News

Nebraska Farmers Union president calls for climate change action

 

It seems like the issue of climate change has been on the back burner for the past couple of years.

A coalition of Nebraska groups—including the Nebraska Farmers Union—is trying to bring it back to the forefront.

The groups recently held a news conference in Lincoln to urge action on climate change.  The event was in response to a recent joint statement by five University of Nebraska scientists which said the science acknowledging climate change is real—that climate change is driven by man-made causes—and that immediate action is needed to address the issue.

Groups participating in the news conference, in addition to Nebraska Farmers Union, were the Nebraska Wildlife Federation, the Sierra Club, Bold Nebraska, Nebraskans for Peace and the League of Women Voters.  John Pollack, a meteorologist and member of the American Meteorological Society and American Goephysical Union, also spoke.

Here are excerpts of comments made at the news conference by John Hansen, president of Nebraska Farmers Union.

AUDIO: Excerpts from John Hansen’s news conference comments (5:51 MP3)

Following the news conference, Brownfield visited with Hansen about two topics that are sometimes thrown into the global warming/climate change debate—beef production and ethanol.  

Some scientists claim that the cattle industry is a major emitter of greenhouse gases.  Others question whether corn-ethanol is actually good or bad for the environment. 

We asked Hansen for his thoughts on those issues.

AUDIO: John Hansen interview (5:45 MP3)