Worker protection stories: Building an equitable Minneapolis
Climate justice encapsulates more than working against climate change. Working toward sustainability must not only be about the environment, but about protecting the people in our community as well. The city of Minneapolis owes its vibrancy to the hard work and dedication of countless individuals who put in the physical labor to build it. Unfortunately,… Read more »
Stories of building energy efficiency for stronger, healthier communities
Building energy leaks are one of the greatest sources of fossil fuel consumption in the cold Midwest, and sealing and heating upgrades are one of the most in-demand services on residential and commercial buildings. These upgrades, room by room and building by building, are one of the most promising opportunities to cut down on greenhouse… Read more »
Looking back and looking forward: How organizing in 2022 led to wins in 2023
There is a lot of reason for optimism in 2023 as a climate-concerned majority in the Minnesota House and Senate passed ambitious legislation to reduce carbon emissions and ensure a just transition to clean energy. Earlier this year, we saw our legislators pass 100% Clean Energy — the result of a five-year grassroots campaign —… Read more »
Treaty Education in Action
For nine weeks in the spring of 2023, we peacefully held space in an 1855 Sugarbush/Treaty Camp while protecting approximately 600 acres of wilderness located in the Buena Vista State Forest in Northern MN. The Buena Vista state forest is owned by the State of Minnesota and was slated for timber sale/bid in spring 2023.… Read more »
Solar stories: Making the future bright
Solar allows us to access an abundant, renewable resource to generate sustainable energy. It also offers an opportunity to shift our relationship with the Earth in a healthier direction. Bob Blake is the founder and CEO of Solar Bear, a solar installation company in Minneapolis. He had known in his gut that something must be… Read more »
Older Minnesotans say ‘No’ to funding fossil fuels
Over three hundred and twenty-seven billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) have been released into the atmosphere since 1950 from fossil fuels burned in the United States. Those of us who grew up and had our working careers during those years benefitted from the power and the products that burning carbon produced and we… Read more »
Fighting industrial pollution for the health of our communities
All people, no matter the color of their skin, their background, their salary, or where they live, have a right to breathe uncontaminated air. Where I grew up in Munster, Indiana, windy days would carry in air pollution from nearby coal-fired plants. On certain days, the factory emissions would react in the air to cover… Read more »
Help stop the fossil fuel industry by changing your bank
Customers are demanding change from their financial institutions, and big banks aren’t listening. So it’s time to stop giving them our business. Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, and Wells Fargo continue to finance the fossil fuel industry that is destroying our climate and our livable planet. Stop the Money Pipeline and Third Act have partnered… Read more »
Energy & equity in the new 100% law
100% Clean Energy by 2040 is the law in Minnesota! For five years we rallied, petitioned, made phone calls, and sent lots of emails in support of a 100% bill. All that work paid off this year when the 100% bill quickly passed the legislature and was signed into law by Governor Walz on February… Read more »
2023: The Year of the Electric School Bus in Minnesota
In 2017, Minnesota made history as the first state in the Midwest to get an electric school bus, in Lakeville. So in 2022, when the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law authorized the EPA to offer rebates to replace existing school buses with clean and zero-emission (ZE) models, our Clean Transportation Team engaged more than 30 school boards… Read more »
