Week Twelve

 I read the article titled "The State of Climate" by Emily Martin. This article focused on Iowa and how it is affected by climate change. Some important facts from the article.


Iowa is considered one of the most altered states.

 "Over the 20th century Iowa’s average temperature increased by only 0.2 °F, and over the last 30 years the average rose by 0.8 °F from the 20th-century average — far less than the global temperature rise of over twice as much, 1.9 °F. A closer look reveals that our daily maximum temperatures in summer have actually gone down over the last 30 years by 1.1 °F." 

This is interesting because you would think that it would be the opposite. That it would be increasing by more, and you would think that our summers are getting hotter, not cooler. One thing that is dangerous that the article says is, 

"Iowa is getting wetter. Weather records confirm this and further reveal that the statewide rainfall in the April-May-June period now has gone up by 2.4 inches over the same 3-month period in the 20th century. For comparison, this excess rain, averaged over the entire state of Iowa, is enough to fill an empty Lake Red Rock (Iowa’s largest lake) 36 times every year." 

Iowa is getting warmer and more humid nights and less cold in the winter. The fact that we are getting that much rainfall every year is crazy. Some ways that the article said we can help prevent and reduce this are by removing air pollution through land protection, preventing pollution of air and water, providing habitat for wildlife, and building resilient communities.

Iowa is losing lots of wildlife and biodiversity.

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