Recently I was thinking about the rather incredible amount of snowfall we had this winter followed by the destructive flooding that left so much of the farmable land in parts of the state devastated, and it made me realize that Iowa will be, for better or for worse, on the frontline in the war against climate change.

We do not have a choice in this matter. Iowa must become a leader, and one way we could begin is by looking how we can preserve our food supply by ensuring the shrinking bee population is stabilized. We can do so by pressuring our leaders in Des Moines, as well as Gov. Kim Reynolds, to work on looking to ban neonicotinoids pesticides. These are not only incredibly harmful to the dwindling bee population, but we also are now finding that they are dangerous to humans and other mammals.

We are out of time. The damage from climate change is here, and we must take action to prevent not only the visible damage already done, but the damage that will come to be from these harmful pesticides. Iowa can be a leader and join other states in banning these pesticides.