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Info session on Electric Vehicles and the proposed MN Clean Car Standards – August 25 at 7 pm!

You’re invited to a Zoom info session about electric vehicles and the proposed Minnesota Clean Car Standards.

Residents of the northwest suburbs are invited to an on-line information session about electric vehicles in Minnesota, Tuesday, August 25, 7 pm.  This event will include a presentation about the proposed adoption of new clean car standards for Minnesota.  The presenter will be Rachael Acevedo of the MN350.org Clean Cars team.

You can see the presentation on August 25 at 7 pm either by a Facebook Live event on the FB page of Northwest Metro Climate Action, or through a Zoom conference call (fill out form to register for Zoom call below).

A transition to electric vehicles is underway, and it will have many benefits for Minnesotans.  Low-emissions electric vehicles have lower fuel and maintenance costs.  In general, the cost of driving an electric vehicle has “per mile” costs that equate to paying $1/per gallon for gas for a car with a combustion engine.  Electric vehicles also have significantly fewer moving parts than gas-powered vehicles, leading to much lower lifetime maintenance costs. Currently it can be hard for Minnesotans to buy an electric car because car manufacturers are steering their electric vehicles to states that have adopted clean car standards.

Some people have claimed that adopting the clean car standards will limit Minnesotans’ car purchase options.  That is not the case, because the clean car rule will not restrict sales of gas powered vehicles or limit the range of models available.  Rather the proposed clean car rule will just make it more possible for Minnesotans to buy an electric car if they choose to.

Register here so we can send you the link to connect to the Zoom discussion on 8/25/20 at 7pm.

The August 25th event will also include a short presentation by NWMCA volunteer energy analyst Philip Adam, about the mostly unmentioned hazardous by-product of petroleum refining (and thus of driving gas-powered vehicles) which is “petcoke”.

A better future IS possible! Let’s get going on making it happen!
Email us at info@nwmetroclimateaction or find us on facebook.

How Will MN Move to 100% Clean Energy? Join the Discussion on July 28!

You’re invited to a Zoom discussion about how Minnesota will move ASAP to a 100% clean energy economy.

Do you have questions about how Minnesota can move fast enough toward a 100% clean energy economy to both “keep the lights on” and do our part to avoid severe impacts of climate change for our kids and grandkids? It’s doable! Despite the denialism and “don’t worry be happy” messages that fossil fuel companies and their supporters have cynically and selfishly promoted, rapidly advancing clean energy technology has kept hope alive. But we need more people to speak out NOW for choosing the path of opportunity and optimism over the path of inaction and in-place inertia.

Register here so we can send you the link to the Zoom discussion on 7/28 at 7pm.

If you submitted this form before Friday July 24, please re-submit; the form was not working properly before Friday.

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The July 28 Minnesota discussion of moving to a 100% clean energy economy will have local clean technology experts Greg Laden and Philip Adam on hand as technology resource persons.

An optional lead in to the discussion is to see the film “Happening – A Clean Energy Revolution”. This film features James Redford (son of Robert Redford) exploring the technology of the clean energy revolution. You can see this film free on-line anytime from 7 pm Friday July 24 and 7 pm Sunday July 26 by registering at this Environment America link.

A better future IS possible! Let’s get going on making it happen!
Email us at info@nwmetroclimateaction or find us on facebook.

My 2020 New Year’s Resolution: Join the fight to end Climate Change and Protect our Planet!

Sound familiar? Then you’ve come to the right place. Northwest Metro Climate Action is dedicating ourselves to making an impact in the fight against climate change right here in our backyards (and front yards too!)

Concerned neighbors are coming together in cities of Maple Grove and Plymouth to make their cities resilient to Climate Change and reduce our carbon output.

Looking to get involved? Check out our upcoming events and join us as we move our cities and communities to change!

February 25th: DFL caucus day! Join NWMCA as we hand out flyers at the entrance to caucuses in Maple Grove and Plymouth.

February 29th: Greg Laden and Phil Adam present EV and Renewable Energies at Chaska Community Center @1:30 pm

March 1st: Come listen to Dr. Henry Jakubowski Professor of Biology and Climate Change activist from St. John’s University present at St. Joseph the Worker in Maple Grove @ 10:00 am.

March 4th: Brian Ross of Great Plains Institute answers all your questions about 100% renewable energy at Maple Grove Library @ 7:00PM. Brian Ross, AICP, LEED GA, is Senior Program Director at the Great Plains Institute.  He has 25 years of experience working with local, regional, and state governments on sustainability efforts, including energy planning and renewable energy development practices. 

March 17th: Bill McKibben presents at Westminster Town Hall Forum in downtown Minneapolis @ 12:00pm.

March 29th: Dr. Henry Jakubowski from St. John’s University discusses climate change at St. Joseph the Worker in Maple Grove @ 12:00pm

We believe it will take all of us to change everything! If your looking to connect or find out more about what we do and how we do it, email us at info@nwmetroclimateaction or find us on facebook.

The Case for Electric Cars

 
 
 
What if the citizens of Minnesota spent $1.2 billion per year for the electricity for their transportation instead of $ 7.5 — 9 billion per year for gas? What happens to MN GDP? What happens when we throw the refinery away? How many new electric power plants are required for this transition? The answer is ZERO.
 
Please join us for the presentation “Driving the Green New Deal” on Wednesday, October 15th at 7:00pm at Ridgedale Library, room 172 with Phil Adam and Greg Laden. 
 

Phillip Adam is a engineer; a renewable energy and electric car enthusiast – license plate WND PWR. He has over 100,000 miles of EV experience. Phillip is a member of Northwest Metro Climate Action, Minnesota EV Owners Group, supporter of Fresh Energy, and a board member of his party’s Environmental Caucus.

Greg Laden is a biological anthropologist, science communicator, and educator. He writes and speaks on issues as diverse as climate change, evolutionary biology, and race and racism.

Our existing power system is adequately sized for this transition. Now let’s take it to the next step. How many windmills are needed to power all of our cars? Turns out only 2 to 3,000 are required. The Green New Deal is not that radical.

Learn more about electric energy alongside fellow community members. This event is open and free to the public.

See a great info program about our impact on the oceans!

“Recognizing and Reducing Our Impact on Ocean Life” will be shown on Comcast channel 20 in the northwest metro suburbs on Tuesday, August 20, at 5:30 pm, and replayed on Wednesday, August 21, at 1:30 am and 9:30 am. It will also be shown on Comcast HD channel 859 on Friday, August 23, at 8:30 pm and replayed there on Saturday, August 24, at 4:30 am and 12:30 pm. This program can also be seen on-line anytime here.

The video shows a presentation that was made by University of St Thomas Geology Professor Kevin Theissen at an event at White Bear Library on June 4, 2019.

Confronting Climate Change

University of Minnesota Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Ned Mohan presented a two part series on confronting the seriousness of climate change and energy from renewables like wind and solar. Energy conservation was also discussed.

His presentation is an accurate and real depiction of how climate change is right now impacting families, communities and invaluable landscapes across the world. He also discusses the cause of climate change and solutions.

 

Below are a few visuals from his presentation. Click here to see the full presentation.

Clean Energy in our Community

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winning awards and making a difference for generations to come… How Liberty Apartments and Townhomes and Hilton Garden Inn are Leading the charge in clean living.

How would you like to live in a cutting edge community development that not only cuts your cost of living, but makes a real difference to the future of our planet? The Liberty Apartments and Townhomes in Golden Valley is building a new template for multi-residential housing. They are creating a view into a better future by integrating sustainable solar energy into their new apartment complex project. The complex will consist of 55 townhomes, 200 apartments units and a community clubhouse equipped with pool that boasts 1,448 Solar Panels alone. 

One of many benefits of committing the project as a sustainable solar community from inception, is the labor and installation costs are greatly reduced versus trying to retroactively adapt to clean energy years later. Residents of the apartment complex will also see the benefits from day one, consuming clean energy and offsetting 5,325 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions over 25 years. They can also track the amount of electricity they are generating by smartphone app or online.

The development of Liberty Apartments and Townhomes will create jobs and opportunity for local companies. Twelve local design and installation jobs, will be created and multiple local companies such as Werner Electric will be part of the project. The solar arrays, consisting of 900 PV panes and 280,000 watts of energy will be designed and constructed by TruNorth and connected to Xcel Energy distribution system.

This project stands as an example of what can be accomplished in our communities using solar integration. The excitement for the project is growing. It won the 2018 Environmental Initiative award and is creating buzz within the development community as a leader in what can be done. Through partnership (more than nine companies!) they are showing the world what can be accomplished with solar. Learn more at http://www.TruNorthSolar.com or visit www.LiveAtTheLiberty.com for more information.

 

 

 

 

Another local business getting props for sustainability and clean energy initiatives is Hilton Garden Inn in Maple Grove. They ranked the top in efficiency out of 27 hotels in their management group here in the Midwest. What makes this accomplishment so noteworthy is that they were able to achieve an 80 on Energy Star portfolio manager, not by new expensive technology, but by high staff engagement.

While guests will notice some LED lighting, they may not notice the due diligence of the staff behind the scenes. Efforts are made by cleaning, maintenance and kitchen staff to adjust thermostats, shut off lights, close windows and blinds, perform regular equipment repairs and shutt of exhaust hoods between breakfast and dinner service. These small but impactful efforts add up and make a huge difference in energy and cost savings.

Hilton Garden Inn is able to accomplish this through teamwork and a strong sense to do the “right thing” by the entire team, starting at the top. Team members have a say in the projects they take on, and management supports them by providing the tools to be successful and finally the results of their efforts. They use a Green Scorecard where they track more than 150 conservation items. A Green Committee with representatives for each hotel in the group as well as a Green Newsletter  are also used to initiate and promote new ideas.

What would our communities look like if all businesses had such insight, vision and the drive to do what is best for its customers and communities? Examples such as these allow us to visualize what a better future could look like. With such successes as Hilton Garden Inn in Maple Grove and Liberty Apartments and Townhomes in Maple Grove hopefully other businesses and future developments will hop on the clean energy and sustainability band wagon.

 

Three Minnesota Futures: A Future to Fear, A Future to Prepare For, and A Future to Fight For

On Thursday, July 19th Northwest Metro Climate Action was privileged to host Sam Potter, Climate Scientist with a doctorate in atmospheric and oceanic sciences from Princeton University to speak at the Maple Grove Library. His presentation “Three Minnesota Futures: A Future to Fear, A Future to Prepare For, and A Future to Fight For” provided plentiful insight and information on the causes and current impacts of climate change. He also spoke about the possible future impacts depending on the decisions and changes we make regarding burning of fossil fuels and CO2 emissions.

What makes Minnesota, Minnesota to you?

Sam started with this simple question that sparked images of snowy days and sun sparkle off summer lakes. Or fresh morning snow and hot chocolate on bitter cold days. Or what about the smell of pines and blooming spring flowers? We all have our own feel of Minnesota that we hold in our hearts and consider with pride.

How will climate change impact our great state, then? First, we need to understand what causes climate change. In simplified terms, the sun heats the earth, including land, water, people, etc. The earth in turn emits energy or radiation back into the air. Some of this radiation escapes, but much of it stays. Increased CO2 levels hold more of the radiation in the atmosphere, which in turn causes global warming.

The below chart shows the peaks and valleys of CO2 density in the atmosphere for the last thousands of years. The 0 on the horizontal axis represents current time period, to which you can see an unprecedented spike of CO2 parts per million of 408.32.

Heat on the earth is absorbed in several ways. The first way is by the ocean which absorbs about 90% of it. The remaining 10% of heat is absorbed in the melting ice caps, land with some run off into the atmosphere. The increased heat and therefore increased temperatures of ocean, icecaps and land has impacts such as rising sea levels, killing of coral reefs and other ocean ecosystems, melting permafrost and disrupted farming practices.

Climate scientists use complex models that have been proven out to predict what our world will look like in the future including rainfall, drought, temperatures, sea levels and weather changes. Right now climate scientists have predicted three futures; the future to fight for, the future to plan for and the future to fear.  Of course, which future we end up with depends on how much we reduce our carbon output now and in the very near future.

Global warming is more focused on higher latitudes. This means Minnesota is one of the fastest warming states. Most of us don’t need to see the chart below to know our springs and winters have gotten warmer. Already our Minnesota winters have gotten an average of 4-5 degrees F warmer, while spring has gotten 2-3 degrees warmer. In the

In the next 50 years we may lose 30 additional days below freezing and gain 30 days above 90 degrees. Not only will this significantly change Minnesota’s climate but also where and how we grow food, our eco systems and how we live.

The greatest impact of this heat will be on water. As the atmosphere heats up, its demand for water increases, sucking more and more from the earth. And while flood-causing rains will increase, the number of days with light and moderate rain will decrease and days without rain will increase. Droughts will be widespread and common; and those countries or states already water strained will struggle to find relief.

Much of this information we have heard before. This is why Minnesota and the rest of the world is working to mitigate the impacts of climate change. But is it enough? Sam spoke to the Paris Agreement and Minnesota’s own energy goals. No, they are not enough, was his definitive answer.

We have a lot of work to do and we need to start now. Our CO2 reductions need to go beyond the goals we have set for ourselves. But how we do this?

In Sam’s presentation he discusses the importance of meaningful action. Meaningful action recognizes that many of the tools needed for a fossil-fuel free future are already here, but renewable energy, non-car infrastructure, energy efficient buildings, robust local food economies, etc. won’t magically appear on their own. Collectively, people need to demand them (policy changes), while also reducing overconsumption and waste (societal changes).

Meaningful action also recognizes that nothing will magically save us. The only currently viable CO2 removal methods are soil carbon enhancement and re-planting forests, but they at best remove a fraction of the CO2 put into the atmosphere by fossil fuel burning. And finally, meaningful action confronts the past honestly and does not leave anyone behind.

Northwest Metro Climate and many other environmental organizations we partner with are working hard to promote the kind of meaningful action Sam talks about. Whether it be calling your legislatures and demanding they take action, or ensuring our communities are educated and voting on climate, there is no shortage of work to be done. The good news is that this means there are also plenty of ways to get involved.

To learn more contact Northwest Metro Climate Action  by emailing Info@nwmetroclimateaction.org to get on our email list to find out more about how you get involved or join us at any of our upcoming events.

To see Sam Potter’s full presentation Click here to see Sam Potter’s full presentation or visit his site here.

Mortenson Talks Battery Storage

On Wednesday, February 21st Nothwest Metro Climate Action welcomed Brent Bergland, Gen. Manager for Energy Storage at Mortenson Construction to discuss the future of large capacity battery storage for renewable energy. Brett talked to the audience about the wide range of energy problems that battery storage solves, market challenges and the future of battery storage.

Mortenson plays a big role in the market, and while they are not the largest company they are certainly one of the most innovative and passionate. Their work in engineering, construction and integration of energy storage systems interconnected to local energy grids and behind-the-meter commercial applications is nationally recognized. Currently, lithium ion batteries dominate the large capacity market and is where Mortenson mostly focuses. 

At a high level, battery storage benefits consumers, corporations, developers and utilities. They make the grid more efficient, reliable and resilient as well as lower costs.

Battery Storage benefits fall into two main categories for the consumer and utilities: avoid costs and generate additional revenue.

One of the great benefits of battery storage is that they can mitigate and eliminate the demand charges for peak need. In the evening as family members return to their houses and begin to use high amounts of energy, the solar energy stored from the daytime or wind during the night can be utilized.

Battery storage can also enhance operational performance. If there are issues with the grid or main stream energy disruptions, batteries can step in and help save potentially lost business and/or productivity.

Generation facilities can also improve real time performance with battery storage. If for example, a storm rolls over a facility during the day, battery stored energy can kick in and help. It can also provide power quality services for the grid as well as pair up with other forms of generation to make the grid more flexible.

This all sounds pretty great, right? So why are we not seeing more of it? The main reason is that energy policy and rules are antiquated, especially in Minnesota. This makes it difficult for companies and utilities to invest more. One reason for this is that the fast changing technology and demand make getting up to date information into the rule makers hands difficult.  But even before the information must come the thirst for it. Legislatures must be open-minded and want to understand this new technology and the great benefit it has to their constituents and the state.

Another reason is that the use of battery storage for companies and developments takes a lot of data that is currently not being consistently captured and analyzed. Mortenson relies heavily on data gathering companies, one being MN based OATI, to help gather energy data for their projects.

Even though all market outlook projections look good, it is only fair to note the few downsides of battery storage. Lithium batteries main component is cobalt, which is mined in Congo. The instability of this country can cause large swings in pricing. There are also environmental and human rights concerns with this mining as well.

The market has also not totally figured out how to recycle batteries in a safe and environmentally friendly way. That being said, companies are popping up with innovative ways to reuse the batteries and as the market continues to expand, the expectation is so will supporting markets such as these.

Brett did a great job of making this very complicated subject consumable. One of Brett’s focuses with Mortenson is on battery storage education for the general public, governing bodies and legislatures. As the market of battery storage continues to grow all the while creating jobs and dropping energy prices, you can bet Minnesota’s own Mortenson will remain on the front lines.