What We Learned This Week - "Big Block of Cheese Day"

Iowa's agriculture secretary and many others are watching a potential Des Moines Water Works water pollution lawsuit very closely.  U.S. Senators Vitter and Manchin plan to reintroduce a bill to limit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's permit veto power of projects under Clean Water Act. A newly-introduced Arkansas bill would authorize the establishment and regulation of water quality trading programs.  Authors of a new climate change report suggest that rising temperatures could sharply cut Midwest agriculture production.  All but one U.S. Senator voted that “climate change is real and is not a hoax”, although the majority voted that the change is not caused by human activity.  The White House celebrated virtual "Big Block of Cheese Day." Oil from a large spill along the Yellowstone River was detected in public water supplies may impact fish and wildlife. Nearly three million gallons of brine wastewater have leaked from North Dakota pipeline.  Researchers were buoyed by the finding of two endangered, larval pallid sturgeon in the Missouri River near St. Louis. Republicans reintroduced the highly controversial REINS Act to give them the ability to block major Obama administration regulations.  The USGS reports that groundwater from 22 percent of wells sampled nationally contained at least one chemical at a concentration greater than a U.S. EPA Maximum Contaminant Level or other human-health benchmark.  And last but not least, the Baby Boom is over; it's the “Millennial” generation's time to rule.