Climate Change

Certainly climate change is the topic of the moment. Not sure I saw this coming when I agreed to come to DC to speak to a group of state and federal folks sponsored by the Pew Foundation regarding low carbon fuels from a Midwest perspective. Of course, it wasn't hard to predict it would come to a head at some point.

I got into DC late this afternoon and will speak to the group tomorrow as part of a panel. I will spend time talking about what has been put together by the Midwestern Governor's Assn and the North Central Bioeconomy Consortium. A significant part of the effort of the Consortium was to discuss the idea of indirect land use and is being a part of a climate change accounting system. You can image many folks in the Midwest are opposed to its inclusion.

It sounds like that Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson may have been instrumental in getting those provisions struck in the Waxman-Markey Bill. That would be good news!

At least tomorrow I will get to share the concerns of many Midwesterners with an important group of state and federal officials.

Then back to Iowa tomorrow night.