Having trouble viewing this email? View it in your web browser

IEC's 2021 Annual Report Highlights Activities and Actions

IEC's 2021 Annual Report is now available online. Look inside to learn more about our work together throughout the year, including new experiences and traditional successes, such as working to pass a 24/7 clean energy resolution in Des Moines and our launch of a new coalition, Fund the Trust, focused on bringing the promise of IWILL to fruition.

You'll get a look at the scale and scope of IEC programs and projects, and how the organization pushed to grow once again in the past year. Plus, you'll find out more about where these projects are headed as we continue to move through 2022!

We hope you enjoy reading the Annual Report and seeing how your support is improving and protecting Iowa. 

 

More IEC News

What's with all the stripes? Learn what they tell us about Iowa's climate

June 21 marked the fifth annual #ShareYourStripes day, a day to raise awareness about climate change by sharing warming stripe visuals. 

Warming Stripes graphics represent the change in temperature over the last 100+ years. Each stripe represents one year, and the color corresponds to temperature.

See Iowa's stripes, as well as local cities in Iowa

IEC Staff Attorney Michael Schmidt on Iowa's Sustainable Future 

My early memories of playing outside include visits to Aldrich Creek in Ida County, where I would build rock dams to make it easier to catch minnows, chubs, crayfish, frogs, and macroinvertebrates (though I just called them bugs).

I didn’t realize it at the time, but it was also a lesson in water quality. The creek provided endless entertainment and many lessons in conservation.

Read Michael's story on IEC's blog

New LTE Toolkit Available: Raise Awareness on Environmental Issues 

IEC has released a new toolkit to help Iowans write and send letters to the editor (LTE) on clean energy and clean water topics.

The toolkit offers LTE and op-ed basics, writing tips, and submission information for local Iowa papers.

Write your own letter or share the toolkit with your supporters to encourage them to take action on environmental issues in Iowa. 

 

Upcoming IEC Events

Upcoming Environmental Events 

6/23 - Be Waste Wise: Environmental Justice in Waste and Recycling, Online  
6/23 - PFI - Summer Beginning Farmer Social with Des Moines Urban Farmers, Des Moines
6/24 - PFI Field Day: Farmland Owner Legacy Award Celebration, Jefferson
6/25 - Prairie Tours with Whiterock Conservancy and Iowa Prairie Network, Coon Rapids
6/25 - Pollinator Fest, Ames
6/28 - League of Women Voters - Water Quality Public Meeting, Muscatine
6/29 - Prairie Strips - Southwest Iowa Summer Field Day, Lewis
6/29 - Iowa City Climate Session: 24/7 Carbon-Free Electricity, Iowa City
7/7 - Water Quality Snapshot, Center Point
7/8 - 7/9 - Lake Red Rock Balloonfest, North Overlook Beach
7/9 - IEC's Lakeshore Party in Storm Lake, Storm Lake
7/10 - 7/15 - IowaProjectAWARE - West Fork of the Des Moines River Cleanup
7/12 - ISWEP - Trash Free Waters National and State Campaigns Webinar, Online
7/15 - Butterflies, Bees & Brew, Ames
7/16 - Summer Snapshot Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Event, Eldridge
7/19 - Summertime Fishing & Fun, South Cove Park
7/21 - 2022 UPCYCLE, Des Moines

Organizational Member News

Opportunities for Action on Climate in Rural Communities

A recent report issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reaffirms the importance of climate action in rural communities, calling on those communities to adapt to and mitigate climate impacts to preserve their own prosperity and protect food and energy security globally. 

Our friends at the Center for Rural Affairs break down the report and opportunities for rural communities to take action. 

Read more at CFRA.org

22on22: New Litter Campaign from Iowa Stormwater Education Partnership

We’ve taken huge strides to reduce, reuse and recycle. Many communities in Iowa have extensive recycling and garbage collection systems in place. Unfortunately, we still find significant litter along banks and shores as well as in our streams, rivers, and lakes.

Iowa Stormwater Partnership encourages community leaders and concerned individuals to lead by example and start a local 22on22 Campaign.

 

Conservation Education Video Series Launches

The first of six films in Impact7G’s new “Conservation Education” series is now available on demand. The series is intended for communities, HOAs, and individual property owners seeking guidance on implementing natural resource restoration projects such as prairies, wetlands, and rain gardens. 

The series begins with flash flooding. The first video, Stormwater Management – The Basics, discusses 'green' vs 'gray' stormwater practices, and their role in communities moving forward.

Iowa Water News

IEC Newsroom - Pro H2O celebrates clean water with awards and music

WeAreIowa - Check your lakes and rivers for swimming advisories before you take a dip

Public News Service - Going Swimming? Be mindful of not-so-clean water

Gazette Editorial: Environmental Protection Commission must follow Iowa's laws

Iowa Capital Dispatch - All 'forever chemicals' detected in Iowa drinking water exceed new safety advisories 

IPR - Small Western Iowa town breaks ground on long-awaited flood protection project

Telegraph Herald - Dubuque County well-testing program doubles participation in one year

Radio Iowa - Manchester hoping wetlands project improves water quality 

Gazette - Flood reduction a pricey issue on Wapsipinicon

IPR 'Time bomb' lead pipes set to be removed. But first utilities have to find them

Iowa Energy News

100% Iowa - Provide input on Iowa's Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment Plan

Gazette - Politics increasingly play a role in solar, wind energy pushback

Des Moines Register - Opinion: We need more renewables and a nimble grid to avoid summer blackouts

Newton Daily News - Newton YMCA installs largest solar panel system in Jasper County

Raccoon Valley Radio - Solar project nearly finished in Perry

Nature World News - Pollinator-friendly solar: Do it for the bees

PV Magazine - Ranking the states of distributed solar

Waukon Standard - Train derailment spills coal into Mississippi River south of Lansing

Canary Media - FERC has a new plan to connect clean energy to the grid more quickly 

AlterNet - Renewable energy is 'bailing out' Texas as surging demand strains power grid

Iowa Climate News

IEC Newsroom - Climate Stripes 2022: Iowa's Climate Visual

IEC Blog - What is climate anxiety? Thoughts from a sustainability researcher

WHO 13 Record warmth far outweighs record cold in Iowa

Radio Iowa - Hot, windy conditions raise fear of flash droughts

CNN - Extreme heat poses significant and growing health risk to babies and children, study says 

NPR - Days of intense heat have killed thousands of cattle in Kansas

IPR - Study says crop insurance costs - subsidized by taxpayers - are rising because of climate change

Public News Service - Iowa - Mutual aid groups stand ready as excessive heat, blackouts lurk

 
505 Fifth Ave, Suite 850
Des Moines, Iowa 50309
515-244-1194 |
iecmail@iaenvironment.org
Unsubscribe or Manage Your Preferences