Union letters to the editor

I am eager for those temperate days in late spring when I open windows, an offering to cats who have waited through thirty degree-below-zero temperatures and stale indoor air. In Iowa, these early warm days are cherished because we have so few before the heat of a heartland summer activates air conditioners. Often, however, I am forced to lower the panes of glass.

Odor, hog manure from the slurries of industrial hog farms that are often spread across the farm fields, invades my home and contaminates my water. In late fall, I am also forced to seal my home despite the late breaking warmth. My county, Washington, is Iowa's top pig-producing county. There are 1.3 million hogs in Washington County and 22,571 humans. Iowa’s factory farming affects my town, my county and my state not only in the quality of air but also in the quality of our water. Lake Darling in Washington County was restored in 2014 at a cost of $16 million, yet within 1.5 miles of the lake there are nineteen fields where manure is being applied, which puts this treasured recreational area at risk. *

The Clean Water for Iowa Act is a new state legislative initiative that would improve the way Iowa regulates concentrated animal feeding operations. The Clean Water for Iowa Act would require all Iowa factory farms to acquire Clean Water Act permits, to bring the industry’s pollution controls in line with other industrial sectors, and it would improve the conditions of those permits to reduce harmful pollution from factory farms.

My immediate family does not farm; however, my in-laws were dairy farmers for generations in northeast Iowa. Uncle Ike was the last to farm before industrial farming claimed his debt burdened acreage when he passed. I have lived in Kalona for 25 years, and my adult life has been spent in this state. My plan was to stay here for the remainder of my years, but the quality of my life, the quality of the lives of adults, children and animals in the area as well as across the state is being jeopardized by an industry that has abandoned the health and welfare of all Iowans.

Please consider contacting your state representative and senator (in my area of the state they are Heather Hora and Dawn Driscoll). Ask our representatives to support the Clean Water for Iowa Act, which will assist in reclaiming how the land and water is used and passed on to future families.

*Lake Darling information: Jones, C. 2023, The Swine Republic

Dian Gottlob

Kalona

Are Iowans losing their sense of smell?

I returned from a Michigan vacation yesterday. At the 94/80 interchange I exchanged a thumbs up with a woman backed by an Iowa license plate. The sun came out and I was happy to be back in Iowa, that was until I stopped for gas at the Phillips 66 at the 218/92 interchange outside Mt. Pleasant. I opened the car door and my nostrils filled with — CAFO stench.

Are Iowans losing their sense of smell? To me, this is the issue to focus on in the next election. You smell it in Mt. Pleasant, Fairfield, Kalona, Washington and even in the parking lot at the Iowa City Menards! My husband says I have an extraordinary sense of smell but, hey out there, does anyone else smell what I am smelling?

Do you know that Iowa currently has 3 million people but 24.6 million hogs, and that an adult swine produces as much as 10 times the feces of a human? Human waste is treated using our hard earned tax dollars. Anaerobic hog waste is spread on fields throughout the state. This is not manure. Yes, it contains phosphorus and nitrogen but it’s also chock full of pathogens and bacteria. CAFO “smell” is ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and particulates. Not good. Iowa now has the 2nd highest cancer rate in the entire United States. Why? Google it, it’s not strictly an obesity issue.

Shouldn’t our air quality be an election issue? Iowa used to be farm country, part of the breadbasket producing food for Iowans. Iowa is now the #1 pork producing state and the top state for pork exports, but unless you have a wad of money you probably can’t afford to purchase local pork. I grew up with a side of pork and a side of beef in our freezer. My pork chop loving mom won’t eat the pork that is in the grocery store these days, so she doesn’t eat pork anymore. Do you eat Iowa Pork?

I think that Iowa-friendly needs to dig up its roots and start shaking some pitchforks. The pork industry pours loads of money into their lobbyists. These people keep tabs on our senators and make sure they vote in favor of Iowa’s dominating industry (and in favor of the 6,000 CAFO owners).

Is this what you want? I’m asking because maybe those of us bothered by Iowa’s current air and water quality should just move.

Or, do you care and need a little nudge? If so then, let’s not be silenced by slick rhetoric. Iowa-nice shouldn’t include being easy targets for a flourishing industry that profits so few that actually live in Iowa.

If you don’t want Iowa to be a sacrificial pig for the pork industry, then, let your legislators know. Vote on this issue.

Diana Krystofiak

Fairfield

Good Samaritan pays for groceries

Last month, I was shopping in the Walmart store in Washington. Normally, I do not go through the self-check isle, but this time I did. My cart was full of many items which totaled right at $70.

I ran the items through the scanner and tried using my debit card to pay. I failed in getting my card to work. I called for an assistant, and she too, could not get my card to process. I stated that my cart full of items would have to be returned to the shelves as I had no cash and no checks with me.

A young man stepped up and handed his card to the assistant and insisted he pay for my items. He was persistent and would not take no for an answer.

He did give me his name, which I will not reveal, and told me where he is employed. Washington is fortunate to have such a caring, considerate employee in their employment. This world (that is in such a mess) needs more people of this nature.

This makes me stop to think that I want to pay it forward for others.

Kindness goes a long way and kindness is needed now more than ever.

Ed Chalupa

Washington

Thomas Jefferson and Climate Change

My admiration for Thomas Jefferson is immense. Author of the Declaration of Independence, a president who helped forge the strength and stability of our nation, he passionately defended our rights, our freedom, and our security.

And yet, when it came to the most morally troubling issue facing the new nation — slavery — Jefferson decided to kick that can down the road. He wrote in 1825 about the need to dismantle slavery: “I leave its accomplishment as the work of another generation.” Biographer Jon Meacham called this “an extremely rare case of the innovative, ever curious, inventive Jefferson refusing to engage in work he knew to be essential. And so he did what he almost never did: He gave up.”

“Refusing to engage in work he knew to be essential” — that describes with chilling accuracy the way our current leaders are treating the climate crisis. The level of human suffering that will result from our inadequate response to climate change constitutes the most troubling moral issue facing humanity today. The overall approach of our leaders is, once again, to kick that can down the road, burdening “another generation” with a responsibility that is rightfully ours.

Not only will that “other generation” need to take on the hard work and sacrifices of implementing the solutions we are still postponing, they will also feel the harsh brunt of the suffering that will continue to intensify. We must remember that this “other generation” is not an abstraction: it is our children and our grandchildren, and their descendants for decades and possibly centuries to come.

This is the grim inheritance we are leaving them — a world far less safe than the one we grew up in, filled with climate-driven disasters and the heartbreak, struggles, and losses they will bring. And unless we act boldly and very soon, the effects will be worse than most of us can imagine.

The Biden administration has done more than any other to address climate change. But it has been limited by opposition that drags against real climate progress like the heaviest anchor. Climate denial — driven by the fossil fuel industry and politicians aligned with it — would have us ignore the virtually unanimous warnings of the world’s climate scientists, who clearly see the level of destruction that is coming.

We need to stop kicking this can down the road. Solutions exist today, and even better solutions can be developed with a bold infusion of will and resources. We have performed miraculous transformations in the past, as when we rose up to end the Second World War — when the entire nation got engaged and made sacrifices, when we reorganized entire industries and created revolutionary technological breakthroughs. Our leaders at that time had the foresight and the guts to actually lead, because so much was at stake.

Everything is at stake now. It is beyond time for us to take responsibility for our increasingly deranged climate. That begins with making a commitment to elect leaders with the same foresight, guts, and compassion as those who led us to victory in WWII. Our commitment must be clear, demanding, and unambiguous.

Thom Krystofiak

Fairfield

Jefferson County has a Safe Haven

We are over a month into the New Year. With a New Year comes new opportunities to protect preborn babies from abortion and to educate everyone about the miracle called life!

The March for Life was held Jan. 19 in Washington, DC, bringing together thousands of people showing support for life, braving the cold and snow to display their love for preborn babies and their mothers.

Life is such a precious gift — we are fearfully, wonderfully made. Human life must be protected and defended — not viewed as disposable or a burden or a choice. There isn't a magical point in the womb when a fetus transforms into a human being. Your life, with all its dignity, rights, and humanity, began at the moment of fertilization.

At the moment of conception, a woman becomes pregnant and becomes a mother. It is not natural for a mother to want to end the life of her child — all sorts of consequences result from an abortion: mental, physical, emotional, spiritual.

40 Days for Life, a 40 day period of peaceful prayer, fasting, and community outreach to end abortion starts Wednesday, Feb. 14, and ends Sunday, March 24, 2024. This campaign began in 2004 and by changing hearts and minds, more than 24,000 abortions did not take place. Many abortion facilities have permanently closed and many abortion workers have quit their jobs. Go to Iowa City anytime during these 40 Days and pray in front of the Emma Goldman Abortion facility. You might just save a life!

Did you know Iowa has a Safe Haven Law? A baby may be surrendered up to 90 days after birth without any charges of abandonment being made. It is a win-win situation when a child is placed for adoption, giving the child a chance at life and saving the mother from a 'choice' that can never be changed, that of knowing she deliberately killed her own child. Jefferson County Health Center is a Safe Haven. A baby can be taken to the Emergency Room, which is staffed 24/7. Since 2002, the lives of more than 60 children have been saved in Iowa through the Safe Haven law.

Elections matter. Seek out, support, and vote for pro-life politicians. Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the states that have passed pro-life laws have seen a wonderful decrease in abortions. Precious lives have been saved. Remember the Commandment, “Thou shall not kill.” Jesus loves the little children. We are told to love like Jesus. Support your area pregnancy centers. Support women facing unexpected pregnancies. They just need to know they have love and support, and that they have beautiful options for their child that does not end in death.

Karen Crossland, President of Jefferson County Right to Life