Twin Cities Daily Planet (https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/category/environment/page/19/)
In Anishinaabe Akiing some new mining proposals, and pipelines threaten the water and land of this region. This past month, tribal governments stepped up to issue some big challenges to those plans.
Whether by flood, fire or rapture, almost every culture has its own form of eschatology. There seems to be no end in how people predict the end of the human race. The earth will be consumed by fire, it will be re-appropriated by the waters or the faithful of the world will be called upward toward heaven, body and soul.
With the release of a U.S. State Department environmental impact study of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline that reported no significant impact, tribes and environmental groups across the Northern Plains rallied against the project’s advancement.
Let me be clear as possible about that headline. No, don’t stop fighting global warming. Don’t stop trying to do something about it. Yes, stop fighting about it. Stop wasting time with science deniers. That means stop arguing with the crazy uncle at family gatherings and the dittohead at the watercooler. Don’t let the trolls hijack the comment threads and cause you to frustrate yourself trying to convince the unconvincible. Continue Reading
Ask Chuck Dayton for the name of the most beautiful place on Earth and you’re in for a long wait. When the retired environmental lawyer finally responds he asks, “Do I have to pick only one?”
Since November of 2013, Public Record Media has been collecting agency correspondence related to mining operations in northern Minnesota, including the proposed PolyMet “NorthMet” copper-sulfide mi Continue Reading
When I walked off Air Frances’s stairwell onto the tarmac in Bamako, I took a deep breath in.
I was somewhat surprised, and of course quite unhappy, at recent polling results published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, regarding proposed copper/nickel sulfide mining. I had previously been heartened by this, published in March 2013. Continue Reading
Three state legislative bills that would greatly help implementation of the Minneapolis Energy Pathways Study recommendations are set to have a March 17th hearing in the Energy Policy Committee. The Monday hearing will begin at 12:00 PM in Room 10 of the State Office Building across the street from the capitol. Community members are encouraged to attend the hearing both to provide a positive visual presence of support for the legislators and because Committee Chair Representative Melissa Hortman might ask for public testimony about the proposed legislation. Any of these three pro-local control bills has to win the vote of the committee in order to have a chance at becoming law this year. To help Energy Pathway #1 (Enhanced Franchise Agreement) H.F. 1450/ S.F. 1490 would open up franchise agreements to be inclusive of a city’s energy efficiency, renewable energy, equity and local jobs goals rather than the scope be restricted to a narrow focus on public right of way and fees. MN state statute 216 B.36 currently imposes and limits on the scope of what can be included in a franchise agreement.To help Energy Pathway #2 (City-Utility Partnership) H.F. 1450/ S.F. 1490 would provide cities more explicit legal authority to create a formal collaborative structure with utilities, ratepayers and the community to meet mutual environmental and jobs goals. Continue Reading
What can you do in 90 days? You can grow your fingernails about a third of an inch in 90 days. In 90 days, the average American will drink 144 cups of coffee. And if you had the time to read 25 pages a day of dense technical material, you could read the entire Polymet Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement, or SDEIS. You might just need that coffee. Continue Reading