Month: November 2025

Former Des Moines mayor, Frank Cownie, discusses UN climate summits

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ACTION ON CLIMATE … OR NOT
COP veteran and former Des Moines mayor Frank Cownie joins me for a hard look at UN climate summits, past and present. Overall, this year’s COP was disappointing. That’s probably no surprise, given that there were more than 1,600 fossil-fuel reps in attendance, and petro-states continue to wield inordinate influence.

With more and more local governments refusing to wait on national and international action, Frank’s idea of decentralizing the COP process is promising. Some cities and counties are already launching initiatives.

Two recent actions in Des Moines exemplify this strategy. Last month, working with Kathy, me, and local non-profits, the City coordinated planting 36 fruit trees in a public orchard at Drake Park. This isn’t a one-and-out. City staff are researching other good locations for urban orchards.

Also, this month the City Council voted to establish the Food Sustainability Advisory Committee. This permanent body is an encouraging outgrowth of the Food Security Task Force that Kathy and I led the way to bring to fruition several years ago. Continue Reading →

The new leader of the Trump resistance

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Over the past ten months, President Trump has moved with alarming speed toward solidifying his complete control over the federal government.

Yet millions of Americans continue to speak up, act out, and refuse to be silenced, even as some big institutions (media, universities, law firms, corporations) have buckled.

No institution has buckled more completely than Congress, with Republicans conceding to the President their Constitutional role as an independent and equal branch of government.

But back in the summer, that started changing. Just a little. But enough to be noticed. And the primary agent of change?

Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. Continue Reading →

Catching up

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It’s been a rough first half of November. After a long battle with liver cancer, my mom passed away on October 28. Then I landed a sinus infection, which I’m still recovering from.

So, I’ve had little time to write, record a program, or wrap up the final details of the Save America March. Things should be back to normal next week.

As Kathy and I catch up on the remaining fall harvest tasks, I’ll leave you with a selection of Birds & Bees Urban Farm photos I took this morning as a reminder that:

— Life persists, despite setbacks.

— The Earth is generous, almost beyond conception.

— Growing food is a year-round undertaking, accompanied by year-round rewards. Continue Reading →

Day Eighteen: Save America March – I finally meet a guy who thinks everything’s fine

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It’s the last day of the March! I’ve managed to walk 220 miles in 18 days without meeting a single drop of rain. More important, the hospitality has been exceptional, which I’m happy to say is typical for Iowa.

More important still, though I’ve had fewer conversations than I’d hoped (harvest season), dozens of conversations have given me renewed hope for our democracy and our country.

My “worst” interaction of the March happened today on a swanky golf course in West Des Moines.

For much of today’s thirteen-mile trek, I follow the Great Western Trail. A short stretch runs through Willow Creek Golf Course.

I come to a stone bench where the trail crosses a golf-cart path. It’s an ideal spot for lunch, so I take off my shoes and pull a banana and some bread from my satchel.

After a while, two golf carts whiz past, passengers barely glancing in my direction. A third cart stops abruptly, and the driver looks at me disapprovingly. My thought is he takes me for a homeless person and is about to order me off the golf course (which he doesn’t have the authority to do). He carries a distinct air of privilege and wealth.

“What are you doing?,” he asks, with a tone of annoyance rather than curiosity. Continue Reading →

Day Seventeen: Save America March – A bag of cookies

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The rolling, winding gravel roads of Warren County are as beautiful as any I’ve walked this month. At one bend in the road, there’s a small farm stand selling pumpkins, eggs, peppers, and various baked goods.

No one attends the stand, but there’s a sign indicating how much each item costs, and a box marked “Pay Here.”

As I’m surveying the stand’s offerings, trying to decide between a bag of cookies and a cinnamon roll, a battered Jeep pulls up.

The driver says, “Hey, can you pull me a dozen eggs out of the cooler and put this cash in that box?”

“Of course!” I say.“

The guy hands me five bucks. He tells me he’s disabled so it’s tough for him to get in and out of his Jeep. He suffered an injury earlier this year, and recovery has been slow. Continue Reading →