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
The Minneapolis Biochar Program
Thursday, March 9, 2023 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Our regular CHAPTER Zoom meeting
Featuring: Jim Doten
Carbon Sequestration Program Manager, City of Minneapolis
The Minneapolis Carbon Sequestration Program uses carbon negative actions to remove and sequester carbon. This is done through biochar, a special type of charcoal made by heating waste biomass in the absence of oxygen, which turns wood waste into biochar. The city uses biochar as a valuable soil amendment to turn our infrastructure into carbon sinks.
About the Speaker: Jim is a licensed Professional Geologist with 36 years of experience in the environmental field. In addition to his undergraduate degree in Geology, Jim has a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Science in Environmental Policy and Management. He has over 20 years of environmental consulting experience and has been with the Minneapolis Health Department for the past 12 years. More info...
CMC Action Tracker
Upcoming Events
Wed Apr 5
6:30pm-7:30pm
Leadership Meeting (In person + zoom)
Our first meeting at the Hamilton Studio!
3112 W 28th Street Mpls MN
Apr 6-20
2023 Climate Reality Leadership Training
Thu Apr 20
6:30-7:30pm Zoom Meeting
Speaker: Moses Viveros, City of Mpls
Sat Apr 22
1-6:00 pm
Earth Day - Solar Arts Building
711 NE 15th Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55413
Wed May 3
6:30pm-7:30pm
Leadership Zoom Meeting
2023 Climate Reality Power Up Training: From Acts to Action
April 6-20th 2023
Posted Feb 18 2023
Climate Reality is offering an opportunity for community groups and organizations working for environmental and/or climate justice to learn how to take full advantage of new climate laws with a free virtual training, Power Up: From Acts to Action. Led by former Vice President Al Gore and experts across sectors, this training will provide a comprehensive understanding of the financial incentives and tools available to help clean up air and water and embrace clean technologies that cut costs and carbon pollution.
This training is designed to help people understand the new climate laws to leverage funding to address the needs of low and moderate-income communities including saving money with solar energy and efficiency, protecting schools from pollution, and replacing gas appliances with electric alternatives. In addition, it’s dedicated to finding funding resources for minority-owned businesses, establishing green banks, improving low and zero-emissions transit options, adding parks and green spaces to cities, and more.
The training is available on-demand from April 6-20, with two required 90 minute broadcasts in the evening on April 11 and 13, and it is free to attend with a flexible schedule designed for people with busy lives. Upon completion of the training, participants will be able to join the Climate Reality Leadership Corps, a global community of over 45,000 advocates working toward stopping rising temperatures and creating a just future. Join us and learn what new climate laws like the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act can do for your home and your community.
Click the "Register Now!" for more info and to register for the training.
Training dates: April 6-20, 2023
Deadline to apply: March 20, 2023
Recent Events
The (Electric and Efficient) Heat is On
Posted Feb 28 2023
Alexis Troschinetz gives an introduction about how air source heat pumps work in Minnesota's cold climate for heating and how they are a great option when adding or replacing air conditioning.
Clothing and Climate Change
Posted Jan 12 2023
Maddy Bartsch of Three Rivers Fibershed will walk us through how the textiles we wear (yes, even your socks) intersect with a number of issues that contribute to climate change. Grab your favorite pair of socks and learn about how your socks can be a part of one solution to climate change.
Members
Earth Day at Solar Arts Mpls
April 22, 2023
Posted Feb 18 2023
CMC Member Brenda Varda is working on an Earth Day event to be held at the Solar Arts Building in NE Minneapolis.
The event will run from 1-6pm on Saturday, April 22, 2023. Speakers will include Senator John Hoffman and our own Steve Japs from the Outreach team. Art to Change the World (ACW) is also participating. Brenda’s team is lining up musicians, speakers, vendors and activists. Besides tabling, they are considering a collection of short “TED style talks.
To participate as speaker/presenter, artist, vendor, or volunteer, or for further details, contact Brenda at brendavarda@gmail.com".
Forest Management
Posted Nov 10 2022
Lee E. Frelich discusses the forest management and tree planting practices that have the potential to draw down atmospheric CO2, as well as their limitations.
Lee E. Frelich is Director of the University of MN Center for Forest Ecology
Climate Poverty Connections
Posted Oct 13 2022
Carissa shares concrete evidence of how climate solutions can also contribute to meeting human well-being needs and alleviating poverty in rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia and how policymakers and decisionmakers can take action.
Posted Feb 18 2023
Our chapter has been asked to help with a special project related to Green Banks in Minnesota. One of the provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act calls for the establishment of special funds, a portion of which will be dedicated to low-income and marginalized communities to obtain renewable energy sources.
It is expected that around $7 billion will be allocated to fund Green Banks at the state and local level. This funding helps to lower the barrier that low-income residents have to access to renewable energy, ensuring that these groups don't get left behind in the push for renewable energy.
Update: The bill has been introduced. Click the button to the left to view.
Green Bank Initiative
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.
Decarbonizing Aviation - Synthetic Fuels
The Future of Nuclear Power in an Evolving Energy World
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
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
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.
