Tag Archives: sustainability

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

Book Review: Clearing The Air

Posted on April 5, 2026 by Paul Deaton

Hannah Ritchie is the kind of data head I would like to be and her new book, Clearing the Air: A Hopeful Guide to Solving Climate Change in 50 Questions and Answers is part of the reason. In it, she … Continue reading →

Posted in book review | Tagged ActOnClimate, book review, climate change, climate crisis, sustainability | Leave a 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

Local Roads, Local Decisions

Posted on March 8, 2026 by Paul Deaton

The township where I live was established before Iowa Statehood. There were oak, walnut, hickory, ash, elm, and cottonwood thriving here among numerous pure springs. The first sawmill and grist mill was built in 1839 by Anthony Sells on Mill … Continue reading →

Posted in Iowa Legislaturę 2026 | Tagged Iowa politics, legislature, roads, sustainability | Comments Off

Food Without SNAP

Posted on September 9, 2025 by Paul Deaton

SNAP cuts: how will they impact eastern Iowa? How can our community respond? Please join Fairness for Iowa for a Town Hall event that discusses how the $1 billion of cuts to SNAP in Iowa will impact our communities in … Continue reading →

Posted in Food Insecurity | Tagged art, community, Food, Food Insecurity, food insecurity in Iowa, Iowa Food Insecurity, sustainability, travel | Comments Off

Republicans And The Damage Done

Posted on August 27, 2025 by Paul Deaton

When I visited the Iowa legislature, one of the people I sought was Rep. Chuck Isenhart from Dubuque. Almost every bill regarding conservation, climate change, renewable energy, and water quality involved him in some way. We were sad to see … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment | Tagged Environment, Solar Energy, sustainability, tax credits, wind energy | 1 Comment

Today’s Nuclear Times

Posted on July 12, 2025 by Paul Deaton

I remember watching one of the Soviet Sputnik satellites flying over the back yard of our Iowa home. Besides launching a “space race” between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Sputnik heightened tensions between the two … Continue reading →

Posted in Nuclear Disarmament | Tagged Iran, Kansas City Nuclear Weapons Plant, nuclear disarmament, nuclear weapons, sustainability | 1 Comment

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

CCS Push Back And Climate Change

Posted on December 1, 2021 by Paul Deaton

When we took the land after the 1832 Black Hawk Purchase, it was decimated to make neatly cut rectangles of farmland. People are used to that now. Today Iowa farmland is used mostly as a production landscape for hogs, cattle, … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment | Tagged carbon capture and sequestration, CCS, climate change, corn, environment, ethanol, sustainability | 1 Comment

Toward Sustainable Pandemic Recovery

Posted on July 13, 2020 by Paul Deaton

The climate crisis continues in the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic with its economic downturn threatens years of progress addressing climate change and sustainability. It’s now or never for the environment. Governments are expected to spend trillions of dollars in stimulus … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Economy | Tagged Act On Climate, climate change, climate crisis, economy, sustainability | Comments Off