Iowa's greenhouse gas emissions are growing faster than the nation's as a whole, even as new state programs fight to limit the damage from global climate change, a new report shows.

The study conducted for Iowa's Climate Change Advisory Council found that the state faces a tough task in cutting greenhouse gases, said Jerald Schnoor, an environmental engineering professor at the University of Iowa who is leading the panel.

The gases, which include water vapor, carbon dioxide and ozone, trap heat that otherwise would escape into the atmosphere. That warms the globe, threatening an increase in disease, heat-related deaths, severe weather and crop damage.

 Interactive graphic: How climate change could affect Iowa

 The study by the Harrisburg, Pa.-based Center for Climate Strategies found gross emissions of the gases in Iowa rose approximately 20 percent from 1990 to 2005, while the country's emissions rose 16 percent. Iowa's emissions accounted for 1.7 percent of the U.S. total in 2005.

"We're increasing rapidly, more than a percent a year," said Schnoor, co-director of the U of I's Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research. "When can we begin to reduce? That's the challenge."

Experts say the new findings - and other recent research from across the globe - paint a clearer picture of what Iowa and the rest of the Midwest will be like by the end of the century. They also bring urgency to a number of policy decisions that could hurt or help the problem.

"People are more worried," said Eugene Takle, an atmospheric science professor at Iowa State University who studies climate change.

Among the most imminent issues: two highly contentious plans for new, large coal-burning power plants in Marshalltown and Waterloo.

Iowa gets most of its power from coal plants. Critics say the proposed plants would increase emissions, while backers argue new, more efficient plants would replace older, more polluting ones. The Marshalltown plant won approval from the Iowa Utilities Board last month, but still needs a state air permit; the Waterloo plant proposal hasn't been reviewed yet.

But coal usage is only one in a long list of climate-change-related issues facing the state. Climate change could affect how farmers grow corn; how much Iowans pay for heat and air conditioning; whether we have enough water, or too much; whether we can preserve wildlife, natural areas and water quality; and whether more climate-friendly businesses can be found to drive the state's economy.

Agriculture has long been blamed for having a major role in Iowa's carbon footprint. The state is the nation's top producer of corn and hogs, and has the second-highest greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture in the country, according to the World Resources Institute.

However, growing sectors of Iowa's economy are also to blame. And even newer "green energy" contributes to greenhouse gases. For example, the Clipper Windpower turbine-making plant in Cedar Rapids has 40 suppliers, all of whom have their own emissions, Schnoor said.

Schnoor and his colleagues are looking for new ways to tackle the problem. They expect in the next month to finish a study of how much carbon is swept from the atmosphere by soil and plants in the eastern United States, including Iowa. With that information, researchers and policymakers can focus on cutting the remaining carbon.

Schnoor said the Iowa task force is also looking for ways to cut emissions while creating jobs in more climate-friendly industries.

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