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
December Chapter Zoom Meeting
Date: Thursday Dec. 12th, 2024 6:30pm
Speaker: J. Drake Hamilton
Topic: The 2024 U.N. Climate Conference:
"What Happened at COP 29?"
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The 2024 U.N. Climate Conference, also known as COP, will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan from November 11 through November 22. J. Drake Hamilton, who trained with Al Gore in Nashville in 2006 and shared the stage with Gore in 2019, will be among participants of at least 195 nations from around the globe
About the speaker:
J. Drake Hamilton is Fresh Energy’s senior director of science policy and an expert in climate and energy policy at the state and national levels.
Vision 2030: Fresh Energy’s Strategic Framework charts the path to swiftly, equitably decarbonize five crucial sectors of our economy using proven strategies. Those sectors are Electricity, Buildings, Transportation, Agriculture, and Heavy Industry. We are doubling down on our role as a clean energy policy leader with a proven ability to shape and secure laws –and get the implementation details right. We believe that collaborative action must achieve a decarbonized economy that benefits all.
J. has represented Fresh Energy at eight global climate summits, including Paris, Glasgow, Dubai and now Baku. J. earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in physical geography from Dartmouth College and the University of Minnesota, with an emphasis on climatology and water resources, and she was formerly assistant professor at The George Washington University.
HUGE INCENTIVES TO ELECTRIFY
YOUR HOME OR VEHICLE
Tax credits, rebates and other incentives to reduce carbon emissions, improve comfort, protect health and save you money. Click here to learn more, or select "Incentives" under the Learn menu.
In August of 2022, Congress passed historic legislation which will help our nation address climate change while making our homes more comfortable, healthier, and saving you money over the coming years.
It incentivizes clean energy, electric cars and electric homes. It invests in green technology to ramp up manufacturing and meet all of the new demand. Coupled with existing policy it has the potential to lower U.S. emissions to 40% below 2005 levels by 2030. While that is below the 50% required to limit average global temperatures to a 1.5 degree Celsius increase, it is a welcome start.
This is your chance to cash in on a once-in-lifetime opportunity to upgrade your home and vehicle, saving you money on routine upgrades and reducing planet-warming greenhouse gases at the same time.
October Chapter Zoom Meeting
Thursday Oct 10 at 6:30pm CT
Topic: EV 101 & EVs in Greater Minnesota
Special Guest Speaker:
Diana McKeown, CERTs Co-Director and the Metro CERT Director at the Great Plains Institute
Posted Oct 1 2024
Fun Fact: Diana was one of the first 1000 “climate messengers” trained by Al Gore in January 2007
Diana shared information about electric vehicles, and Minnesota’s charging infrastructure.
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The types of EVs (battery, plug-in hybrid, plain hybrid)
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EV Adoption in Minnesota
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Types of EV chargers
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Minnesota EV charging infrastructure, including in greater MN
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EV Benefits
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EV Batteries
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EV incentives (very brief) + Utility incentives on chargers
Past Events
Wastewater and Climate Change
Posted Aug 4 2023
Take a look at our July presentation from Paige Novak of the University of MN, discussing the impact of wastewater treatment on carbon emissions and climate change. Also includes a look at some cutting edge research underway to promote the use of natural processes to aid in water treatment.
MnCIFA
Posted Jun 4 2024
The Minnesota Climate Finance Authority (MnCIFA) was established “To accelerate the deployment of clean energy projects, greenhouse gas emissions reductions projects and other qualified projects through the strategic deployment of public funds in the form of grants, loans, credit enhancements and other financing mechanisms…”
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 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
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.
Green Iron and Green Steel on the Iron Range (New!)
Decarbonizing Aviation - Synthetic Fuels
Members
Home Electrification Journeys
Posted Mar 12 2024
Tim Nolan shares the overview of his new total electric home.
Click here for more info and a detailed look at the process, and check back for further updates from other members.
Presentation Playback
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.
