It’s a chilly and wet Earth Day in my corner of central Iowa, but I hope the Bleeding Heartland community is enjoying the weekend. Later today I hope to get out to pull up garlic mustard, an invasive plant from Europe that spreads easily and displaces native American plants.

This is an open thread: all topics welcome. After the jump I’ve posted the full audio from the Iowa Senate floor discussion of climate change on April 19, plus video highlights and excerpts from a Radio Iowa news account. State Senator Rob Hogg gave every senator a copy of this statement from Iowa faith leaders urging action to combat climate change.

Full audio from Iowa Senate climate change discussion of April 19 (about 42 minutes).

Excerpts from remarks by Democratic Senators Hogg, Herman Quirmbach, and Joe Bolkcom:

From O.Kay Henderson’s report for Radio Iowa:

“With all due respect to our religious leaders…how much are you willing to spend to reverse what you call global warming?” [Republican Senator David] Johnson asked. “…The country of Spain made a huge transition to their economy for green energy. What was the result of that? Bankruptcy?”

Hogg suggested ignoring climate change would wreck the U.S. economy.

“How much better off would this country be if there hadn’t been a $6 billion drought last year in Texas? How much better off would our state be if we hadn’t suffered $20 billion in flood damage over the last 20 years,” Hogg said, his voice rising to a yell. “You want to ruin our economy, Senator Johnson, you stick your head in the sand and ignore this issue.”

Johnson responded with a little yelling of his own.

“I’m on the side of the scientists I served with in Antartica and Greenland and I’m the only member of this body that has done that,” Johnson said. “And there is no agreement in the scientific community, no consensus that things have really changed because change happens.”