Blog for Iowa

Benefit Concert for progressive, non-commercial radio May 10

Sam Garchik — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:28:30 -0500

Benefit Concert for progressive, non-commercial radio May 10

By KRUU, Fairfield

Please help spread the word to support progressive, non-commercial radio at the Classical Gala Benefit Concert for KRUU radio station, 100.1 FM, (listen to
archives and ³live streaming² online at http://www.kruufm.com)

On May 10 at Stephen Sondheim Theatre in the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center 200 North Main St. Fairfield, Iowa 52556

http://www.fairfieldacc.com/sondheimcenter.html

The Sondheim Center Box Office will open one hour prior to show times.
Tickets for all events are available in person and by phone. To reach our box office - Call 641-472-ARTS (2787) or email to boxoffice@sondheimcenter.com.

Jay Mattsson

_____

Here's a piece Kirsi Marcus wrote about the show:

It's a Family Affair: KRUU Fundraiser Features Wells Sisters

By Kirsi Marcus

Lots of big things are starting to happen in our small town. For instance, on Saturday, May 10, at 8:00 p.m., the Stephen Sondheim Theatre welcomes onto its stage some of the most talented musicians (and a dancer) connected with the Fairfield community. The event will be the first annual Classical Gala Benefit Concert, with all proceeds going to support the local KRUU radio station, founded by Roland Wells in September 2005.

The Gala certainly proves to be a family affairtwo of the performers are Roland's sisters, Eleanor and Catherine, and his brother-in-law Dr. Charles Lee. This remarkable family, native to Australia but raised in Fairfield, represents some of the best talent this town has generated.

KRUU Radio has been running for just under two years now, completely on the basis of community donations and volunteers. In the short time since it transmitted its first radio waves, KRUU has become an important point of pride for Fairfield, which is home to some of the most interesting and diverse people that any small town can boast. KRUU has provided an excellent forum for talented people to share their thoughts and experiences, a passion for music, or expose our community to something a little different. In short, it has fulfilled its mission of providing a "voice" for the people of Fairfield.

"The amount of time that our hosts put into their shows just astounds me!" Roland says, with a smile on his face. "Our volunteers are so passionate about the station." And for some, like Ari Berman, a Fairfield native who is now a journalist for The Nation in New York and host of the show Politicking with Ari Berman, KRUU has provided a great way for him to play an active part in the community in which he grew up.

Operating on a modest annual budget of $77,000, KRUU relies on fundraisers like the Classical Gala Concert to keep its doors open and its radio waves broadcasting. The station is hoping to bring in at least $6,000 from the event, with tickets priced at $20 (students $15, children under 10 free).

"Fairfield has such an amazing gathering of creative talents," says Catherine Wells, a dancer with Ballet Nouveau Colorado. "I always feel so supported by the community." She is thrilled to be dancing at the benefit, and even more excited about doing her part to support the station.

No stranger to community projects, Roland founded a youth center (the Beatbox) in Fairfield at the young age of 19. During its five-year reign, he devoted countless hours to educating local teens, providing a safe haven from drugs and alcohol. It was during the Beatbox era that the station took its first steps, applying for its low power, non-commercial license. And the success of the station shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who's ever had a conversation with Roland; it's evident within seconds that he is a true leader.

"Honestly, I think the world of Roland," says his sister Eleanor, "and I am constantly amazed by what he does for the community." Eleanor, a cellist with the Boulder Philanthropic (among numerous other orchestras), will perform Mozart's "Two Cello Sonata" with her husband Charles and George Crumb's "Solo sonata for violincello" with her sister, Catherine. The night promises to be a beautiful event and a rare treat for Fairfielders.

Finally, let's clear up a question about the radio station that has been under hot debate for some time. Is KRUU pronounced "crew"? Or "k-ru"? Roland laughs at the query, replying diplomatically, "It's whichever you choose!

Since the radio station belongs to the community, however people want to say it is fine by me."
--
James Moore
Station Manager
KRUU-LP 100.1 FM
The Voice of Fairfield, Iowa
www.kruufm.com <http://www.kruufm.com>

We put the unity in community

John McCain is lying to America.

Sam Garchik — Wed, 07 May 2008 09:21:16 -0500

John McCain is lying to America.

By DFA

He claims to be a straight-talking maverick. He publicly distances himself from the wildly unpopular Bush administration.

But it's just more of the same. Making windfall corporate profits the law of the land. Pandering to the religious right. Endless war.

McCain's latest ingenious policy proposal is his idea to lift the gas tax during the summer months to supposedly help ease the burden on vacationing families. McCain's idea is so out of touch that everyone from Paul Krugman to Bush's council of economic advisors thinks it's a horrible idea.

McCain's proposal is not about making life easier for families. McCain's real special interest is big oil. They get huge tax breaks to help them continue to rake in record profits, even as prices soar at the pump.

Democracy for America wants the voters to know the truth. We need to make an impact now while the issue is hot. Our goal: 2,000 donors contributing $50 each to fight back.

https://democracyforamerica.com/contribute/mccain

DFA will run a people-powered campaign, using radio ads to target the very voters McCain hopes to shore up with his gas tax holiday. We will go after white men and independents, running our aggressive persuasion ads on drive time sports radio in upcoming primary states.

It is imperative that we stop McCain from taking us deeper into economic despair with nonsense proposals designed to pander to a key voting bloc in an election year.

The time is now. Together we will unmask the McCain myth. Join us today and contribute $50.

https://democracyforamerica.com/contribute/mccain

This is only the beginning. The more DFA members take action, the faster we can escalate the attack. DFA's people-powered campaigns will use sophisticated micro-targeting to contact voters who are crucial to a Democratic victory in November.

McCain is appealing to working and middle class Americans. He wants folks to think he is working for them. The gas tax holiday is no exception. A recent Reuters article connects the not-so-subtle dots:

"Economists said that since refineries cannot increase their supply of gasoline in the space of a few summer months, lower prices will just boost demand and the benefits will flow to oil companies, not consumers. "You are just going to push up the price of gas by almost the size of the tax cut," said Eric Toder, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center in Washington."¹

Together, we will make sure America knows who McCain's special interest really is. Contribute $50 today to give DFA the resources to win.

https://democracyforamerica.com/contribute/mccain

Thank you for putting your contribution into action.

-Rachel

Rachel Moss
Finance Director

"Hacking Democracy" on HBO: Still Timely

Sam Garchik — Tue, 06 May 2008 10:52:03 -0500

"Hacking Democracy" on HBO: Still Timely

By Jerry Depew, Iowa Voters

Several times over the next few weeks HBO will show the 2006 movie “Hacking Democracy,” an investigation of voting machines. A little progress has been made to protect democracy from these machines, but the movie’s central questions remain unaddressed: How did Florida’s Volusia County report negative votes for Al Gore in 2000? And how can we defend against miscounted paper ballots when computers do the counting in secret?

We Iowans are patting ourselves on the back, having just dumped our touchscreens. But the legislature failed to take the next step–auditing the paper ballots after the computerized scanners do the initial count. The movie makes clear why this is needed.

This is a vivid and eye-opening film. Although I had read about many of the episodes documented in it, I had not seen it until today. I don’t have HBO, I never bought the DVD and never took the time to watch the nine part YouTube edition which starts here. Luckily for me a friend in Pocahontas taped the HBO showing yesterday and drove it over to my house.

I know some of what has happened since the film was first issued. It hints that the 2004 recount in Ohio was rigged, and indeed two people later got jail terms for their part in rigging it. It recounts several investigations by computer scientists into voting machine computer code, but there have been more investigations since. All of them always produce bad news for the voting machine advocates.

The film shows how some Florida scanners were hacked. The county involved got rid of those machines, but they (Diebold scanners) still dominate in Iowa.

We know what to do. We must count ballots by hand after the computer counts. If the race is close, we must count quite a few of the ballots. If it’s a landslide, we can audit a much smaller number of ballots. But we can’t take the computer’s word for it–ever.

Ask your local election workers at the June primary if they have seen the movie. Ask your favorite candidates if they have seen it. Ask your auditor why no audits are planned. Ask Secretary Mauro, too.

Strong American Schools is excited to announce the ED in '08 Blogger Summit.

Sam Garchik — Mon, 05 May 2008 10:47:59 -0500

Strong American Schools is excited to announce the ED in '08 Blogger Summit.

By Ed in 08

Conference details are as follows:

May 14th - 15th

Palomar Hotel, Washington DC

Registration is Free!

The event kicks off at 6:00 p.m. on May 14, with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres at the Hotel Palomar. At 7:00 p.m., we will screen the education documentary film Two Million Minutes (trailer), which tracks and compares the progress of 2 Indian, Chinese and American students during their four years of high school. The screening will be followed by Q&A with the filmmakers.

The conversation will move into high gear on Thursday, with speakers and panelists including Alexander Russo, Newt Gingrich, and Chris Gabrieli.

Space is limited, so be sure to RSVP today!

SEIU and Iowa for Health Care Help Raise Nurse Wages Statewide

Sam Garchik — Sat, 03 May 2008 09:03:33 -0500

SEIU and Iowa for Health Care Help Raise Nurse Wages Statewide.

By Iowans for Health Care

SEIU Local 199 and Iowa for Health Care are holding a Press Conference at the UI Hospitals and Clinics on Tuesday, May 6, 2008 at Noon. The Press Conference is to highlight a new bill that will bring wage increases to nurses across the state. Speakers include SEIU Iowa President Cathy Glasson, SEIU Iowa Political Director Sarah Swisher, and State Senator Bob Dvorsky.

On the last day of Iowa's legislative session, the Iowa House and Senate passed a historic bill that earmarks this year's Medicaid provider reimbursement increase to boost nurse wages across the state. This one-percent Medicaid provider reimbursement increase could mean $4.2 million for Iowa's RNs, translating to hundreds of dollars per nurse.

Beginning to raise nurse wages is a needed step toward solving the state's drastic nurse shortage. At the rate we are going, Iowa is set to have a shortfall of 9,100 RNs by 2020, leaving a 27 percent shortage. Passing this bill proves that Iowa is ready to take on the issue that hits our nurses the hardest: wages. Iowa's nurses are the lowest wage earners of any state in the country, ranking 52nd in the country, also behind Washington D.C. and Guam.

"While hundreds a year is not a huge pay increase, this bill shows that nurses and policymakers can initiate change that will lead to the recruitment and retention of quality nurses in our state. I am proud that SEIU led this charge and that members and not yet union members are being rewarded," said SEIU Iowa president and national nurse leader Cathy Glasson.

WHAT: Press Conference to highlight bill that will bring statewide raises in nurse wages.

WHEN: Noon - Tuesday, May 6, 2008

WHERE: Grassy area outside near Main Entrance of UI Hospitals and Clinics

WHO: Cathy Singer-Glasson, President of SEIU Iowa, RN

Sarah Swisher, Political Director of SEIU Iowa, RN

Bob Dvorsky, State Senator from Coralville

Pat Murphy, Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives

Iowa for Health Care is uniting nurses and other citizens who are concerned about the skyrocketing cost of health care. As part of Americans for Health Care – a project of SEIU, the nation's largest health care union – we are working to secure quality, affordable health care for every man, woman, and child in America.

Bike to Work Week Kickoff

Sam Garchik — Fri, 02 May 2008 08:52:38 -0500

Bike to Work Week Kickoff

By Iowa Global Warming

Bike to Work Week has it's kickoff at the Downtown Farmer's Market. Registered riders can pick up their packets and free socks here. For more info and to register visit www.bikeiowa.com

Join us for a good time at the opening day of this year's Farmer's Market, Saturday, May 10 at 7:00 AM.

Climate Justice: Promoting Equity in Dealing with Climate Change

Sam Garchik — Thu, 01 May 2008 10:47:24 -0500

Climate Justice: Promoting Equity in Dealing with Climate Change

By Progressive States Network

Too often, the impact that policies and measures have on low-income and marginalized communities is considered only as an after thought, if at all. Climate change policies are no exception.

While everyone will be impacted by the effect of climate change, the impacts will be distributed unequally. For example, temperatures are expected to increase across the country resulting in higher cooling costs, which more greatly affects poorer households. But the impacts go beyond just increased cooling costs. Higher temperatures will have a greater effect on those with poorer health and lack of access to hospitals and health care. People of color and low-income communities face more health care disparities, including less routine care and unequal access to quality care. As a result, these communities will doubly suffer from the effects of climate change.

While there is no doubt that aggressive, comprehensive action must be taken, the impact these policies have on lower-income communities and communities of color must be considered from the beginning, especially in a time of recession when family budgets are most strained. This Dispatch lays out the issues facing climate change policies and how states can implement smart, equitable changes.
Stopping"Cap and Dump"

The disproportionate burden on low income communities and communities of color is continued by bad climate change policies. If not properly created, implemented, and enforced, cap and trade policies can result in poor communities and communities of color being exposed to a grossly disproportionate level of pollution. The idea behind cap and trade is that emissions levels for a particular industry are capped. Emissions allowances are then distributed amongst the industry. These allowances can then be traded between companies to compensate for exceeding emissions limits.

Dumping in Poor Communities: Without proper policing, a cap and trade system can become a "cap and dump" system where companies, especially those in disadvantaged communities, make no changes in their behavior and instead just buy emissions credits to cover their bad behavior. In the end, communities that cannot afford to keep polluting industries out become toxic dumping grounds.

In a declaration against cap and trade schemes, environmental justice advocates point out that many current cap and trade schemes are undemocratic, "because it allows entrenched polluters, market designers, and commodity traders to determine whether and where to reduce greenhouse gases and co-pollutant emissions without allowing impacted communities or governments to participate in those decisions."

Carbon Taxes as a Better Alternative: Many economists, including conservative ones, argue that an across-the-board tax on carbon to encourage emission cutbacks from all sources would not only be fairer, but would be economically more effective for overall both stopping climate change and economic efficiency.

Many analysts argue that carbon taxes are simpler, more transparent, and less subject to manipulation by polluters. And because it applies to every carbon source, it gives stronger incentives to immediately convert to less toxic and renewable energy sources. Combined with tightening regulatory limits, carbon taxes are less likely to end up with disproportionate dumping of emissions and toxins in poorer communities.

Smart Cap and Trade Policies: Where cap and trade policies are used, several steps must be taken to ensure that cap and trade schemes are fairly implemented as we highlighted in an earlier Dispatch. First, emissions allowances must be auctioned off, instead of being given away, to raise revenue and create economic incentives for businesses to change their behavior. The revenue raised can be used to provide economic relief to lower-income families and to ensure that lower-income communities do not become emissions dumping grounds.

Second, the emissions trading must be strongly monitored with stringent enforcement provisions, including reasonably accurate emissions measurement and automatic excess emissions penalties that are not subject to appeal or waivers. The trading of any emission that is toxic, like mercury, must also be prohibited, even if they are greenhouse gases.
Easing Economic Disparity

Last year, the Congressional Budget Office found that under a cap and trade system for carbon dioxide emissions, most of the costs of meeting the cap would be borne by consumers through higher prices for products like electricity and gasoline. The price increases would have a disproportionate impact on lower-income households because they would bear a larger burden relative to their income.

Potentially Regressive Pollution Taxes: In fact, any form of pollution tax is regressive because the economic burden falls more heavily on low income households. Poor households spend more than 15% of their income on energy, while households earning over $50,000 a year spend less than 3%. For households with an average income of roughly $13,000, the costs of a modest emissions-control target would be between $750-$950.

Before moving on to policy options for protecting low-income households, it is important to clarify what exactly is meant by economic burden. Many right-wing climate change deniers claim that climate change policies would destroy the U.S. economy. This is easily disputed by a new report by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) found that a cap and trade policy would not unduly burden economic growth and not adversely affect employment or business growth. To this extent, climate change policies will not hurt overall economic growth. However, there will be some cost to consumers. The EDF study put the amount at less than 1% of household budgets for the average American family. That is an average, so that amount for lower-income families will be larger as a portion of income and more daunting. Climate change policy must ensure that these families are not unduly economically burdened.

There are several ways to ensure that working families are not left behind in the race to fight climate change. First and foremost, policies must be enacted now. The EDF report pointedly stated that the longer the delay in action, the higher the costs of emissions reductions will become.

Eliminating Regressivity: The Brookings Institution has released a paper on how to implement an equitable carbon tax. The study also seconds the need for rapid action, noting that the sooner states enact a carbon tax and then increase it gradually, the more cost effective it will be compared to cutting emissions drastically in the future. To help offset the cost of a carbon tax on lower-income households, the paper calls for the creation of an environmental earned income tax credit in the personal income tax that would be equal to the employer and employee payroll taxes on initial earnings (up to a limit).The tax credit could be financed by revenue raised through implementing the carbon tax. Economic analysis in the study shows that properly enacted rebates would completely offset any increase in costs by a carbon tax.

The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) developed a set of key measures necessary to offset the increased costs of climate-change legislation. Assistance for low-income consumers must:

*

fully offset the impact of higher costs on the bottom fifth of the population,
*

reach as many in the bottom fifth as possible,
*

cover increases in household's various energy-related expenses, not just utility bills,
*

reflect family size,
*

operate through proven delivery mechanisms, and
*

phase up as emission controls phase in.

The CBPP report estimates that 14% of the value of the emissions allowances under a cap and trade system would be enough to cover the costs of providing assistance to the poorest fifth of households and partially offset the costs for households with modestly higher incomes.
State Action to Address Climate Justice

Many states are already taking action to ease the burden of energy costs on lower-income families, and those efforts need to be accelerated as climate change policies are implemented.

Assistance for energy costs: As we highlighted previously, Illinois gave a $1 billion rebate to consumers to provide relief from large electricity rate increases. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program clearinghouse lists all of the states and programs offering assistance. A few key state programs include:

* Minnesota requires electric companies serving over 200,000 residential customers provide a 50% discount for low-income customers on the first 300 kilowatt hours consumed each month.
* Arizona provides discounts up to 40% on the cost of electricity for customers who earn up to 150% of the federal poverty level.
* Ohio has a Percentage of Income Payment Plan that requires utilities to accept payments based on a percentage of household income.

Energy efficiency measures: While energy cost offsets are important, assistance to encourage adopting energy efficiency measures is needed, since the initial costs of doing so can be prohibitive. For instance, while in the long-term, compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs use less energy, the initial cost of a CFL is, on average, more than three times the cost of a regular light bulb. For families that barely make it month to month, those few dollars make a big difference. In recognition of the initial financial hurdle, Southern California Edison distributed one million free CFLs. Other state programs and policies include:

* West Virginia (SB 474) creates a limited sales tax holiday for energy star products.
* Colorado (HB 1387) uses funds from the severance tax trust fund to, among other things, provide home energy efficiency improvements for low-income households.
* New Hampshire (HB 1434) provides that at least 5% of a greenhouse gas emissions reduction fund shall be used to assist low-income residential customers to reduce total energy use.
* Michigan (SB 1046) establishes the low-income energy efficiency accounts to purchase energy efficiency windows, insulation and other energy efficiency measures that would be eligible for certain tax deductions and credits.
* Kansas (SB 580) creates weatherization assistance program account within the housing trust fund.
* South Carolina (SB 1076) creates a non-profit that would be able to receive funds and contributions that would help provide financial assistance to low-income households to implement energy efficiency and conservation measures.
* California's Public Utilities Commission implemented an unprecedented $108 million program to give incentives to low-income, single family homes to install high-performing solar installations.

Integrating Fighting Climate Change with Job Creation: Ultimately, the strongest way to help low-income communities and communities of color fight the disproportionate burden of climate change is to create environmentally beneficial jobs and economic growth within their communities.

Green for All, one of the leading advocates for green jobs in disadvantaged communities, highlights how shifting to a clean, green economy will improve the health and well-being of low-income earners who have suffered disproportionately from the current pollution-based economy.

Funds for states became available through the federal Green Jobs Act of 2007, authorizing $125 million per year to create green jobs worker training programs, which was included in the recently enacted Energy Independence and Security Act. Washington state was the first to pass a green collar jobs provision; HB 2815/ SB 6516 specifically targets low-income workers for green workforce training.
Conclusion

As we pointed out in our discussion on bio-fuels, blindly implementing climate change policies can create new harms, even while trying to fix old ones. Sound climate change policies are now desperately needed partly because of the failure to recognize the complexity of the issue. Protecting and re-investing in marginalized communities ensures an equitable and sound means to fighting climate change, instead of leaving substantial populations behind to deal with a mess they didn't create.
Resources
Climate Justice: Promoting Equity in Dealing with Climate Change

The California Climate Change Center at US Berkeley, Lessons for a Cap and Trade Program
Virginia Environmental Law Journal, Michael P. Vandenbergh, Climate Change: The Equity Problem
Stopping"Cap and Dump"

California Environmental Justice Movement's Declaration on Use of Carbon Trading Schemes to Address Climate Change

EJ Matters, Resources on Carbon Trading

Carbon Tax Center, Tax vs. Cap-and-Trade

American Enterprise Institute, Climate Change: Caps vs. Taxes
Easing Economic Disparity

Congressional Budget Office, Trade-offs in Allocating Allowances for CO2 Emissions
Center for Integrative Environmental Research, The U.S. Economic Impacts of Climate Change and the Costs of Inaction
Environmental Defense Fund, What Will it Cost to Protect Ourselves from Global Warming
The Brookings Institution, A Proposal for a U.S. Carbon Tax Swap, An Equitable Tax Reform to Address Global Climate Change
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Designing Climate Change Legislation that Shields Low-Income Households from Increased Poverty and Hardship
State Action to Address Climate Justice

Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Green Taxes

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program clearinghouse

Green for All

Green Jobs Act of 2007

State Bills
# West Virginia SB 474
# Colorado HB 1387
# New Hampshire HB 1434
# Michigan SB 1046
# Kansas SB 58
# South Carolina SB 1076
# Washington HB 2815/ SB 6516
3 Steps Forward

1. CO: Colorado lawmakers propose to loosen the so-called "Taxpayer Bill of Rights"

2. MO: Missouri House rejects bill to cut minimum wages

3. IA: Bill to allow public employee collective bargaining goes to governor, but fate uncertain
2 Steps Back

1. US: Many states appear to be in a recession

2. NE: Nebraska Attorney General refusing discrimination cases involving undocumented workers
Events
Good Jobs First Conference

May 7th & 8th
Baltimore/D.C. area

Registration is now open for Good Jobs First's national conference on May 7 and 8 near BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, located between Baltimore and Washington, DC. Come meet the nation's top campaigners, researchers and experts on economic development accountability and smart growth for working families.

Study Uncovers Factory Farm Tax Breaks at Taxpayers’ Expense

Sam Garchik — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:35:15 -0500

Study Uncovers Factory Farm Tax Breaks at Taxpayers' Expense

By ICCI

Iowans Agree: Factory Farms Should Pay

Members of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI) hail a recent report called “CAFOs Uncovered” by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), the leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world. The report analyzes the obvious and not-so-obvious costs that taxpayers and consumers are forced to pay to keep the factory farm industry afloat.

Margaret Mellon, director of UCS’s Food and Environment Program, stated, “If CAFOs were forced to pay for the ripple effects of harm they have caused, they wouldn’t be dominating the U.S. meat industry like they are today.”

The report states that, “misguided federal farm policies have encouraged the growth of [factory farms] by shifting billions of dollars in environmental, health and economic costs to taxpayers and communities.”

The executive summary of the report states that factory farms “are not the inevitable result of market forces. Instead, these unhealthy operations are largely the result of misguided public policy that can and should be changed.”

“This is another study that confirms what CCI has been saying for years,” said CCI member Garry Klicker from Bloomfield. “The Environmental Quality Incentives Program should be used to help family farmers protect our air and water, not as another form of corporate welfare for factory farms. We also need environmental protection laws that force factory farm polluters to pay for their clean up and report their toxic emissions.”

That’s why members of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement are asking Governor Culver to veto the odor study, HF 2688, a bill that requires taxpayers to foot the bill of nearly $23 million to study factory farm odor mitigation techniques over the next five years. This report is another reinforcement that factory farms get too much taxpayer funding, and the odor study delays enforcing much-needed standards. The report also highlights the need for clean air standards for hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, which are toxic to human health.

The full report can be viewed here

Twisted Crime By Iowa GOP Leaderhsip

Sam Garchik — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:23:38 -0500

Twisted Crime By Iowa GOP Leaderhsip

By Sam Garchik

Check out this link from the Register. What is the mater with these people?

Prodigy's 'puzzling' fall leads to murder charge
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080427/NEWS05/804270347

New Study Out: Confined Animal Feeding Operations Cost Taxpayers Billions

Sam Garchik — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 09:38:01 -0500

New Study Out: Confined Animal Feeding Operations Cost Taxpayers Billions

By the IFU

New study by the Union of Concerned Scientists puts nail in CAFO's economic arguments, talks about benefits of alternative systems, and shows graphic photos of manure piles.

http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/cafo-costs-report-0113.html

Confined Animal Feeding Operations Cost Taxpayers Billions, New Report Finds
Science Group Calls for Policies that Reduce CAFO Subsidies and Encourage Modern, Sustainable Meat, Milk and Egg Production

WASHINGTON (April 24, 2007) – Misguided federal farm policies have encouraged the growth of massive confined animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, by shifting billions of dollars in environmental, health and economic costs to taxpayers and communities, according to a report released today by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). As a result, CAFOs now produce most of the nation's beef, pork, chicken, dairy and eggs, even though there are more sophisticated and efficient farms in operation.

"CAFOs aren't the natural result of agricultural progress, nor are they the result of rational planning or market forces," said Doug Gurian-Sherman, a senior scientist in UCS's Food and Environment Program and author of the report. "Ill-advised policies created them, and it will take new policies to replace them with more sustainable, environmentally friendly production methods."

"CAFOs Uncovered: The Untold Costs of Confined Animal Feeding Operations" enumerates the policies that have allowed CAFOs to dominate U.S. meat and dairy production. For example, it found that from 1997 to 2005 taxpayer-subsidized grain prices saved CAFOs nearly $35 billion in animal feed, which comprises a large percentage of their supply costs. Cattle operations that raise animals exclusively on pasture land do not benefit from the subsidy. (To read the full report, go to: http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_environment/sustainable_food/cafos-uncovered.html)

The report also details how other federal policies give CAFOs hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to address their pollution problems, which stem from the manure generated by thousands, if not tens of thousands, of animals confined in a small area. The report estimates that CAFOs have received $100 million in annual pollution prevention payments in recent years through the federal Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which was established by the 2002 Farm Bill.

"If CAFOs were forced to pay for the ripple effects of harm they have caused, they wouldn't be dominating the U.S. meat industry like they are today," said Margaret Mellon, director of UCS's Food and Environment Program. "The good news is that we can institute new policies that support animal production methods that benefit society rather than harm it."

Instead of favoring CAFOs, the report recommends that government policies provide incentives for modern production methods that benefit the environment, public health and rural communities. The report also shows that several smart alternative production methods can offer meat and dairy at costs comparable to CAFO products.

For example, some livestock producers move beef and dairy cattle frequently to different areas of a pasture, enabling them to spread out manure, prevent overgrazing, and take advantage of grass as a cost-effective source of animal feed. Meanwhile, some hog farmers have built hog hoop barns—open-ended structures with curved roofs—as an alternative to confining the animals in cramped buildings.

"Many farmers are succeeding when they work with nature instead of against it," said Gurian-Sherman. "These savvy producers are proving that hog hoop barns, smart pasture operations, and other alternative methods can compete with the massive CAFOs. And that's despite the fact that the cards are stacked against them."

In addition to steering taxpayer dollars away from CAFOs, the report also urges Congress to enforce laws that encourage competition so alternative producers can get their meat and dairy to consumers as easily as CAFOs. Making CAFOs, rather than taxpayers, pay to prevent or clean up the pollution they create is also critical, Gurian-Sherman said.

Mellon noted that next week the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production is expected to issue its final report that documents the effects of intensive animal production on humans, animals, and the environment. "When taken together," she said, "the two reports paint a grim picture of CAFOs and make strong, practical recommendations for new policies that can take us in a new, more efficient direction that will not fleece the American public."

Iowa Farmers Union
PO Box 8988
Ames, IA 50014
1-800-775-5227
FAX 832-575-5227
info@iowafarmersunion.org
www.iowafarmersunion.org