Chapter 24, Midwest

Rising temperatures, extreme precipitation, drought, and other climate-related events in the Midwest are impacting agriculture, ecosystems, cultural practices, health, infrastructure, and waterways. Communities, Indigenous Peoples, governments, and businesses are embracing adaptation approaches that include climate-smart agriculture, improved landscape management, innovative green infrastructure financing, and collaborative decision-making.

- From Chapter 24

This page is in draft form and is currently being reviewed by project partners. For more information about the creation and review process, please see the landing page for the NCA5 Educator's Guide.

Jump to:

  1. Information on using this guide
  2. Educational resources and guiding questions for this region
  3. CLEAN curated pathways to action for the region
  4. NCA5 non-regional chapter connections

Key Messages for the Midwest:

National Climate Assessment Art X Climate selections

Artist's statement:In this piece I use paper lamination, dyeing, painting, flour paste resist, screen printing, and stitching to create work about human relationships with the earth. I live on the western edge of the Lake Erie watershed where fertilizer runoff from farms and lawns has resulted in the development of huge algae blooms on the lake. To me, these blooms can appear eerily beautiful at times, but they pose a serious danger to the life of the lake. This problem is an issue in many places throughout the country.


Artist's statement:This artwork depicts the meltdown of traditional northern winters' icy streams and lakes. The sun rises, heat trapped by cloud cover. The river forms a flooding current, invading an abandoned building. Red-throated loons, normally migrants south from the Arctic, ride the current. Remnants of swamp trees, common in the boreal bogs of the Upper Midwest, pose themselves like goblins, totems of the past, part of the region's lingering character. I work in watercolor, gouache, colored pencil, and ink, often taking weather into account to create a mood.


Educational resources and guiding questions aligned with the regional Key Messages:

Each Key Message features three guiding questions to help educators navigate these topics with students. Each guiding question includes example lessons and supporting videos. The lessons were taken from the Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN) educational resources database. The videos were selected from reputable sources to support the lessons.

Key Message One: Climate-Smart Practices May Offset Complex Climate Interactions in Agriculture

Crop production is projected to change in complex ways due to increasing extreme precipitation events and transitions between wet and dry conditions, as well as intensification of crop water loss. Changes in precipitation extremes, timing of snowmelt, and early-spring rainfall are expected to pose greater challenges for crop and animal agriculture, including increased pest and disease transmission, muddier pastures, and further degradation of water quality. Climate-smart agriculture and other adaptation techniques provide a potential path toward environmental and economic sustainability.

Guiding question one: How do changes in seasonality and increases in weather variability affect agriculture, particularly staple crops like corn and soybeans in the Midwest?

Guiding question two: What strategies could be implemented to make livestock management practices more resilient to climate risks in the Midwest?

Guiding question three: What are the benefits of and challenges to implementing climate-smart agriculture in the Midwest?

Key Message Two: Adaptation May Ease Disruptions to Ecosystems and Their Services

Ecosystems are already being affected by changes in extreme weather and other climate-related changes, with negative impacts on a wide range of species. Increasing incidence of flooding and drought is expected to further alter aquatic ecosystems, while terrestrial ecosystems are being reshaped by rising temperatures and decreasing snow and ice cover. Loss of ecosystem services is undermining human well-being, causing the loss of economic, cultural, and health benefits. In response, communities are adapting their cultural practices and the ways they manage the landscape, preserving and protecting ecosystems and the services they provide.

Guiding question one: Why do the varying ecosystems located across the Midwest need different plans for preserving and protecting biodiversity?

Guiding question two: What is the relationship between Indigenous communities and the natural world in the Midwest, and what role do that relationship play in cultural practices, heritage, and economic activities such as fishing and hunting?

Guiding question three: Which nature-based solutions have the greatest potential to help your community mitigate and adapt to climate change?

Key Message Three: Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies Improve Individual and Community Health

Climate change has wide-ranging effects on lives and livelihoods, healthcare systems, and community cohesion. These diverse impacts will require integrated, innovative response from collaborations between public health and other sectors, such as emergency management, agriculture, and urban planning. Because of historical and systemic biases, communities of color are especially vulnerable to these negative impacts. Mitigation and adaptation strategies, such as expanded use of green infrastructure, heat-health early warning systems, and improved stormwater management systems, when developed in collaboration with affected communities, have the potential to improve individual and community health.

Guiding question one: How do factors such as race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status intersect with climate-related health risks, and what steps can be taken to address these disparities?

Guiding question two: In your community, what are the greatest risks to health caused by climate change and why do those risks exist?

Guiding question three: What educational institutions are focused on climate change in your community and how can your class connect with and support their efforts?

Key Message Four: Green Infrastructure and Investment Solutions Can Address Costly Climate Change Impacts

Increases in temperatures and extreme precipitation events are already challenging aging infrastructure and are expected to impair surface transportation, water navigation, and the electrical grid. Shifts in the timing and intensity of rainfall are expected to disrupt transportation along major rivers and increase chronic flooding. Green infrastructure and public and private investments may mitigate losses, provide relief from heat, and offer other ways to adapt the built environment to a changing climate.

Guiding question one: What are the limitations that dam infrastructure faces due to climate change?

Guiding question two: How can innovative financing tools accelerate green infrastructure projects in the Midwest and what benefits does green infrastructure have for the region?

Guiding question three: Which elements of infrastructure are in need of repair in your region and how is climate change likely to impact them?

Key Message Five: Managing Extremes Is Necessary to Minimize Impacts on Water Quality and Quantity

Climate-related changes to water quantity and quality are increasing the risks to ecosystem health, adequate food production, surface water and groundwater uses, and recreation. Projected increases in droughts, floods, and runoff events across the Mississippi River basin and the Great Lakes will adversely impact ecosystems through increased erosion, harmful algal blooms, and expansion of invasive species. Federal and state agencies and nongovernmental organizations are cooperating on adaptation efforts related to streamflow, water quality, and other water issues.

Guiding question one: What role do partnerships play in enhancing climate resilience for agriculture and water management?

Guiding question two: How do climate-related changes in precipitation patterns impact ecosystems and water resources in the Mississippi River and Great Lakes basins?

Guiding question three: What is the main source of water your community depends upon and how might climate change impact that source?

Pathways to action for the Midwest*

*These selections were curated by CLEAN

The following actions and case studies highlight ideas for climate change adaptation and mitigation at multiple scales and are meant to support and inspire students and educators to take steps that address the challenges outlined in this chapter.

Action 1: Building Retrofitting

Action 2: Forest Protection

Action 3: Sustainable Intensification for Smallholders

Action 4: Green and Cool Roofs

Looking for more ideas for climate change actions? Explore the National Climate Assessment chapters on adaptation (chapter 31) and mitigation (chapter 32).

National Climate Assessment Midwest Chapter Connections:

The national climate assessment includes multiple chapters on climate change-specific topics. The chapters and key messages offer ways to further engage with the NCA and find out more information related to the region.

 

Disclaimer: The National Climate Assessment regional resources for educators is written, edited, and moderated by each regional team of contributors. Posts reflect the views of the regional team themselves and not necessarily Climate.gov, NOAA and USGCRP.