A workshop you don’t want to miss

April 18, 2019 by Ed Fallon
378 comments
Dear Friends, Honestly, saving the world shouldn’t be this much fun. At Bold Iowa’s Climate Bird Dog Workshop (April 25, 7:00-9:00 pm at the Mickle Center, 1620 Pleasant Street in Des Moines), you’ll not only learn a lot but the role plays we’re preparing will be creative and, well, a blast. Sign up today as we’re limiting the workshop to 100 people. Whether you’ve bird-dogged before or are a newbie, this two-hour workshop will give you the tools you need to effectively agitate for climate Continue reading →

Cory Booker unveils tax credit plan in first Sioux City campaign stop

April 16, 2019 by Shari Hrdina
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Iowa City Press-Citizen Excerpt: Two women asked about climate change, and Booker said there is only a 12-year window before climate impacts become irreversible. Booker supports the Green New Deal proposed this year by Democrats, and said he would rejoin the international 2016 Paris Accord to reduce carbon emissions. Linda Santi, of Sioux City, asked if lawmakers should write off trying to save the lowest-lying coastal areas impacted by rising waters. Booker answered, “There are no throwaway people, no throwaway communities.” Continue reading →

Farewell, LaVerne Johnson

April 11, 2019 by Ed Fallon
345 comments
Dear Friends, Sadly, those of us fighting the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) lost one of our strongest allies this week. LaVerne Johnson died suddenly and unexpectedly on Sunday. My heart goes out to his wife, family, and closest friends — though he will be missed by more people than he would have imagined. I first met Vern four years ago this month, when I walked the proposed Iowa route of DAPL. Recalling my first conversation with Vern always brings back a smile. In the most Continue reading →

Working with Warren

April 5, 2019 by Ed Fallon
412 comments
Dear Friends, For evidence that our Climate Bird Dog initiative is having an impact, check with Elizabeth Warren. Bold Iowa has mobilized 31 people to attend Warren campaign events in 6 cities. We’ve asked questions during the formal program and talked with her one-on-one on several occasions. Most recently 9 climate bird dogs stood directly in front of Warren as she spoke to a packed room in West Des Moines. She referenced our signs several times during her speech. After the formal program, her state Continue reading →

Changing the Conversation on Climate

March 27, 2019 by Ed Fallon
13 comments
Dear Friends, [SIGN UP HERE FOR BOLD’S CLIMATE BIRD DOG WORKSHOP, APRIL 25!] Our hearts and minds strain to process the flood of climate-enhanced destruction in Iowa, Nebraska, and eastern Africa. Yet in the broader fight against climate chaos, signs of encouragement are growing: There’s this story: Citing climate change, U.S. judge blocks oil and gas drilling in large swath of Wyoming. And this: Court upholds ruling that bars Keystone XL pipeline work. Hopefully, these rulings bode well for a favorable outcome in the landowner/Iowa Sierra Continue reading →

A flood of hopes and fears

March 19, 2019 by Ed Fallon
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Many of us continue to feel the benefits of our time together last September during the First Nation – Farmer Climate Unity March. As Manape Lamere said, “We walk together today so we can work together in the future.” Something like that. If I botched the quote, Manape will correct me, right? So much is going on these days, it’s hard to know where to start. These are both the most encouraging and discouraging of times, as attested to in this message from Jeff Kisling: Continue reading →

School Strike for Climate!

March 7, 2019 by Ed Fallon
454 comments
Dear Friends, Socrates was condemned for corrupting the youth of Athens. At the risk of being accused of corrupting the youth of Iowa, I ask K-12 and college students to join School Strike for Climate on March 15 … and beyond. All successful movements are built on a foundation of failure interspersed with moments of incremental progress. It’s important to recognize the seeds of climate action sown in the past. But with only eleven years to transform our world to keep global warming below 1.5° Continue reading →

Presidential hopeful discusses climate change with students

March 5, 2019 by Ed Fallon
319 comments
Iowa State Daily Excerpt: Samantha Kuhn, a member of the audience who identified herself as part of Bold Iowa, a Des Moines based organization that seeks to build a rural-urban coalition to fight climate change, asked Inslee why he thinks other candidates are not prioritizing climate change the way his campaign is. “I think perhaps they have not had as much experience as I have had,” Inslee said of other candidates. Inslee said he wrote a book on climate change 11 years ago and introduced the “first Continue reading →