Past Events
Thursday, March 9, 2023 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Our regular CHAPTER Zoom meeting
The Minneapolis Biochar Program
Featured Speaker: Jim Doten
Carbon Sequestration Program Manager for the City of Minneapolis
Carbon dioxide levels continue to rise in our atmosphere. The blanket of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases continue to warm the planet and alter our climate. The effect on our planet is dramatic and dangerous, requiring immediate action. Most climate work focuses on reducing emissions to achieve carbon neutrality. We also need to work on draw down, reducing carbon dioxide levels. The Minneapolis Carbon Sequestration Program uses carbon negative actions to remove and sequester carbon. We do this through biochar, a special type of charcoal made by heating waste biomass in the absence of oxygen. Our program 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. Jim spent a year in southern Afghanistan with the Army National Guard as a Hydrologist on an Agri-Business Development Team. It was during this time that he first explored biochar to improve soil health. Jim has continued his biochar with Minneapolis where he is Carbon Sequestration Program Manager.
Thursday, February 9, 2023 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Our regular CHAPTER Zoom meeting
The (Energy efficient, Electric) Heat is On:
Air Source Heat Pumps
Featured Speaker: Alexis Troschinetz, Behavioral Science and Evaluation Manager
CERTs - University of MN Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships and Extension
Interested in learning more about air source heat pumps? Join this session for 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. Stories of Minnesotans adopting heat pumps in their homes will be shared, including what was concerning and appealing about this energy efficient electric home heating and cooling option. Anticipated technology improvements and heat pump uses beyond home heating and cooling will be covered. Attendees will leave with project planning tools to help take the next steps toward getting an air source heat pump at their home or property.
About the Speaker: Alexis Troschinetz has served statewide as the Behavioral Science and Evaluation Manager with CERTs at the University of Minnesota’s Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships and Extension for 10 years. She infuses behavior change science into CERTs programs; builds relationships and offers programming to utilities; and evaluates CERTs’ programs by tracking quantitative and qualitative metrics. Alexis loves the outdoors and backpacking, holds a professional engineering license, and obtained a B.S. and an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Michigan Technological University, Sustainable Futures Institute.
Thursday, January 12, 2023 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Our regular CHAPTER Zoom meeting
How Do Your Socks Relate to Climate Change?
Featured Speaker: Maddy Bartsch, Three Rivers Fibershed
Perhaps you're wondering what socks have to do with climate change, well, it turns out quite a lot! With the recent completion of the Three Rivers Fibershed's (TRF) Soil to Sock Challenge, Maddy Bartsch of TRF walks 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.
About the Speaker: Maddy Bartsch (they/she) is a farmer, educator and organizer of decentralized textile economies based in Minneapolis. Maddy has helped a broad range of clients navigate local textile economies through projects like the Minnesota Hemp Wool Project, the TRF Regional Fiber Sourcebook, the National Mill Inventory Survey, and as a Yarn Incubator for Fibershed. In addition to fiber systems, Maddy’s work includes tackling food systems as the Community Connector for the Cannon River chapter of the Sustainable Farming Association. More recently, Maddy received a Farmer-Rancher SARE grant which has enabled them to focus on 2 years of research around building a natural dye cooperative in the Midwest. Maddy speaks on the topic of local fiber systems and sustainable textiles and teaches fiber arts classes to learners of all ages throughout the Midwest.
Thursday, November 10, 2022 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Our regular CHAPTER Zoom meeting
Forest Management and Tree Planting for Climate Change Mitigation
Featured Speaker: Lee E. Frelich, Director of the University of Minnesota Center for Forest Ecology
Forests store large amounts of carbon, and optimal management of forests and expansion of forest cover could help mitigate future climate change by sequestering carbon. We examined the forest management and tree planting practices that have the potential to draw down atmospheric CO2, as well as their limitations. GreenAgain Madagascar, a tropical rainforest restoration project associated with the University of Minnesota, will be highlighted as an example of expanding forest cover in a deforested area.
About the Speaker: Lee E. Frelich is Director of the University of Minnesota Center for Forest Ecology. He received a Ph.D. in Forest Ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1986. Frelich has authored more than 200 publications with 287 coauthors from 26 countries, including major works for Cambridge University Pressand Oxford University Press. He is listed among the top 1% of all scientists in the world in the Ecology and Environment category by the Web of Science. His research has been featured in the news media 500 times, including such venues as The New York Times, Newsweek and Washington Post. Frelich has provided consulting services on forest management for the U.S. Army, Air Force, National Forest Service, and National Park Service. Current research interests include large-scale fire and wind, earthworm invasion, and climate change in temperate and boreal forests.
Thursday, October 13, 2022 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Our regular CHAPTER Zoom meeting
Climate-Poverty Connections:
How can climate solutions advance human well-being and contribute to poverty alleviation
Featured Speaker: Carissa Patrone Maikuri, Program Coordinator with Drawdown Lift
We heard from Carissa Patrone Maikuri, Program Coordinator with Drawdown Lift, a program of Project Drawdown, who discussed findings from Project Drawdown's new landmark report, "Climate–Poverty Connections: Opportunities for synergistic solutions at the intersection of planetary and human well-being". Carissa shared 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 decision-makers can take action.
About the Speaker: Carissa Patrone Maikuri is a passionate connector and Program Coordinator with Drawdown Lift, the newest program of Project Drawdown that works to deepen collective understanding of the links between climate change solutions and poverty alleviation, particularly in Africa and South Asia. She has over ten years of experience in community-driven development, sustainability, equity, and climate change. She earned a Master of Public Administration degree with an emphasis in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from Grand Valley State University and holds a certificate in Climate Change and Health from the Yale School of Public Health. In her spare time, she can be found running around one of the lakes in the Twin Cities or reading a good book outside.
Thursday, September 15, 2022 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Our regular CHAPTER Zoom meeting
Beyond Recycling and Composting:
Opportunities and Barriers on the Road to Zero Waste
Featured Speaker: Kellie Kish, Recycling Coordinator for the City of Minneapolis
Kellie Kish provided an overview of the City of Minneapolis residential collection programs and shared why recycling and composting aren’t enough to meet city, county and state waste diversion goals. She shared hopeful insights from a 2020 study asking residents how their behaviors have changed since the start of the pandemic, and discussed some challenges and opportunities to meeting goals, and looked ahead to what’s next for Minneapolis and for the state.
About the Speaker: Kellie Kish has worked as Recycling Coordinator for the City of Minneapolis for 9 years. Her primary job duties include program development and outreach for the City’s residential waste reduction, reuse, recycling, organics programs. She was involved in the development of the City’s Zero Waste Plan, Green to Go packaging ordinance and Bring Your Own Bag ordinance. Kellie initiated the development of the Minnesota Composting Council, the official state chapter of the US Composting Council, and has served on its board of directors since its development. She’s passionate about waste reduction and educating residents to take steps to reduce their environmental impact.
Thursday, August 11, 2022 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Our regular CHAPTER Zoom meeting
What is happening with the climate?
Featured Speaker: Dr. John Abraham, Climate Researcher from the University of St Thomas
Dr. John Abraham will provide an update to what is happening in the climate, how fast it is changing, and what can be done about it.
About the Speaker: Dr. John Abraham is a climate researcher at the University of St. Thomas. Much of his research focuses on the world’s oceans. His research team has measured how fast the oceans are warming and what the consequences will be in the future. He also co-founded a company that uses sunlight to make drinking water in the developing world. In addition, he writes about climate change in the Guardian.
Thursday, July 14, 2022 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Our regular CHAPTER Zoom meeting
A Green New Deal for Minneapolis
Featured Speaker: Kristel Porter, Executive Director of Minnesota Renewable Now
In this presentation, Kristel Porter discussed building a grassroots campaign focusing on Climate Change and using it to influence policymakers across the entire city, to move local environmental policy - fast!
About the Speaker: Kristel Porter is the Executive Director of MN Renewable Now and was formerly the Executive Director of Cleveland Neighborhood Association. She has started different environmentally focused initiatives such as Clean City Youth, which taught youth about waste and how to take care of the environment, as well as Cycle Sisters, which is a program that hosts regular group bike rides for BIPOC women.
Kristel was one of the founders of United Black Legislative Agenda, which was instrumental in the passing of the Urban Ag Bill. In 2020 Kristel planted over 300 trees and worked with the Family of Trees to plant over 1500 white spruces, red maples, and river birches. This initiative is to help mitigate the CO2 in North Minneapolis which also addresses the heat Island Effect. Currently Kristel is working to address racial equity through a “block by block” initiative to retrofit 24 rooftops with solar per year in North Minneapolis slated to start implementation in spring 2022.
https://www.mnrenewablenow.org
View the recording of the presentation here!
Thursday, June 9, 2022 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Our regular CHAPTER Zoom meeting
Decarbonization of the Natural Gas Sector: Updates
Featured Speaker: J. Drake Hamilton, Senior Director of Science Policy at Fresh Energy
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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. Regulators at the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission will choose the path forward in 2022.
About the Speaker: J. Drake Hamilton is an expert in climate and energy policy at the state and national levels. Fresh Energy's mission is to shape and drive bold policy solutions for achieving equitable, carbon-neutral economies. Their vision is a just, prosperous, and resilient clean energy future where all can thrive. J.'s responsibilities include advancing clean energy solutions to global warming that will maximize economic opportunities.
J. has represented Fresh Energy at six global climate summits. In 2021 she spent 2 weeks at the Glasgow, Scotland climate summit, where she led a panel of 5 Midwesterns addressing two global audiences. She appears frequently in the media, including television, Minnesota Public Radio, The Washington Post and The New York Times.
Saturday, May 21, 2022 11:00am - 1:00pm
Special Event!
In-Person Meeting
Sheridan Park Picnic Shelter
6500 Upton Ave S Richfield MN
Our first in-person gathering ever for this chapter was held Saturday, May 21st from 11am-1pm at the Sheridan Park Picnic Shelter in Richfield, Minnesota. In attendance were:
- Mary Britton
- Charlie Cox
- Lincoln Fetcher
- Sarah Fourre
- Tim Fremouw
- Anna Larsson
- Jean Strehlow
- Jason Torgerson
Impossible Burger Grilling Instructions
Prep:
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Leave Impossible Burger patties frozen
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Prepare a two-zone fire, with a medium-hot section and a medium section
Seasoning:
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Sea Salt
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Course Ground Pepper
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Garlic Salt
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Onion Powder
Grilling:
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Set the patties on the medium-hot section, searing on each side for 1-2 minutes. Lightly season both sides of patty.
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Then move to the medium section, cooking for an additional 3-5 minutes per side.
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Patties are done when internal temp reaches 160 F.
Serve with lettuce, fresh sliced tomato, sliced pickles and red onion for best flavor.
Thursday, May 12, 2022 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Our regular CHAPTER Zoom meeting
Main Topic: Learning from City Climate Action Plans Across Minnesota
Featured Speaker: Kate Knuth, founder of Democracy and Climate LLC
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. In this presentation you will get an overview of city climate action plans in Minnesota, best practices for these plans, and ideas to support and push for local climate action leadership. The 100% Campaign is a coalition advocating for equitable climate action in Minnesota.
About the Speaker: Dr. Kate Knuth is the founder of Democracy and Climate LLC and has worked on research, policy, and solutions at the intersection of climate change and civic life. She served 6 years on the Minnesota House of Representatives, built leadership programming at the UMN Institute on the Environment, and was the first Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Minneapolis. She was a Minneapolis mayoral candidate in 2021. Dr. Knuth earned her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota studying how to drive the kinds of transformative change needed for a more just, sustainable future.
Thursday, April 14, 2022 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Our regular CHAPTER Zoom meeting
Short Talks Topic: Calculate Your True Home Heating Requirements
Speaker: Bill Middlecamp, CMC Presentation team member and trained Climate Reality leader
Click HERE to view a video of the presentation!
Bill Middlecamp, a member of CMC’s leadership team, shared his method for calculating a home’s true heating needs.
Thursday, March 10, 2022 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Our regular CHAPTER Zoom meeting
Main Topic: Sustainability isn’t hard…it’s just not simple
Featured Speaker: Wendy Jedlička, CPP, ISSP-SA
Too often folks think if they're recycling, using LED bulbs, and eating organic, that's all they can do. These misconceptions applied to personal choices get carried into professional practice. There is much more to sustainability than that. While applied sustainability isn’t hard to do, it’s just not simple. How do sustainability practitioners take things to the next level and position us to not just do less bad, but create more good?
About the Speaker: With a strong background in design, manufacturing, and business, Wendy Jedlička, CPP, ISSP-SA is an IoPP Lifetime Certified Packaging Professional, a certified ISSP Sustainability Associate, and president of Jedlička Design — a packaging design firm specializing in sustainable design and business strategies. Additionally, she is co-coordinator for the o2 International Network for Sustainable Design in the US, and develops curriculum as well as teaches courses focusing on sustainable design, marketing, and business. An internationally recognized speaker, Jedlička writes feature articles on applied sustainability for design and business publications around the world, and is the contributing editor of two books: "Packaging Sustainability” and "Sustainable Graphic Design.” And Applied Sustainability chapter author for “Handbook of Sustainable Design.”
Click HERE to view the video of the presentation!
Short Talks Topic: Home Carbon Footprint Reduction
Speaker: Mary Britton, Chapter Member and Trained Climate Reality Leader
Following Wendy Jedlička's presentation, chapter member Mary Britton discussed how she was able to reduce natural gas use in her home, shrinking its total carbon footprint by 38%.
Click HERE to view the video of the presentation!
Thursday, February 10, 2022 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Our regular CHAPTER Zoom meeting
Main Topic: Hiding in Plain Sight - Rail as a Solution for Climate, Localization & Resilience
Featured Speaker: Bill Moyer, co-author of Solutionary Rail
A scrappy grassroots campaign emerged from fights against fossil fuel transport in the Pacific Northwest. Published in 2016, Solutionary Rail proposes a higher purpose for our nation’s railroad infrastructure, transforming the way we use trains and the corridors they travel through.
Bill Moyer is the co-founder and executive director of the Backbone Campaign. Bill and his colleagues have designed and produced hundreds of creative protests and trained thousands of change agents. He is a lifelong activist and musician. His creative approach to activism has included kayaks, spotlights, giant banners, props and puppets.
Solutionary Rail is a grand strategic project that leads with a positive vision for the future. Bill lives with his wife and dog in the woods of Vashon Island, the ancestral land of the Puyallup people, near Seattle.
Per Bill McKibben: "Rail electrification, as proposed in this remarkable book, is that rarest of things: a genuinely new idea, and one that makes immediate gut sense."
https://www.solutionaryrail.org
Click HERE to view further details, including a video of the event!
Short Talks Topic: Sustainable Fashion
Speaker: Wendi Russo, Chapter Member and Trained Climate Reality Leader
Following Bill Moyer's presentation, chapter member Wendi Russo covered sustainability efforts in the world of fashion.
Click HERE to view further details, including a video of the event!
Thursday, January 13, 2022 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Our regular CHAPTER Zoom meeting
Topic 1: Community Solar
Featured Speaker: Timothy DenHerder-Thomas
Click HERE to view further details, including a video recording of the event!
Topic 2: Chapter Elections
The 2022 candidates each introduced themselves and gave an introductory presentation on their background and motivation for joining the leadership team.
Voting was done online, using OpaVote.
Wednesday, December 8, 2021 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Our regular CHAPTER Zoom meeting
Topic: What happened at COP26?!
Featured Speakers: CMC Members Eric Meyer (Generation Atomic) and J. Drake Hamilton (Fresh Energy) shared their insights about achievements and opportunities during the COP 26 event.
Click HERE to view further details, including a video recording of the event!
Monday, November 8, 2021 7pm - 8:30pm CST
Special Meeting: In lieu of a November chapter meeting, we co-hosted a special event focused on Climate Solutions.
Topic: Achieving Drawdown – A Hopeful, Science-Based Approach to "Stop" Climate Change.
Featured speaker: Dr. Jonathan Foley, executive director of Project Drawdown
Click HERE to view further details, including a video recording of the event!
Event Archives
2020-2021 CMC Events