Ed Fallon’s blog on eminent domain legislation, Feb 6, 2023

Dear Friends, LISTEN TO THIS WEEK’S PROGRAM. Here’s the line up, with cohost Dr. Charles Goldman: (02:11) Shooting at Chinese balloons; (19:43) Drug companies are price gouging on insulin; (36:46) Regulate AI while we still have a chance; (54:44) February garden Q&A, with Kathy Byrnes of Birds & Bees Urban Farm. Let’s cut right to an urgent call to action: If you live in Iowa, please contact your state rep and senator immediately regarding eminent domain legislation. Several bills are on the move at the Statehouse, Continue reading →

Blog: Don’t Look Up … or down

Ed Fallon’s Blog, January 3, 2022 We humans. We’re a mischievous bunch. When one says “don’t,” our natural response is “do.” Thus, my thinly-disguised attempt at reverse psychology WANTS you to look up … or more, specifically, to watch Don’t Look Up. I also want you to look down … down at the 1,600 miles of Iowa farmland that could be torn apart by two proposed CO2 pipelines. Here’s the quick-and-dirty as to why the Summit and Navigator (Valero) pipelines are wrong and wrong. EMINENT DOMAIN. Continue reading →

Blog: Summit is lying about its CO2 pipeline

Ed Fallon’s blog, September 23, 2021 During four years of haggling with representatives of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), it became pretty clear to me when the company was lying. (Check out my blog posts dating back to March 1, 2015.) With the CO2 pipeline now proposed by Summit Carbon Solutions, lying got off to an early start this month. Summit presents itself as an ally in the fight against climate change, claiming its pipeline will capture carbon equivalent to the emissions of 2.6 million cars Continue reading →

A taste of our own medicine

"[B]efore we start pointing the finger at young people for their shameless neglect of our safety, perhaps we "adults" ought to take a long, hard look in the mirror. After all, the harm their narcissism could cause us likely will be exceeded a thousandfold by the harm our failure to respond to the climate crisis will cause them, their children, and all life to come."

DAPL roller coaster

Hello Bold Iowans, We have an important question for you (scroll down.) But first, there are two big pieces of news to share — one good, one bad. Earlier this week, there was much excitement over a federal judge’s decision to grant the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s request to strike down the Dakota Access Pipeline’s (DAPL) federal permits. The judge ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers must complete a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Hopefully, the judge’s next action will be to shut down the Continue reading →

Climate Crisis Parade draws 1,000 people!

Dear Friends, The Climate Crisis Parade was truly a powerful experience. A thousand people participated, and who knows how many more thousands joined us online. One notable absence: The Mainstream Media (MSM) — though we learned later that Telemundo did a wonderful story on the Parade, and they are the largest Spanish-language media outlet in the country, reaching tens of millions. Most of the MSM were a no-show, despite: — Five press releases sent to over 400 outlets; — Numerous targeted calls and emails to Continue reading →

You don’t want to miss Saturday’s parade!

Dear Friends, Saturday’s Climate Crisis Parade — challenging the media to cover climate — just keeps getting bigger. There are now seventy co-sponsors, and we’re expecting around a thousand participants! Indigenous communities will lead the parade, pulling a covered wagon symbolizing colonialism as one of the root causes of the climate crisis. Other parade entries include: — A 5-foot diameter globe marked with places already impacted by climate change; — Animals threatened with extinction, including a waddle of penguins, a polar bear, and (for fun) a Big Foot (if Continue reading →

Biden didn’t need to do this to me

Even for those of us who've decided who we're going to support, there's value in attending other candidates' events to further elevate the climate conversation. That was my intent at Joe Biden's "block party" on Sunday. After long answers to a handful of pre-arranged questions, Biden invited attendees to come up front for a photo and a brief question. Sam Kuhn, Shaun Ahern, Kathy Byrnes, and I accepted his offer. I wanted to ask Biden about his stated opposition to new pipelines even as he supports replacing older existing pipelines. Those two positions are incompatible, and I wanted to know where he really stood. Click on the image to check out our interaction, which is disturbing on a number of levels. Biden doesn't even attempt to address my concern. All he says is that serious climate action by 2030 isn't realistic.

Who’s the worst presidential candidate on climate?

That's easy: Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Climate activists also have reservations about Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg, but hands-down, Klobuchar is the worst. She claims to want to address climate change, but emphatically supports the continued build-out of fossil fuel infrastructure. Sorry, Senator. You can't be pro-fracking and pro-pipeline and say you're going to address the climate crisis. Since the corporate media have ignored Klobuchar's track record, it's up to us to get the word out. November 7, Johnston. Kathy Byrnes asks Klobuchar about her stand on DAPL and Line 3. Klobuchar again dodges the DAPL question, making some vague reference to Standing Rock. Regarding Line 3, she speaks about “calling for it to be delayed so that there’s an environmental review,” even as her track record and other public statements have made it clear to Minnesotans that she would never buck Big Oil's interests.