By Kristine Milbandt

Two Wartburg College scientists were among those from 27 Iowa universities and colleges who issued a report to state leaders last week warning about climate change.

Dr. Johanna Foster, associate professor of biology, and Dr. David McCullough, professor of biology, were among the 138 to sign the “Iowa Climate Statement: The Drought of 2012.”

McCullough signed a similar letter a few years ago, but said it is more urgent now.

“The letter is designed to further remind Iowans of the reality of global climate change, how it may be, and likely already is, affecting our current climate conditions with volatile and drastic weather events,” McCullough said.

“There are a lot of people who claim that there are no climate problems. But if they looked at the thousands of research articles that have documented animal and plant changes, then they would be hard-pressed to state that nothing is changing,” Foster said.

McCullough was on the committee of scientists that put the letter of warning together.

“As a scientist and educator who is on the front line of observing the already existing effects of climate change, I feel a strong responsibility to inform others of the problems we, as humans, may be facing, and what we can do to prepare for in the future,” McCullough said.

While it may not be possible to totally prevent future disasters, he said the report is meant to prepare Iowans to minimize potential damage. This could include reduced development in floodplains, increased erosion control, better preparation for drought and public education about global warming.

Foster doubts the state will react to the warning, but hopes politicians take notice of each signature on the report. She said each scientist did his or her own research before signing the document.

“If the state of Iowa can at least admit that the climate is changing faster than our historical records have demonstrated as average, then they might consider this issue when new legislation promoting lowering use of climate-changing resources is offered,” Foster said.

Although many politicians support wind power, Foster said it will not solve all the pending problems.

“Wind is useful, and I think that Iowa should be proud to be a recognized producer of this power. But on days that the wind does not blow, we cannot get electricity from it,” Foster said. “More needs to be done to add to alternative energy sources.”

“Iowa and many other states are superseding the federal government in greenhouse gas reduction and other sustainability initiatives,” McCullough said. “However, there is much more to do, and misguided and obstructive initiatives are in existence.”

Without getting into politics, Foster said individuals can reduce the amount of resources used.

“‘Reduce’ does not go along with ‘consume,’ which we are hearing about to stimulate the economy, but we have to reduce the amounts of chemicals going into our atmosphere,” Foster said.

As evidence of climate change, Foster cited “ice sheets that don’t grow back to larger sizes during their winter season and Southern Hemisphere animals successfully becoming established in ecosystems historically too cold for them.”

“My response is that it’s taken us over a century to produce the problem, so it isn’t fixable overnight,” Foster said. “Some people who are against admitting that this climate change is a problem probably feel that they will be forced to change their lives overnight. I think that we need to start to fix the problem, not give up and never quit.”

“We can all do our part to reduce greenhouse emissions,” McCullough said. “In the long run it will help.”