October News

Protecting Iowa's Environment

• How Legislators Voted on Mesabi Metallics Subsidies and incentives - Iowa's legislature modified the Major Economic Growth Attraction Program (MEGA) which clears the way for Iowa Economic Development Authority to provide $1.5 billion in incentives and subsidies to Mesabi Metallics to build a steel plant in Lee County.  The Sierra Club opposed the changes.  See how your legislators voted.

• Sierra Club Weighs-in on Steel Mill Incentives - In a letter to Iowa Economic Development Authority, the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter is urging state officials to ensure any taxpayer-funded incentive package for Mesabi Metallics’ steel mill must include provisions that benefit the public, not just an unconditional handout for industry. The letter suggests terms that would limit health- and climate- harming pollution and create good-paying union jobs, while avoiding higher energy costs or a strained electrical grid.  Among its recommendations, Sierra Club is calling on Mesabi Metallics to procure new renewable energy to meet its electricity needs, ensure the cost of new power generation and electric infrastructure required for the facility does not negatively impact residential ratepayers, and implement energy efficiency measures and electrify as much equipment as possible.

• "Who Eats Whom" citizen science project - Who Eats Whom is a citizen science project that is counting on people to post photographs of animals eating along with the location where the photo was taken.  Scientists can use the photos and location to learn more about wildlife, predation, and prey.  That can help in protecting species and their habitat, identifying ranges of species, and identifying invasive species.

• Changing Nature's Smells Affects Insects - Many of us have noticed that the number of insects is rapidly declining in the state.  There are many reasons, including habitat loss, pesticide usage, light pollution, and climate change.  Changes in the odors in the environment are also being implicated in the loss of insects.  Insects use odor to detect flowers, pheromones from potential mates, and dead and decomposing plants and animals.

• Consequences of Unchecked Expansion of Data Centers - There are serious consequences with unchecked expansion of data centers.  From personal health to community health, to cost of living to energy production and climate, the stakes are high. Iowa has no protections at the state level for setbacks, noise control, ratepayer protections, transparency, etc.  We want rate protections to ensure data center infrastructure costs aren’t passed down to the consumer.  We want a comprehensive study of Iowa’s aquifer health and a requirement that data centers use a closed-loop system or air cooling.  We want the state to ban NDAs that keep critical information secret from the public.  We want transparency of electricity and water usage and costs.  This points to a state that is not prepared for a massive hyperscale data center expansion.  

• Sierra Club’s Utility Report Card Shows MidAmerican and IPL Failing to Reduce Pollution - Sierra Club recently released its sixth annual Dirty Truth Report, which reveals how Iowa’s two largest electric utilities are failing to phase out polluting fossil fuels and transition to healthier renewable energy options.  Renewable energy remains the cheapest way to generate electricity, while coal and fossil fuels remain expensive and extremely harmful to public health. Despite this, the Dirty Truth Report shows that utilities like MidAmerican and IPL are doubling down on dangerous, expensive fossil fuels. This is leading to higher bills for families, more dangerous pollution, and less reliable energy. 

• Morgan Valley Gas Plant Proposed For Linn County - Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL), a subsidiary of Alliant Energy,  proposes to build a gas-fired power plant in Linn County, called the Morgan Valley Energy Center.  Three single-cycle gas turbines would be built on the property, which is currently being farmed.  IPL failed to receive the approval from the Linn County Board of Supervisors to rezone the farmland to allow the gas plant to be built. 

• Lunch and Learns Fridays at noon