Climate – Green Works MN

Turning to the State Legislature for Environmental Policy

xe7197un on November 16, 2021November 16, 2021

Leaves coming out of soil with the words "rules" "security" "control" "regulation" "guidelines" and "policies"

We have discussed many ways to get involved in environmentalism throughout this blog but one key piece of making positive environmental progress is getting involved in legislation passed in the Minnesota legislature that directly impacts the environment either by progressing positive legislation that will help the environment, or challenging legislation that will harm the environment.

Alt text: Minnesota legislators in the Minnesota State Capitol Room

Image Source

There are many ways to start getting involved, but the easiest is probably to look up your representatives. You can do this HERE. After you find your legislators, you can get on their mailing lists to keep up with what they are working on. This will be helpful if they start working on an environmentally centered legislation so that you can be the first in the know. You can also look up your local city and county representatives HERE.

Alt text: leaves growing out of soil with the words “control” “security” “rules” “regulations” “guidelines” “policies” and “strategy” on them.

Image Source

Once you find your representatives, you can reach out to let them know what environmental issues matter to you. From bike lanes to regulating local corporations’ pollution, lawmakers and other local representatives have a lot of say as to what’s happening with the environment in Minnesota. Other ways you can get involved include: voting in local elections, going to local city council meetings, donating to causes that help the planet and volunteering with organizations and representatives who are doing the important work of protecting the planet.

Energy Solutions

McKenzie Parkinson on November 15, 2021

These days, with the topic of climate change at the forefront of many peoples anxieties, discussion and interest around alternative fuel and energy sources has increased. Alternative fuels and energy refer to fuels that are not the traditional fossil fuels or nuclear energy. Minnesota currently works to employ the use of many alternative fuels such as:

Biodiesel- Biodiesel is a fuel that is renewable as it is created from vegetables, animal fat, and can even incorporate recycled cooking grease. It can be made locally so it cuts down on transportation costs, it generally has fewer emissions and is less harmful to the environment than traditional diesel. However the amount of emissions from biodiesel depends on the regular diesel it is mixed with.

Ethanol: A renewable fuel made from plants, the main crop used being corn. It is normally blended with gasoline so it still has some considerable emissions, however these emissions are supposedly offset by the carbon capture of new crop growth. Ethanol does not contain as much energy as traditional fuels so it has less fuel economy.

Electricity: Electric power cars are on the rise, especially with the advent of Tesla vehicles. Electric cars use plug ins to recharge their electric batteries, and hybrid cars use both fuel and electricity. In hybrid cars they use the electricity to boost fuel efficiency.

As well as other notable fuels like hydrogen, propane, and natural gasses.

Minnesota also engages in alternative energy sources such as:

Solar power: Captures the suns energy using specialized solar cells that make up a larger solar panel, can be stored for later use if the sun isn’t out, however is not reliable in places that have fewer sunny days. Solar power systems include systems for heating water and solar systems for heating air in your home.

Wind power: Uses the motion of wind to turn wind turbines that generate electricity from the movement, in recent years wind turbines have become less costly to build, but a downside is that it will not generate electricity on days with no wind, and it also effects the bird populations. It is typically used for larger scale operations rather than individual use like solar power-such as farms and commercial size retail.

Hydro: Relies on water sources to create movement to generate energy for electricity. Minnesota uses it throughout river systems as well as in some of our many lakes. Often times dams are set up to facilitate the collection of this energy.

Biomass: Biomass is created using organic material and can be burned to create electricity and heat, it can also be left to decay in large piles and it will generate its own heat from within that way and then the energy can be harvested from that as well. Gasses can be let off from the decay that can be harvested, and then the materials can also be used as fertilizer. There are many different kinds of biomass.

Minnesota employs all these and more, and are on the lookout for even more efficient clean energy solutions- if you have some in mind that aren’t listed here we would love to hear them in a comment!

Sources:

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/forestry/biomass/index.html

https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=MN

https://www.pca.state.mn.us/living-green/alternative-energy

https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/

More Trees More Clean Air

mc8326xg on November 11, 2021November 11, 2021

Hello My name is Elain, Oyinola Kolaru I have more names but I can’t guarantee that it will all fit on this page or that you will be able to pronounce it all. I am a senior at SCSU , Born and raised in Nigeria been here for over 15 years. I have a soft spot for puppies. now that I have your attention let’s get down the real reason why you’re here and reading this post.

I want to bring your attention to our surrounding more specifically the air. we have all heard of fires happening in places like California and other states. we see the affects of this wildfire in our neighboring states . we want to make sure we have clean none polluted air , the trees we plant helps clean the air we breath, filter the water we even drink and it provide habitat to over 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity. the forest absorbs harmful carbon from our atmosphere. planting more trees is not only for clean air but also for our internal body, if you have ever taken an aspirin then you should you it actually comes from a bark of a tree.

Trees are very vital to us in many ways like cleaning up the air for us, our water that we absorb and lastly biodiversity to the species. I have explained how important it is to plant trees I will also be letting you know ways to plant and when its a good time to plant.

steps to plant

#1 Grab your friends and neighbors

#2 Best time to plant trees or relocate trees are in the spring, fall or summer seasons

#3 Prep the proper planting hole

#4 Plant high

#5 Inspect the roots make sure they are ready to go

#6 Eliminate air pockets

#7 water properly

#8 Fertilize

I have give you some tips on how plant your trees I will now be giving you tips on how to Avoid or even limit pollution in the air. some of the tips I will be shearing I am guilty of doing but i am trying everyday to do better.

ways to reduce air pollution aside from planting trees

#1 Using public transportation/ drive less

#2 Recycle and reuse

#3 Saying no to plastic bags at the grocery store

#4 Use a fan instead of air conditioner

#5 Turn of lights when not in use.

#6 Add insulation to your home.

#7 compost

I hope that this post is not only a wake up call but also educational. I am very passionate about having clean unpolluted air. when I think of the next 40-60 years from now I am hoping that our environment has changed for us even the next generation to come. its our responsibility that we leave this world better than we found it. we as a whole have to do better . the first step to ending air pollution and having clean air starts with you and me.

A Garden in the Most Unexpected Place

xe7197un on October 27, 2021October 27, 2021

Garden on rooftop with green plants and white stools, overlooking large city

Have you ever visited an urban rooftop garden? I hadn’t until my hometown botanic garden, the Denver Botanic Garden, built one themselves. I was immediately in awe of it upon my first visit; the garden took over the entire roof of their greenhouse garden and was like an oasis in a sea of urban architecture and flat, concrete buildings and roofs as far as the eye can see. The most amazing part of the rooftop garden, however, was learning about the positive impacts it has on the city as a whole!

Image Source

Alt text: rooftop garden with lush green plants on top of Denver Botanic Gardens building

Rooftop gardens are helpful for many reasons. The first is that they cool down cities. Cities are hotter than surrounding areas because of what is called the “urban heat island effect.” The urban heat island effect makes it several degrees warmer in cities because the asphalt and concrete soak up the sun then radiate heat back out while exhaust and pollution in the city traps that heat that is being radiated out. Gardens soak up the sun and radiate clean air back out instead of heat which then helps to cool the city down and provide cleaner air. Ecavo reports that this process in one Canadian study saved energy at 20% for the upper floor when they installed a rooftop garden and a Middle East study found homes with rooftop gardens saved 25-35% of their energy on average.

Image Source

Alt text: aerial view of large concrete buildings with rooftop gardens and trees on top of them.

The second reason to consider rooftop gardens is that they contribute to clean water. When it rains in cities, pollution gets into the drainage systems because of all of the pollutants in the air. Plants act as natural filtration systems which remove toxins and pollutants and lower the risk of water being contaminated by city pollutants when it has been filtered by rooftop gardens.

Finally, rooftop gardens can drastically increase food security. Having accessible food on rooftop gardens, especially in the instances of insecure housing, can create food stability in previous food deserts, which are common in cities. Another added bonus is that there is less pollution transporting food across the city and from rural areas into the city when food is more readily available within the city.

Are you interested in building your own rooftop garden? HGTV has a great article here about how you can start your own!

Electronic Bikes: Get Around Town Without the Emission

xe7197un on September 29, 2021October 27, 2021

Electronic bike, bike is black with blue tires

During a time of constant climate doom, I find myself wondering what small and big ways I can help the planet and remind myself of the importance of recognizing the ways in which climate activists are creating a positive impact in the way of climate change. For me, one of the first things that comes to mind when considering the contributing problems for climate change are cars. Not only do the individual emissions contribute to the climate crisis, on a larger scale, creating space for cars through excessive infrastructure changes such as new roadways created in previously unused spaces. In fact, the EPA reports that the average car emits 8,887 grams of CO2 from only one gallon of gas.

Alt Text: Electronic bike, bike is black with blue tires Source Image: Propella

One way that individuals can help offset the issues created by cars and car-related infrastructure is to ride bikes. Unfortunately, there can be some barriers to cycling commutes. One of the most significant being that biking long distances, or for those who have to navigate steep inclines or other similar challenges, isn’t doable for many people of various fitness levels. Riding one mile and back to the store seems easy to me, but when I start to consider riding 10 miles to the other side of town to go to the movies with friends or 15 miles to go see family on the other side of the city, I can easily start to get overwhelmed. Even as an active person, hours on a bike for an event that takes only one to two hours seems overwhelming and exhausting. However, the emergence of electronic bicycles, or e-bikes like the one pictures, have offered a solution that makes cycling commutes more accessible to all.

Electrek, a news and commentary site that exclusively covers electric transport, reported that in America, there were over 600,000 e-bikes sold in 2020. Electrek also states that this number is even higher than the amount of electric cars at a 2:1 ratio of electric bikes purchased compared to electric cars.

It would appear that many consumers are also recognizing the benefit for themselves in having an e-bike commute versus a biking commute. Not only is it great to get outside and health for the body, in most urban settings, biking can actually decrease commute times, eliminate costs of parking and eliminate the need to fill their cars up with gas nearly as frequently if they are using them less.

Alt text: graph showing the reasons for riding an e-bike Image Source: www.ebicycles.com

On a more global scale, e-bikes could have a significant and positive impact on the climate crisis. The most obvious positive impact of e-bikes is that they are a zero-emission mode of transportation. Additionally, less cars on the road creates less traffic and lessens the need for major car-related infrastructure that ultimately damages the natural environments that it is built through. Plus, I will never complain about not having to pay upwards of $100 a month to refill my tank multiple times with the high price of gas!

Overall, the increasing popularity of e-bikes is one that we can continue to look forward to as a mechanism for combating the climate crisis, and that benefits both the individuals who use them and the planet. If you would like to research how e-bikes could help you contribute to the fight against climate change, visit www.ebicycles.com for more information.

Sources:

Electrek is a great source for understanding the important impact of e-bikes.

Ebicycles.com is dedicated to all things e-bike! If you want an e-bike but don’t know where to begin, visit here.

The EPA, otherwise known as the Environmental Protection Agency, is a government funded entity that catalogs data on things impacting the planet and climate change.

Canopies for Change

McKenzie Parkinson on September 20, 2021October 28, 2021

One of the major global concerns today is the issue of climate change- specifically climate change caused by carbon emissions. There are ways individual people can work to offset carbon emissions. Individuals can take action in their own communities to implement the oldest carbon capture technology in the world- trees.

What trees do for our planet is amazing- According to tenmilliontrees.org, the average tree can store twice the average CO2 emissions that the average car produces in a year- or- 48 pounds of carbon a year. Trees also provide habitat for many species and preserve biodiversity. Trees are also planted in efforts to stop and even reverse the process of desertification- according to Smithsonian Magazine there is an emerging mosaic of plants and trees provided by the sustainable land use practices of the farmers there that is slowing the progress of the Sahara desert. Trees are guardians of a healthy ecosystem and trees (and moss, but that’s another story) will be a key player in the healing and then sustainability of our natural world.

There has been an ongoing discussion of the viability of planting trees as a solution to climate change, but the Swiss Institute of Integrative Biology published a study in 2019 that talks about how planting 1 trillion trees (about 500 million hectares of land worth) would greatly reduce risks of climate change and CO2 emissions. That sounds like a lot, but if you consider that 13 BILLION hectares of forest area are lost to agriculture (www.foa.org), mainly pasture land for livestock- 500 million hectares doesn’t seem like so much to ask for.

There are currently many tree planting initiatives- Trees for the Future, The Nature Conservancy, One Tree Planted and The National Forest Foundation to name a few popular options. However, you’ll find that in every state there are more localized initiatives for tree planting. In the Twin Cities one such is initiative is Tree Trust.

Tree Trust is a non-profit Twin Cities organization that developed due to the rise in losses of trees due to Dutch Elm disease. Not only do they remove dead and diseased trees but they plant new trees in their place. They also hire those in need for these jobs as a response to unemployment in the Twin Cities. Tree Trust also hosts volunteer group tree plantings in the Twin Cities to maintain and add to the canopy in urban areas and teach individuals about planting, growing, and sustainability. Due to Covid there are some restrictions on volunteer work but you are still able to sign up for events if you are interested in planting trees, or if you prefer you can donate! You can find more information on their website at https://treetrust.org/

Alt text: aerial view of large concrete buildings with rooftop gardens and trees on top of them.

Sidebar