-to-be health professionals on an opioid abuse epidemic that claims thousands of … Continue reading →

Posted in Sustainability | Tagged Addiction, economic sustainability, Methland, Opiod Abuse, sustainability, Tom Vilsack | 1 Comment

Earth Day 2016

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Paul Deaton

My participation in the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970 evolved in a convergence of social vectors. Among them was this Apollo 8 photograph of Earth above a lunar landscape by astronaut William Anders. After viewing the photograph I … Continue reading →

Posted in 2016 Election Campaign, Environment, Progressive Community, Sustainability | Tagged environment, sustainabiilty | Comments Off

Iowa Farmers Offer Cover Crop Webinar

Posted on July 28, 2015 by Paul Deaton

Practical Farmers of Iowa, Cover Crop Solutions and the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation Present Webinar on the Basics of Cover Crops Thursday, July 30, at 1 p.m. Mark your calendar for a webinar to be held on July 30 that … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Farming, Sustainability | Tagged Cover Crop Solutions, cover crops, farming, Iowa Farm Bureau, Practical Farmers of Iowa, sustainability | Comments Off