Author Archives: Ed Fallon

Do Climate Bill’s weaknesses outweigh strengths?

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There’s an excellent article in The Guardian this week, giving voice to some of the countervailing viewpoints on the Climate Bill. It’s titled “Landmark US climate bill will do more harm than good, groups say.” I highly recommend you read it, and I’d greatly appreciate your feedback.

Some of the article’s highlights:

[T]he bill makes a slew of concessions to the fossil fuel industry, including mandating drilling and pipeline deals that will harm communities from Alaska to Appalachia and the Gulf coast and tie the US to planet-heating energy projects for decades to come.

Siqiniq Maupin, executive director of Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic, said: “This new bill is genocide, there is no other way to put it. This is a life or death situation and the longer we act as though the world isn’t on fire around us, the worse our burns will be. Biden has the power to prevent this, to mitigate the damage.” Continue Reading →

Renewable energy’s rare earth mineral challenge

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Charles Goldman co-hosts this week. Later in the program, we discuss the crazy exodus of teachers from K-12 public schools. We also talk about Sen. Joe Manchin’s political death-bed conversion on climate, sort of.

But first, we kick it off with Rob Hach, CEO of Trusted Energy. Rob’s company is launching a huge solar project at Grinnell College, in Iowa, and we get an update on that. Then we discuss renewable energy’s vulnerable underbelly: rare earth minerals. Continue Reading →

An 81,000-mile journey on “muscle fuel”

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My first guest is Dr. Corrine Sanchez, executive director of Tewa Women United (TWU). TWU was founded in 1989 as a support group for Native women in New Mexico dealing with “the traumatic effects of colonization, religious inquisition, and militarization leading to issues such as alcoholism, suicide, domestic/sexual violence, and environmental violence.”

Corrine is from the San Ildefonso Pueblo north of Santa Fe. Her Pueblo is one of eleven Native communities who extended kindness to participants in the Great March for Climate Action in 2014. It’s safe to say that, without their help, the March wouldn’t have made it across New Mexico. Continue Reading →

Learn to love and protect plankton

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Given the prominence this week of news stories about heat and wildfire, you might have missed another critical story: last week’s stunning discovery about the decline of plankton in the Atlantic Ocean. (I missed it until John Davis alerted me. Thanks, John.)

How big a decline? At the current rate of loss, 90% of plankton will be gone by 2045! That’s huge, imminent, and frightening.

Why frightening? Because plankton is the foundation of the oceans’ food chain. If 90% of it dies off, the majority of salt-water aquatic life won’t be far behind. And even those of us living in the middle of a continent can’t survive without viable oceans. Continue Reading →

The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon

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Bill and I discuss his new book, The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon. It’s an intriguing title, and the book’s sub-title is perhaps even more intriguing:

“A graying American looks back at his suburban boyhood and wonders what the hell happened.”

We’re in a world of hurt, and Bill’s take on “what the hell happened” is thoughtful, provocative, and hopefully inspiring.

Recently, Bill launched a new initiative focused on mobilizing older Americans to work for change. It’s called Third Act. I love the introductory video. Check it out and let me know what you think. Continue Reading →

How Democrats might avoid a November shellacking

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The passion for freedom, liberty, and keeping g’ummint out of our private affairs is arguably stronger now than it was in the ’80s. (Note to the radicals pushing abortion bans and other personal-liberty-negating nonsense: your attacks on our freedoms will not prevail!)

The chicken-coop issue of the 2022 election is … CO2 pipelines. Big corporations think of themselves as not only too-big-to-fail but too-big-to-not-get-everything-they-want from their pals in government. In Iowa, pro-CO2 pipeline corporations are discovering opposition to their get-rich-quick scheme is huge.

How huge? Like Osterberg”s campaign in the 1980s, potentially huge enough to impact legislative races this fall. Take Jessica Wiskus of Linn County, whose farm is in the path of the Wolf Pipeline. Not only has the threat of eminent domain made an activist out of Jessica, she’s decided to run for the statehouse this fall. She’s a Democrat, and normally, that seat is one a Democrat couldn’t win — just like the seat Osterberg captured in the 1980s. Continue Reading →

“Dear President Biden”

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For me, the film brings back so many memories of Bold Iowa’s 2019/2020 “Climate Bird Dog” effort leading up to the Iowa Caucuses. Dang, we did  good work! Over 200 activists statewide, hammering home the urgency of the climate crisis day after day to candidates in every nook and cranny of the state.

How did the President respond to Bold’s bird dogs? CLICK HERE TO VIEW THOSE INTERACTIONS. What do you think? Is Mr. Biden following through on his commitment to treat climate like a crisis? Continue Reading →

A Philosophy Super Bowl?

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What’s not to like about trains, right? Well, apparently quite a bit if you live in a community where a big railroad company proposes a major expansion of train traffic. Joining me to discuss that concern is the mayor of Bettendorf, Iowa, Bob Gallagher. My first reaction was, “More trains equals less pollution and highway-safety concerns. Good thing, right?” After talking with Bob, well, let’s just say there are a bunch of other concerns to consider before jumping to a conclusion. …

Also, Kathy Byrnes joins me to discuss peas. Ok, that sounds even more boring than a Philosophy Super Bowl. But really, what do you know about peas? Are you afraid to know more, huh? Maybe Kathy’s a little off-base to call peas “the perfect produce,” but … well, you’ll just to have to listen and see if you agree or disagree. Continue Reading →

We discuss abortion … and rabbits

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Joining me are Dr. Charles Goldman, attorney Joseph Glazebrook, and professor Carol Spaulding-Kruse. It’s a rock-star line up, and I hope you’ll listen to the program and share your feedback.

There are so many questions surrounding this sea change in a woman’s right to make her own decision when it comes to abortion. What will individual states do? Will anti-choice activists push for even more draconian erosions of personal liberty? Could the US Congress potentially preempt pro-choice states? Is it possible in today’s hyper-charged partisan environment to find common ground on preventing unintended pregnancies?

My guests and I tackle these questions and more. Again, feedback welcome. Continue Reading →

Let’s get real on gun safety

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HERE’S THIS WEEK’S PROGRAM, with a hard, serious focus on gun violence. Joining me are State Rep. Ako Abdul Samad and Dr. Charles Goldman. It’s an enlightened and enlightening conversation, and I’ll simply encourage you to give it a listen and share your feedback.

But before you do: Based on the sad reality that not a single so-called “advanced” country anywhere in the world has a gun-violence problem like the US, I’ll pose one question for you:

How do we improve gun safety and keep the most dangerous weapons out of the hands of the hands of the most dangerous people?

Ok, that’s two questions. Feedback, responses, insights welcome. Thanks for reading, listening, and taking action! Continue Reading →