We All Want Clean H2O

Megan Brown talks about the struggles of farming in California, how she is working to make her ranch sustainable, including her direct marketing to consumers and her experiences with sexism in agriculture and its relationship to many of its structural problems. 

Dave Swenson comes back for the third time to discuss his ideas about rural Iowa going forward. He talks about how we got here, the role of agriculture and the importance of centering our rural residents and thinking more holistically about regions and "micropolitan" anchor communities. 

In this episode, we reflect on the most memorable events of the year and declare our new year's resolutions. Happy holidays to all (including the hate listeners).

In this episode we discuss the proposed withdrawal of the Cedar River TMDL for nitrate with Allen Bonini. Allen was the Watershed Section Supervisor at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.  We explain what is the role of Total Maximum Daily Loads in the Clean Water Act, how the TMDL process is related to the Nutrient Reduction Strategy, and the broader implications of this delisting. 

We talk with Tom Philpott about his book, Perilous Bounty, the future of the US farm system, its history and some book recommendations. We also plan his next trip to Iowa to enjoy some of our choicest birdwatching: eagles eating CAFO hog carcasses. We apologize for the sound quality in a couple of spots, we recorded this literally in the middle of a storm. 

Environmental communication expert and friend of the podcast Don Carr joins the hosts to discuss regional differences in approaches to environmental problems, the role of storytelling in engaging the public and the biggest environmental  fraud (yes you guessed right it's ethanol).

The podcast co-hosts discuss the issues associated with USDA's Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities funded projects and whether they really address greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector or whether they are FARTsOne can find the project summaries for the funded proposals here: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/partnerships-climate-smart-commodities-project-summaries.pdf 

Anne Schechinger, the Midwest program director at Environmental Working group, talks to us about her experience as a woman social scientist at an NGO, farm policy and EWG's  latest report on USDA's conservation programs and how (in) effective they have been is supporting  ‘climate-smart' agriculture.

Dr. Ben Maas, who lived in Storm Lake until recently, talks about the issues of the lake and the watershed around it. From Koi herpes to zebra mussels, and lake dredging Dr. Maas gives us a comprehensive look at a town and lake that suffer from severe water quality problems. 

Prof. Emeritus Neil Hamilton reflects on the past, present and future state of water in Iowa, the role of the courts and other institutions such as conservation districts.  He also gives us some highlights from his recent book "The Land Remains: A Midwestern Perspective on Our Past and Future".

Prof.  Jason Hill from the University of Minnesota discusses his work on food and biofuel production and their health and environmental effects,  with a focus on air quality. This is a true systems approach tour de force.  

In this episode, we talk about the challenges of recreational waters in Iowa, and how the problems are related to structural causes and how those can be addressed 

Professor Larry Weber, co-founder of the Iowa Flood Center and Nutrient Reduction Center  and Edwin B. Green Chair in Hydraulics, graces the podcast with his presence to talk about floodplain management and water quality, and gives a lesson in science communication as it is his wont. 

Prof. Remo, our guest for this episode, is a fluvial geomorphologist. We talk about levees and floodplains in the Mississippi river basin, the policies that support them , and how problematic they are - particularly in a world where stationarity is dead. 

In these episode we each discuss a potential solution to the environmental problems caused by agriculture. 

The Beatles had the White Album, we have the supersized N episode!We talk about the mass balance problem we face, the links between climate change and water quality and the emerging science on health impacts of nitrogen in drinking water. *Credit for the title goes to Travis Schlenger.

Dave Swenson is back to discuss the economic, energy, political and environmental implications of the just-passed bill mandating the sale of E15 in Iowa. 

With guests Larry Stone and Orlan Love, we talk about changes in the landscape, farming and recreation in Iowa in the last 60 years (you read that right, yes!).  Alas, they did not share with us their secret fishing spots, but they did give us a real sense of the changes the land between the rivers has seen during their lives.  With some final considerations on the role of local newspapers.

With guests Jess Mazour of the Sierra Club and Emma Schmit of Food and Water Watch, we  talk about their work to ensure local voices are heard on the construction of CO2 pipelines to allegedly mitigate climate change. We discuss how the pipelines mimic other ineffective technological fixes and how they fit (or don't) in the future of Iowa's agriculture in a changing climate.

Dr. Kevin Mason, an Iowa State University graduate and a Professor of history at Waldorf University, talks to us about his innovative approaches engaging students and the public and his work on Iowa's environmental history, which ranges from videos to hands on activities to books and journal articles. This episode is in solidarity with Iowa State University's History department.     

In this episode, Professor Emeritus Matt Liebman talks with us about realistic and transformative changes that we could make in Iowa to improve environmental performance, enhance social resilience and promote a robust vibrant rural economy. So much wisdom packed in a little over 30 minutes! 

This episode is in solidarity with Iowa's teachers and librarians under attack by the Iowa legislature. It is our first Ask Me Anything, graciously and awesomely hosted by Lisa Petri, who is a school librarian in Iowa City. Lisa collated and curated questions from twitter and Iowa residents for us to answer. 

In this episode, we talk about the past and future drainage in Iowa, and how it connects to our production system. We also discuss some recent developments regarding ethanol and its demise. 

In this episode we spell out why the current carbon offset schemes in the US, through voluntary markets and USDA taxpayer funded programs, likely do not reduce carbon emissions from agriculture and, more broadly, why they do not improve the provision of other ecosystem services such as clean water. 

Dave Swenson from Iowa State University talked to us about the rationales of our current ethanol policy, the sector's political economy and his thoughts on the future of the industry. Alas, this episode has no mentions of any instapot recipe, but breakfast pizza does make an appearance. 

In this episode, we talk about biodigesters, their potential unintended consequences in areas of high Confined Animal Feeding Operations' densities, and why there are so many laws at the state and federal levels being proposed or passed to support them (hint: it's got to do with climate change mitigation policies).   

In which Dr. Secchi and Dr. Jones opine that we are not going to soil health our way out of bad water (™ Chris Jones), and in fact focusing the conversation on soil health may be counterproductive in addressing the environmental, economic and social problems of contemporary Corn Belt agriculture.

In our crappiest episode yet, we talk about how ineffective Manure Management Plans are, and the problems associated with livestock waste in Iowa's agriculture. (Sorry we did not make it to biodigesters!)  

In this episode, we discuss the (lack of) relevance of WOTUS for agriculture, disagree on something besides when to use an instapot (specifically, the bond referendum for water quality initiatives in Polk county), and answer some listener questions.  

Featuring Prof. Cwiertny, the director of the Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination and the podcast's third musketeer. We talk about emerging contaminants such as PFAS and mycrocystins, and what it means for drinking water supplies in the current regulatory environment. This is the story we refer to in the podcast: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/energy/iowas-water-crisis-offers-a-glimpse-of-the-future/2021/10/17/f5db3df2-2f4a-11ec-8036-7db255bff176_story.html 

In our first episode, we talk about the changes to Iowa's landscape, and which areas of the state and land uses show more promise for restoration and protection. We answer some questions from our twitter feed and suggest a paper that describes the Ioway (Baxoye) landscape, Tanji na Che: Recovering the Landscape of the Ioway, by Lance Foster.