Environment

Lax Oversight Tarnishes Organic Foods Label

As the popularity of organic farm products soars across the U.S., an IowaWatch investigation has found that lax oversight of the industry raises questions about what the organic seal really means.

By Donna Schill

/ 22 Mar 2011

Lax Oversight Tarnishes Organic Foods Label

Questions Arise About Kansas Refineries

Three Kansas communities with a combined population equal to that of Lawrence are at risk of exposure to a chemical that can be 100 times more lethal than carbon monoxide. The substance is hydrofluoric acid, which is used to make high-octane gasoline, and according to worst-case estimates that oil r

By Mike Sherry

/ 24 Feb 2011

With Poplar Trees, a One-Time Polluter Makes Some Green

NORTH LIBERTY – Lou Licht was once a polluter – aiding and abetting companies that spewed toxins into the air and water. Today he could hardly be greener. With a quick-growing, toxic-zapping tree and a patented technique, Licht cleans up the types of messes he once helped create. His professional an

By Jim Malewitz

/ 21 Dec 2010

With Poplar Trees, a One-Time Polluter Makes Some Green

Iowa OK’s Fish Deemed Risky by Feds, Neighboring States

The state of Iowa is failing to warn people to cut back on eating locally caught fish contaminated with mercury and other pollutants at levels the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finds too risky, an IowaWatch study has found. More than 330,000 people a year buy licenses to fish Iowa’s waters, a

By Gabe Gao

/ 15 Dec 2010

Iowa OK’s Fish Deemed Risky by Feds, Neighboring States

Farming Purists Look 'Beyond Organic'

For nearly a decade, the word organic has stood for all that is wholesome and pure to the health-conscious consumer. But an emerging movement of farmers who consider themselves the real organic purists are saying their methods go “beyond organic.” Although still in its infancy, adherents to beyond o

By Donna Schill

/ 12 Nov 2010

In Referendum Vote, Millions of Dollars at Stake for Conservation Efforts

If voters approve the referendum, the next sales tax increase would generate millions of dollars for cleaning Iowa’s filthy waters, to help stop farm soil from washing into its streams and rivers and to develop new parks and trails.

By Lauren Mills

/ 7 Oct 2010

Gazing at Soil from Space, an ISU Professor Fulfills Environmental Calling

When Brian Hornbuckle cranes his neck to the nighttime sky, he’s probably not pondering the beauty of the constellations, but thinking about what’s in the Iowa soil right under his feet. Yet he’s neither absent-minded, nor a contradiction. He’s just a man who has found his niche – where astronomy, p

By Jim Malewitz

/ 2 Oct 2010

Gazing at Soil from Space, an ISU Professor Fulfills Environmental Calling

Dispatches from the Gulf

Pete Wilson, a New Orleans resident and 2009 graduate of the University of Iowa masters journalism program, recently visited Grand Isle, La., to take stock of the BP oil spill. “I kept hearing … the situation was worse than what was being reported, so I went down to Grand Isle to see for myself,” Wi

By Pete Wilson

/ 3 Aug 2010