Forecasting Our Future: Limiting greenhouse gas emissions

Iowa Environmental Council's Kerri Johannsen tells KCCI the second greatest source of CO2 is something we all can control. Greenhouse emissions are something we need to limit as a state. "So when we look at greenhouse gas emissions in Iowa, overall, and not too surprisingly, agriculture is actually our number one source of greenhouse gas emissions," Johannsen said.Carbon pollution is the main driver of climate change across the world, and the Iowa Environmental Council is working hard at its goal of making Iowa a carbon-neutral state. "Right after that, you get direct fuel usage as the second highest source of greenhouse gas emissions. And so that's going to be things like natural gas, heating, and cooking in people's homes, industrial, you know, direct use of natural gas and manufacturing facilities and things like that," Johannsen said.According to the Iowa Environmental Council’s website, they are committed to advancing:Standards limiting carbon pollution from vehicles and power plants, which help move away from the use of fossil fuels like coal and oilPrograms and policies that encourage the adoption and use of low-or-carbon-free energy Work to retire existing coal plants and expand passenger transit choicesLow-income households face disproportionately higher energy costs. If you look at the national average for low-income families 8.6% of their gross income is spent on energy. Johannsen said the inflation reduction act should start to level the playing field."IEC is going to be working hard to make sure that Iowans across the state, you know, in all communities, have the opportunity to see how that could lower their energy costs, make their homes safer and more affordable. And then really start to at the same time transform how we use energy to start to bring down greenhouse gas emissions in a way that's structural and will last over time," Johannsen said.Solar energy is growing and slowly becoming more of a mainstay in some communities across the state. The IEC says there is much more potential for homes to tap into solar energy here in Iowa.Even if a home doesn't have solar, weatherizing it can help cut the energy needed to keep the house warm. This lowers emissions and costs.IMPACT Community Action Partnership's weatherization auditor Mike Berg said weatherizing your home is a start."The big difference is it lowers their fuel bills; I believe on average last year, we saved our clients, typically, $371 over last year's time on their fuel bills," Berg said.With help from the High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Act, homes can receive up to $1,600 for weatherizing their homes.The work that IMPACT does is help weatherize homes and especially those from lower incomes with high energy usage. They work to help lower the dependency on fossil fuels in homes, such as sealing up windows and putting in more fuel-efficient furnaces.Johannsen’s work, along with the IEC, is helping to combat climate change, but there is a lot more we need to do."The International Panel on Climate Change says that we need to be there by 2035. And that is not a lot of time. But it is doable, it is just going to take a lot of people rowing together in the same direction to get that done," Johannsen said.It is evident that changes need to be made not only locally but also globally if we want to prevent the worst impacts of a warming planet.