DES MOINES, Iowa - Monday, Iowa Interfaith Power & Light (IIPL) and Iowa climate experts will hold a statewide conference call with Iowa reporters to discuss a newly announced proposal to limit carbon pollution from power plants, a major driver of climate change, and to outline the positive impacts of that decision, as well as accompanying energy efficiency and clean energy investments, for Iowans.
Speakers on the call will also unveil plans to launch a statewide canvass to gather signatures from Iowans in support of the new carbon rules. The canvasses will take place on Sunday, June 8th - the six-year anniversary of the start of the historic 2008 Iowa floods that devastated Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and communities across the state.
Conference call participants include :
- Rev. Susan Guy: Rev. Susan Guy has served as the Executive Director at Iowa IPL since 2010. She is ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) with an M. Div. from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, a B.A. from Bethany College in Bethany, West Virginia. Prior to Iowa IPL, Susan served as a pastor in both Disciples of Christ and United Methodist congregations, focusing on social justice ministries. She also has experience managing non-profit organizations, and served as the first Heartland Field Organizer for the ONE Campaign on global poverty.
- Dr. Yogesh Shah: Dr. Yogesh Shah is the Associate Dean for Global Health at Des Moines University, a position created in 2006 to establish global health experiences that DMU students increasingly seek. Dr. Shah has been instrumental in establishing the City of Des Moines as a member of the World Health Organization's network of age-friendly cities. He also led the creation of the Heartland Global Health Consortium, and the creation of Heartland Climate Health Consortium, a collaborative of Iowa educational institutions to promote the effect of climate change on nutrition and human health.
- Christopher J. Anderson, PhD: Christopher J. Anderson is a climate risk analyst. He is Assistant Director of the Iowa State University Climate Science Initiative, a research program that provides authoritative, scientific information for short-term and long-term climate-informed decision-making. He holds doctoral and master degrees in agricultural meteorology from Iowa State University. Mr. Anderson's research examines linkages between climate variability, climate change, and water management. He has coauthored recent reports for the Western Utility Climate Alliance and US EPA containing recommendations on investments in climate modeling that would yield improvements in infrastructure planning for water utilities in major metropolitan areas (Options for Improving Climate Modeling to Assist Water Utility Planning for Climate Change) and flood mitigation in the Midwest United States (Iowa Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Report). Currently, he is providing leadership to the Federal Highways Climate Resilience Pilot in Iowa in collaboration with Iowa DOT and University of Iowa IIHR.