• Politics

Races to Watch: Ernst’s Climate Change Doubts Could Put Greenfield Over the Top

• biofuels
• climate change
• derecho
• Drought
• ethanol
• flood
• Iowa
• oil and gas
• severe weather

Senator Joni Ernst won her way into the Senate in 2014 on a conservative platform and a boast about the ability to cut through the red tape in Washington (she would make the pigs in Washington squeal).  But now her ties to big oil and gas in D.C. are putting her at odds with Iowa farmers who make biofuels. 

Why This Matters:  While it is not her top issue, the Democratic, Theresa Greenfield, does not shy away from climate change.

• Politics

Virtual Organizing Reveals Young, Rural Latinx Voters’ Climate Change Concerns

• BIPOC
• climate change
• derecho
• Iowa
• NextGen America
• rural
• voters
• voting

Virtual organizing has allowed NGOs like NextGen America to focus their attention on rural, young BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) voters — a demographic that has been historically underrepresented in elections in the U.S. These voters have brought climate change and sustainable farming to the forefront of the election in places rural Iowa.

Why this Matters:   In 2018, only 2 percent of rural voters ages 18 to 29 voted in the midterm elections.

• Food

“Corn Sweat” Compounds Humidity in Sweltering Midwest States

• agricultre
• corn
• corn sweat
• crops
• Illinois
• Iowa

by Julia Fine, ODP Contributing Writer This past weekend’s weather was hot in Iowa and Illinois. But it likely felt even hotter, due to “another episode of corn-catalyzed extreme humidity,” Matthew Cappucci reported in The Washington Post. “Corn sweat,” or the water released into the atmosphere by crops like corn as a cooling mechanism, helped […]

• Politics

One Political Thing: IA Caucuses to NH Primaries and the Climate Anxiety in Between

• 2020 Election
• Iowa
• New Hampshire

As we move on (to put it one way) from the Iowa Caucuses into the New Hampshire primaries, climate change is still a major political issue for voters in both states. In Iowa, the positions of the candidates on climate change mattered most to more than one in five caucus-goers when choosing who to support, coming […]

• Politics

The Iowa Caucuses: Confusion, Frustration, and No Clear Winner

• climate change
• Iowa

If you stayed up late in hopes of seeing who would be declared the winner in the Iowas caucuses, we’re yawning with you in solidarity. As of early this morning, there’s no clear winner and no clear indication about how big of a factor climate change had played in the electoral event. The Washington Post […]

• Climate Change

One 2020 Thing: Climate Politics and the Iowa Caucus 

• Biden
• Iowa
• Iowa caucus
• Klobuchar

The Iowa Caucuses are on Monday and will be the first real contest of the 2020 presidential race. For the first time, climate change is a top-tier issue that Iowans are concerned with due to last year’s catastrophic flooding. While polls show a very tight race, for the more moderate candidates like Vice President Joe […]