Dartunorro Clark

dclark@jconline.com

Judy Ryan is not waiting for politicians to quit bickering about whether climate change is real.

After last year's brutal winter, the Lafayette homeowner ditched her old water heater and furnace. Her intuition told her that there could be worse to come, and she didn't want to be unprepared.

Kevin Underwood does not need to know that global emissions of greenhouse gases rose 2.3 percent in 2013 to record levels.

After the devastating drought of 2012, the Tippecanoe County corn and soybean farmer began adjusting his conservation practices by planting cover crops to help enrich and protect his soil against increasingly unpredictable weather.

Jon Tobias may not be familiar with data showing 20 million residents of the Midwest already breathe air that fails to meet minimum ambient air quality standards.

The Wixom, Michigan, taxicab company owner decided to replace his fleet of gas-guzzling clunkers for more fuel-efficient Toyota Priuses in an effort to shrink his company's carbon footprint and do something to try to slow global warming.

Even as climate scientists issue fresh reports demonstrating the relentless warming of the planet, and the nations of the world haggle at the United Nations over ways to reduce global carbon emissions, Midwesterners are beginning to adapt to the volatile climate — without waiting for policymakers.

'The science is very clear'

Climate change is no longer an esoteric, atmospheric phenomenon — it's a lived reality throughout the world.

As more intense droughts encroach nearly all of California and rising sea levels threaten communities ringing the Gulf of Mexico, experts are urging people and policymakers to regard climate change as an issue that must be addressed expeditiously.

The 2014 National Climate Assessment, commissioned by the federal government, is the most comprehensive assessment of the impacts of climate change throughout the United States now and in the future.

Its findings for the Midwest are stark.

Though the region has long had a reputation for bitter winters, soggy springs and scorching summers, the effects of climate change are "projected to alter the ecosystem and socioeconomic patterns and processes in ways that most people in the region would consider detrimental," the report said.

Among the predictions: Even heavier rainfall. More frequent extreme weather events. Changes in agricultural pests, invasive species and disease prevalence. Decreased agricultural productivity. Reduced water quality. Dirtier air.

Put simply: Summers in Lafayette will begin to feel a lot like summers in Harlingen, Texas, according to climate and weather data analyzed by Climate Central, a New Jersey-based nonprofit.

"The science is very clear," said Donald Wuebbles, a professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Illinois. "This is a real issue."

Wuebbles is a leader of the National Climate Assessment and was a part of a team that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former Vice President Al Gore for his work with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

"This will have a huge impact on our children and grandchildren, and we should be worried about this," he said. "Right now, we don't do a very good job of protecting the future."

Homeowners and insurers prepare for the worst

Judy Ryan bought her home near the Bluffs in 2011, and it came with an aging furnace and water heater.

Ryan said she has thought a lot about climate change, especially after last winter — one of the worst in recent memory. It brought record snowfall to Greater Lafayette and several major Midwestern cities.

She didn't want to face more uncertainty about the major appliances in her basement.

Replacing the water heater and furnace with energy-efficient equipment cost Ryan and her husband $5,000. "It's worth it," she said.

"It's reinvesting in your home and not waiting until it's broken.

"Being efficient," she added, "is going to slow down the process" of climate change.

Trent Johnson, a West Lafayette insurance agent for State Farm, thinks people like Ryan are taking the right steps. For example, more homeowners are installing metal roofs, he noted, which provide better protection against severe weather, such as hail.

"I never watched the weather more than I have in the last three to five years," he said. "I'm impacted and concerned about the storms that blow through. It keeps our claims books very busy."

Johnson said all Indiana residents should be concerned about climate change because when one part of the state gets hit with severe weather, it can raise insurance costs for everyone.

Farmers hustle with conservation

Agriculture is a major part of the Midwest's economy, with two-thirds of land designated as farmland. Some 65 percent of U.S. corn and soybean production comes from the Midwest. Indiana alone is home to nearly 60,000 farms.

But "climate disruptions to agricultural production have increased in the past 40 years and are projected to increase over the next 25 years," according to the National Climate Assessment. "By mid-century and beyond, these impacts will be increasingly negative on most crops and livestock."

Heavy rainfall events have brought a number of floods to the region, and Indiana climatologist Dev Niyogi expects that to continue.

"It is about the change in rainfall patterns," Niyogi said. "When it rains, it pours in the Midwest now."

Weather has always been a concern for farmers. But fluctuations and the frequency of severe events are raising alarm.

Kyle Cline, policy director of the Indiana Farm Bureau, called it "the most significant social challenge of our time."

"There is no doubt that extreme weather patterns and extreme weather events have occurred in the past several years," he said. "The frequency has been a bit concerning in the last decade or a little more."

Cline said farmers are determined to adapt to whatever conditions they face.

"Farmers have always been good innovators," he said. "They adapt to their surroundings, whether that be weather or the economy."

Indiana farmers are improving their conservation efforts.

Kevin Underwood owns a farm in West Lafayette. With nearly 1,500 acres of mostly corn and soybeans, he has seen how severe weather events, including heavy rainfall, can spoil crops.

He especially remembers 2012, when the Midwest suffered one of the most devastating droughts in recent memory.

That drought, the third to hit Indiana in the past 30 years, cost the U.S. food export industry billions in lost corn and soybean exports. The economic impact rivaled that of Hurricane Sandy.

Underwood saw his normal yield of 115 bushels per acre decline 50 to 60 percent.

"There's sometimes too much moisture, too little moisture and too much heat and too little heat," he said. "You deal with what the weather gives to you. There's a limit to what you can do to overcome it."

But since the drought, Underwood has tried to overcome the weather by planting cover crops, including rye and wheat, which are used to enrich soil, make it more resilient, reduce carbon emissions and retain moisture. Underwood said planting cover crops costs $15 to $20 per acre yet produces long-term benefits.

Eileen Kladivko, a professor of agronomy at Purdue University, stresses the importance of agricultural conservation. She said cover crops are one of the most important ways farmers can be progressive when it comes to protecting soil.

"Farmers have always had to deal with changes in weather," Kladivko said. "Now it's more extreme."

Moreover, agriculture accounts for 8 percent of heat-trapping gases. Soil that not only can retain water but also cut some carbon dioxide emissions naturally is good for farmers and the environment, Kladivko said.

"Doing the best job that we can to improve the health and quality of our soil will improve crop productivity and make the crops more resilient to weather," she said.

The drought also brought a new view of how farmers are insured.

"2012 caused the worst crop yield in decades," said Mike Blummet, an insurance agent for MBAH in Lafayette. "We are definitely seeing a lot of volatile weather."

Blummet said more farmers are becoming aware of what they can do to protect their farmland, which means that they're buying more crop insurance.

After the 2012 drought, nearly 100 percent of farmers he insures in Tippecanoe and surrounding counties submitted an insurance claim, Blummet said.

Another looming climate change threat is increased intensity of weather events.

"Every Indiana county has had a FEMA disaster declaration in the past six years," said Steve Cain, who works on the Purdue campus as a USDA disaster specialist and liaison for the community.

"Floods are my major concern in Indiana. It's, oddly enough, one of the most expensive natural disasters."

Small business rethinks climate

The first sign of trouble was when Jeffrey Tobias began to wheeze. Then he was hospitalized about Christmas 2006.

Doctors told his family that his illness was linked to an old Crown Victoria he was driving as a cabbie in southeastern Michigan. His gas guzzler, which was his livelihood, had been leaking antifreeze. For months, he and his clients had been unknowingly breathing in the fumes.

For Jeffery's brother, Jon Tobias, the misfortune had a silver lining. Jon, a keen environmentalist, thought it was time to rethink the taxi industry in Michigan. He wanted to conceive a way to become more environmentally conscious and improve commuting in the Wolverine State. So in 2008, he purchased several Toyota Priuses and started Michigan Green Cabs. Six years later, the ecofriendly small business employs nearly 60 people and has 35 cabs that operate throughout Michigan.

"I created this company out of general concern for the environment," Tobias said. "We're making a difference 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

The old cab business relied on used vehicles that had poor fuel economy, required frequent maintenance and emitted copious amounts of heat-trapping pollutants into the atmosphere — one of the key drivers of global warming.

"All of the cars were typical taxis," Jon Tobias said. "Old used cars that should have been retired."

Now, he said, his cars have greater fuel economy, which saves his drivers money, and carbon emissions have been reduced significantly, which is good for customers, his brother — who now works for him — and ultimately the environment.

According to a 2011 report from the National Small Business Association, more than 80 percent of small business owners took one or more steps to improve energy efficiency and help their bottom line, effectively taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint.

Though their main goal may have been to save money, "many of our small businesses are more conscious about climate change," said Erin Musgrave, a representative for the Small Business Majority.

Cities must be prepared

The National Climate Assessment urges urban dwellers to be concerned about climate change as well.

Niyogi, the Indiana climatologist, agrees.

"We need to have a contingency plan in place," he said. "We need to get down to the drawing board every year as it pertains to climate change."

He noted that cities need to have strategies for dealing with droughts, extreme snowfalls and floods — and that simply looking at the past is not enough.

Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski believes his city is prepared and works to reassess contingency planning at least annually.

The city works closely with the Tippecanoe County Emergency Management Agency. It has what is called a District Four task force that trains almost weekly to respond during the first 72 hours after a disaster or severe weather event, said Steve Butram, Lafayette's deputy fire chief.

The city houses equipment worth hundreds of millions of dollars near a mobile command center near the Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, to be used in case of a disaster.

"We are pretty progressive," Roswarski said of the city's planning efforts.

In West Lafayette, Mayor John Dennis has heeded climate change concerns.

"We've been dealing with weather for many, many years in West Lafayette," Dennis said. "The best you can do is be prepared."

The city put in place changes to make the community more green and sustainable, emphasizing recycling as well as traffic roundabouts to curtail tailpipe emissions.

"It's a pretty comprehensive view of what we do with our community," Dennis said.

Both cities and the county have worked with Wabash River Enhancement Corp. to implement environment-friendly programs.

Sara Peel, director of watershed projects for the corporation, said that during initial talks with the officials from the county and both cities, there were concerted efforts to think about the future as it pertains to the Wabash River. With a federal environmental grant, the local governmental bodies decided to sell discounted rain barrels to homeowners, construct pervious pavement, plant trees and install rain gardens.

Since 2012, more than 400 rain barrels have been sold and just as many trees planted, and 8 acres of pervious pavement now absorbs rain and drains it into a reservoir beneath the pavement.

These steps were taken to minimize runoff into the Wabash River, but they are also measures that many experts say mitigate the effects of climate change.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect the proper spelling of Mayor Roswarski's name.