"Climate change is happening at a much greater and
accelerated pace than we ever expected 30 years ago," said
Richard Leopold, director of the Iowa Department of Natural
Resources.
Huge floods in 2008, which left the state's second-biggest
city, Cedar Rapids, with massive downtown destruction,
intensified the debate, with a new set of recommendations
coming from a state panel by the end of the year.
"If we decide as a state to significantly reduce greenhouse
gas emissions in a hurry, we can actually do it," said Sen.
Rob Hogg, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids. "There are a lot of
things we can do for no cost, and others we can do for very
little cost."