climate change
As our country confronts serious threats, some Kansans want to laugh them off
As long as news stories and columns have appeared online with a way for readers to make their reactions known, one piece of advice to authors persists. Don’t read the comments. Yet I can’t help but do so when it comes to my work, simply because I’m curious to know what people think. My recent […]
Kansans rally to pressure Evergy into keeping green energy promises
LAWRENCE — Closing the city’s coal-based power plant will be the first step toward holding the state’s largest utility company accountable for keeping green energy goals, climate change activists said at a Tuesday demonstration. The Sierra Club partnered with local organizations for the rally outside City Hall to show city officials how much local support […]
August heat wave set records in parts of Kansas
Intolerable heat and humidity that hovered over Kansas last month set daily maximum temperature records across the state and rivaled all-time highs. The heat that drove readings into the 110s and heat indices even higher served as a preview of what could become even more severe and frequent weather events as the effects of climate […]
Wrapped in brutal Kansas heat, Trump’s durability and COVID’s return can turn any stomach
I don’t know if the Earth has wobbled on its axis or Mount Oread shifted a couple of inches, but I’m feeling a smidgen off these days. Perhaps it was the week of 100-plus degree temperatures. Kansans broiled underneath a “heat dome” that made most outdoor activities unthinkable unless you own some sort of refrigerated […]
USDA’s climate grants for farms and forests run into Republican buzzsaw
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is spending more than $3 billion to cultivate more American farmers and forest landowners as partners to mitigate climate change — even while some Republicans on Capitol Hill try to stop the program entirely. The administration launched a new farm program, Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities, this year. It is […]
U.S. ag secretary touts Biden climate agenda as boost for rural America in Oregon visit
PORTLAND, Ore. — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sees the Biden administration’s climate agenda as a boon for rural economies, he said Monday during a visit to Portland’s World Forestry Center. The U.S. Forest Service, which is part of the Agriculture Department, will begin accepting applications for a second round of grants from its Community […]
As extreme heat sweeps the U.S., Biden warns that states must act to protect workers
With many parts of the country gripped by extreme heat, President Joe Biden said Thursday his administration would target states that don’t offer workers heat protections and would direct millions of dollars to water projects and improved weather forecasting. In a live address, with the mayors of Phoenix and San Antonio joining by video, Biden […]
Our one and only: A parable of the miraculous house
The house was a miracle. The peaked roof poked out from the forest of pine trees, pointing up to the blue, cloud-streaked sky. As the wind blew, pine needles, still wet with morning dew, would slap the wooden shingles of the roof in a rhythm that sounded like a heartbeat from inside the house. The […]
Evergy slashes planned renewable energy additions, proposes more natural gas
Kansas’ largest electric utility has drastically scaled back its plans to add more clean energy over the next decade and will keep open its oldest coal plant for years longer. Two years ago, Evergy announced plans to retire the Lawrence Energy Center by the end of this year and add 700 megawatts of solar power […]
Effects of climate change on farming, federal spending explored by U.S. Senate panel
WASHINGTON — U.S. senators on the Budget Committee dug into the impacts of climate change on farming during a Wednesday hearing, raising concerns about what the next few decades hold for food production and the way of life. But Republicans and representatives of farm groups pushed back against increased government regulation. Brent Johnson, president of […]
Grim realities of Kansas generations past collide with climate crisis facing us all today
When I was growing up, I remember my parents heading off to visit the graves of family members at this time of year, taking flowers to set alongside headstones. I usually chose not to go with them, seeing it as something relevant to older folks, but not to me. Now I wish I would have […]
While we wait placidly, climate change and gun violence threaten Kansans and Americans
Mark Twain liked to say that if you put a frog in a pot of boiling water, it would immediately jump out. However, if you put the frog in cool water and then turned on the heat, the frog would remain in the water until it boils to death. We Kansans — and Americans — […]