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 Minnesota activists, cultural leaders, organizers, scientists and storytellers committed to building a sustainable future together.
Featured
Decarbonization of the Natural Gas Sector: Updates
J. works at the core of Fresh Energy's commitment to keeping Minnesota on the path to a clean energy future and helping the state meet its climate goals. In early 2022, Minnesota Power proposed a 15-year plan that includes building a new fossil gas plant by 2027. Fresh Energy and our partners in the Clean Energy Organizations have filed evidence that a new gas plant is unnecessary for reliability and increases climate and financial risk. We have filed our Preferred Plan that replaces the new gas plant before 2030 with 600 megawatts of solar and 100 megawatts of wind, as well as battery storage...
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J. Drake Hamilton, Senior Director of Science Policy at Fresh Energy
Upcoming Events
Wed July 6
6:30pm-7:30pm
Leadership Zoom Meeting
Committee Breakouts
Thu July 14
6:30pm-7:30pm
Membership Zoom Meeting
Speaker: Kristel Porter
Topic: A Green New Deal for Minneapolis
Wed Aug 3
6:30pm-7:30pm
Leadership Zoom Meeting
Committee Breakouts
Thu Aug 11
6:30pm-7:30pm
Membership Zoom Meeting
Speaker: TBD
Recent Events
City Climate Action Plan
May 12 2022
The 100% Campaign has released a report reviewing city climate action plans in Minnesota. This report compares the planning work of 13 cities and one county that have created Climate Action Plans in Minnesota.
Presented by Dr. Kate Knuth of Democracy and Climate LLC
Sustainabilty isn't hard...
Mar 10 2022
... it's just not simple. Wendy Jedlička, industry packaging expert stimulates the discussion into the sustainability practices and business considerations for the consumer packaging that surrounds us, and how systems thinking provides a better context for understanding sustainable package design.
Solutionary Rail
Feb 10 2022
Bill Moyer presents Solutionary Rail as a "higher purpose for our nation’s railroad infrastructure, transforming the way we use trains and the corridors they travel through. It is a grand strategic project that leads with a positive vision for the future."
Community Solar
Jan 13 2022
Timothy DenHerder-Thomas, co-founder of Cooperative Energy Futures, gives a high-level overview of the community solar project environment in Minnesota, including deployment volume, examples of solar projects in Minnesota, stakeholders and government processes that affect solar installations.
Members
Reality Hub Updates
May 24 2022
The Climate Reality Project has updated the Reality Hub!
The changes incorporate a user interface that prioritizes sharing, messaging and cross-region sharing.
These changes make it easier to plan events and communicate with membership at large, but as with anything new there is a learning curve to this new capability.
Make sure you log into the Reality Hub and upload your profile image, so we know that you have checked in!
Click below to learn more about the changes and read a short intro to navigating the new Reality Hub and the most frequently asked questions.
Science
Planetary Dashboard
Global Temps
This number is the increase over 1900-2000 average surface temperatures.
As more of the infrared radiation (heat) is trapped by the atmosphere, surface temperatures have also increased.
+.98° C
Arctic Sea Ice
This value represents the total ice coverage minimum during the summer in the arctic. As the atmosphere warms, ice melts faster in the summer. Additionally, less ice coverage increases the dark areas of the arctic, which further increased the absorption of sunlight and leads to further warming of the arctic waters.
4.72 million sq km
2021 summer minimum sea ice levels
Mountain Glaciers
This graph charts the decline of mountain glacier mass over the past 30 years. Melting glaciers are the primary driver of sea rise, along with the expansion of warming ocean water.
Ocean Heat
Warming waters cause sea level rise, glacial melt and coral bleaching. Much of the heat trapped since the beginning of the industrial revolution has gone into the ocean.
Sea Level
This chart shows the steady increase of sea level since the 1800's. Driven by melting glaciers and the expansion of warmer water, this rise leads to coastal flooding and saltwater intrusion, which damages homes and crops, and threatens hundreds of millions around the world who live in these threatened coastal areas.
CO2
418 PPM
This is the current concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. A principal cause of global warming since the beginning of the industrial revolution, this reduces the ability of the Earth to radiate generated heat into space, trapping more of the heat and leading to increased surface and ocean temperatures.
Chapter Information
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.org
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.