The Central Minnesota Chapter of The Climate Reality Project
Representing Minnesota and surrounding areas
A diverse group of passionate individuals who’ve come together to solve the greatest challenge of our time - Climate Change.
We are activists, cultural leaders, organizers, scientists, storytellers and students committed to building a sustainable future together.
Featured
April Chapter Zoom Meeting
Thursday Apr 11th, 2024 6:30-7:30pm
Topic: Regenerative Agriculture
Speaker: Don Viecelli, Chicago Metro Chapter of The Climate Reality Project
Image from Kiss The Ground
Don Viecelli of the Chicago Metro Chapter of The Climate Reality project gave us an introduction to the fundamentals of Regenerative Agriculture.
This educational meeting covered topics such as:
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Farm soil depletion and climate change
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How regenerative farming and agroforestry can help
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Regenerative and agroforestry practices
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What we can change using the Farm Bill
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How can we advocate on behalf of conservation in the Farm Bill?
Don Viecelli was raised on a 160-acre family dairy farm in Central Michigan and is concerned about industrial farming methods that have degraded our topsoil, polluted our waterways and oceans with chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, lowered food nutrient values and harmed our environment. He believes Regenerative Agriculture (RA) practices and solutions can help save our planet faster and more cost-effectively than other technological means by drawing down excess Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions and sequestering hugh amounts of Carbon back into healthy, living soil.
Click on the button below to view the presentation!
Events Calendar
Apr 12-14
Climate Reality Leadership Training
All Day
Climate Reality is offering two in-person leadership trainings in the U.S. this year. The first will take place in New York, on the weekend of April 12-14, 2024. To learn more, visit: https://www.climaterealityproject.org/new-york . The second will take place in Detroit, Michigan from October 7-9.
Apr 14
Documentary and Social Action Night
3-6pm
The award-winning 2022 documentary The Smell of Money follows one community’s fight against manure-spraying corporate hog farms, a fight to save their health, air, water, and civil rights. Join us on April 14, 3-6pm, for a free screening of the film and to take action with local organizations working on the issues covered in the film -- racial injustice, environmental harm, and corporate animal agriculture. RSVP here.”
Apr 19
US Bank Stadium Tour
Calling all concertgoers and football nuts – join the Twin Cities Chapter of AEE in a tour of U.S. Bank Stadium, tailored just for us cool conservation kids.
Normally, this tour would cost you $30, but sign up today and we got you covered. Space is limited though!
https://www.cleanenergyresourceteams.org/us-bank-stadium-tour
2-5:00pm
May 2
2024 Metro CERT Annual Event
3:30-7:00pm
Meet, connect, and engage with other clean energy enthusiasts! This free annual event is a great opportunity to learn, network, and have fun!
https://www.cleanenergyresourceteams.org/2024-metro-cert-annual-event
Recent Events
En-Roads Update
Posted Feb 3 2024
"En-ROADS is a global climate simulator that allows users to explore the impact that dozens of policies—such as electrifying transport, pricing carbon, and improving agricultural practices—have on factors like energy prices, temperature, air quality, and sea level rise.
Bill Middlecamp of the chapter presentation team gave us an update on the latest development with the En-Roads program:
Decarbonizing Buildings
Posted Nov 22 2023
The Inflation Reduction Act includes several updates to existing policies that improve the project economics for geothermal. This presentation outlines one new technology from Darcy Solutions, groundwater based geothermal, and why it is a fit for dense urban settings
Green Ammonia and Hydrogen
Posted Nov 4 2023
Nitrogen fertilizer production is primarily produced from fossil gas and is extremely carbon intensive. Most of our fertilizer comes from the Gulf Coast. Minnesota could use green hydrogen from wind and solar to produce the fertilizer locally.
Smart Electric Grids
Posted Oct 4 2023
As we move to from fossil-based energy generation to renewable sources, our electrical grid will have to be improved significantly to handle the future growth.
Dr. Massoud Amin discusses methods for increasing resilience of our current electrical infrastructure and challenges and opportunities for future developments.
Solutions
Solutions that are scalable, reliable and proven are the key to fighting climate change - we need both policy and ingenuity to solve the issues of a warming world.
The proposed solutions below lead us in the right direction, and provide hope that we can win the fight against global warming.
Regenerative Agriculture (New!)
Decarbonizing Aviation - Synthetic Fuels
The Future of Nuclear Power in an Evolving Energy World
Members
IRA Tax Credits and Rebates
Updated Oct 15 2023
The Inflation Reduction Act provides tax credits that are currently available to households, as well as upcoming rebates totaling as much as $14,000 per household.
This is free money from the federal government to help modernize your own home and vehicle and reduce carbon use.
Click here for more information, or select "Tax Credits and Rebates" under the Learn menu.
Posted June 6 2023
Smart Grids and Microgrids
Chapter member Timothy Nolan has put together a compelling compendium on smart grids and microgrids, explaining their purpose and our need for them as we continue to shift away from fossil fuels.
"Decarbonizing the electricity system, and ultimately achieving net-zero emissions, will require action on a transformative scale. "
Climate Image Archive
Updated Feb 18 2023
We've been working on a new Climate Image Archive to use in presentations and other materials, and the archive is now live! The images are free to use and distribute with any climate presentation.
We have created two separate collections of high quality climate photos at Unsplash and Pixabay.
Photo by Raychel Tanner from Unsplash
There are concrete steps that we can take to both prepare for a warming world and fight against the sources of that increasing warmth. Check out these presentations from chapter members that highlight the specific ways you can make a difference.
25% by '25 Climate Action Plan Update (2023)
with Mary Britton
Beyond Recycling and Composting
with Kellie Kish
with Isaac Evans
with Bill Middlecamp
with Mary Britton
Sustainable Fashion
with Wendi Russo
We Need You!
We need your help to provide content and fight climate change! Submit your ideas for presentations, news, information or other relevant topics to info@climaterealitymsp.com
We also need your assistance in presenting topics to the chapter. Signup for a short talk and demonstrate your passion in fighting for the future of the planet.
Science
Planetary Dashboard
418 PPM
This is the current concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. A principle cause of global warming since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, this reduces the ability of the Earth to radiate generated head into space, trapping more of the heat and leading to increased surface and ocean temperatures.