All posts by Greg Laden

Without Resolutions It Is Hard To Have An Environmental Revolution!

Environmental Issues

Each election cycle,the caucus generates a number of resolutions for our members (and others) to bring to their caucus, in the hopes that our aspirations will eventually turn into DFL party platform planks.

Our current resolutions, some of which did become planks, not only show you what we produced two years ago, but also, indicate the overall policy preferences of the caucus.

HERE you are welcome to fill in a form expressing your ideas for resolutions for the next cycle. Please try to do this soon. We will be writing, crafting, and finalizing our resolutions before the end of the year, for distribution to our membership in time for the caucuses on February 27th.

Please bring resolutions to your caucus, and please run to be a delegate to your Senate or Organizing Unit convention!

Miranda Pacheco for Duluth City Council

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The DFLEC endorses Miranda Pacheco for Duluth City Council At-large.

Miranda moved to Duluth to attend a drug treatment center, and went on to work at the places that helped her. It was in Duluth that she connected with her Ojibwe roots, and she earned an associate degree from Fond du Lac Community College. She is now earning a social work degree from the College of St. Scholastica and is fighting every day for people that need support. Protecting the land and water is one of her core values.

Please visit Miranda’s web site and see how you can help her out!

Wild Rose

2023 Legislative Wrap-Up and DFL Environmental Caucus Meeting

Forums and Events

DFLEC Resolutions Committee co-chair (and Caucus Vice Chair) Matt Doll took a run at our resolutions, to see where they stand in relation to this year’s legislative session. Here are Matt’s preliminary notes:

  • Sustainable Ag – Success: Plenty of funding for Forever Green and similar projects in the Ag bill, plus some soil health support in the Environment bill.
  • Green New Deal – Partial Success: The Climate and Environment (Climera) bill is the largest clean energy investment in Minnesota’s history and has lots of focus on low-income communities. It’s not going to be enough, but it’s a really strong start.
  • Zero Carbon Economy – Success: We mandated 100% clean electricity by 2040. Our resolution says 2030, but it’s still a step forward, and it’s notable that the goal of net-zero economy wide emissions by 2050 is also in state law. The Climera and Transportation bills are huge for reducing emissions as well.
  • Clean Water Infrastructure – Success: The massive bipartisan bonding bill will include $500 million for water infrastructure.
  • Prove it First – No change: No bill hearing this session.
  • Reduce Pesticides – Partial Success: Some new pesticide protections, including provisions for treated seed, first class city control over pesticide regulations, and a ban on pollinator-lethal pesticides on DNR-controlled lands became law. PFAS in pesticides will also be regulated next decade. But not much was done overall to reduce agricultural pesticides.
  • Get the Lead Out – Major Success: A bill to replace every lead service line in public water systems in Minnesota by 2023 passed into law, which will help reduce lead exposure for more than 100,000 households. Unfortunately, only voluntary measures to reduce lead ammo and tackle were passed.
  • Oppose Rollbacks – Success: No rollbacks of note occurred this session.
  • Clean Transportation – Success: Transit, passenger rail, EVs, active transportation, and climate-friendly transportation planning were all well-supported by the omnibus bill.
  • No new fossil fuel infrastructure – Partial Success: The transportation omnibus includes some of the first major steps forward to reduce expansion of highway lanes through its inclusion of climate in Met Council and MnDOT planning.
  • Divestment – No major change
  • Rights of nature – No change
  • Electric co-ops – No change
  • Mining conflict of interest – No change
  • Waste reduction – Success: More than $26 million in the Climera bill for waste reduction.
  • Toxic substances – Success: Strong new restrictions on PFAS and other substances like lead and arsenic passed into law.

DFLEC Legislative Wrap-up Monday May 22, 7PM on Zoom

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Planning is still underway, but this is the current setup for May 22:

Join the DFLEC for our end-of-session legislative wrap-up

Amanda Koehler of the Land Stewardship Project, Scott Beauchamp of Friends of the BWCA, and DFL Environmental Caucus Directors and friends including Libby Bent, Susan Schubert, and others will discuss a diversity of issues including this year’s legislative wins, a few losses, and issues we will be addressing in the future such as ATV use and regulation across the state.

Agenda:
6:30 early sign on and open discussion
7:00 Start of Forum
7:45 Transition to DFLEC meeting, all welcome

Support These Provisions in the Minnesota Agriculture Omnibus Bill!

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The omnibus bill for agriculture, known as HF2278, is being conferences in the conference committee, ie, it is being tweaked and changed here and there to make it into the law it will eventually become, if the House and Senate can stay up late enough to ever vote on it.

Please contact your House Representative and Senator to encourage them to support the following points:

  • Support the incusion of 1 million per year in the Soil Health Program (not the alternative $250K per year).
  • Fund the Forever Green program with $1.5 million plus $500K “tails” in this bill. (There is some ambiguity in with this issue. The Senate side of the bill funds the program with 1.5, but the House gives it nothing. But, the House has it in another bill. For now, just ask for the 1.5 million in the ag bill.)
  • Fund “Continuous Living cover” at $1.250 mil year 1, $250K year 2 plus $500 K tails.
  • Support funding for a Climate Coordinator for $150k per biennium.
  • Support $2.5 mil total for pollinators and perennial research.

Improve the State Agriculture Budget!

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This is a call to action relayed from the Rural Caucus.

Thirty percent of Minnesota's GDP is generated from agriculture. But the initial agricultural budget of $100 million that Governor Walz proposed to the legislature was reduced to $48 million when budget targets were announced last week. This is far less than what agriculture, food systems and beginning and emerging farmer groups were calling for, given the need for funding and the $17.5 billion surplus. This lower budget reduces support for family farmers, wild rice programs, critical research, and farmers
markets.

We ask all DFL Rural Caucus members to contact Governor Tim Walz, House Speaker Hortman and Senate Leader Dziedzic, and the House and Senate leadership and tell them to put the governor's Ag target of $100 million back in place!

These funds are needed to support the priorities in the DFL platform for family farmers, beginning and emerging farmers, meat processing, conservation and soil health, farm to school and farmers market programs – essential to a strong agricultural and local foods economy that keeps our family farmers and rural communities viable.

Governor Tim Walz 651-201-3400
Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic 651-296-7809  S
Sen. Liz Bolden, Ass’t Sen. Majority Leader 651-296-3903
Sen. Nick Frentz, Ass’t Sen. Majority Leader 651-296-6153
Sen. Foung Hawj, Ass’t Sen. Majority Leader 651-296-5285
Sen. Mary Kunesh, Ass’t Sen. Majority Leader 651-296-4334
Sen. Kelly Morrison, Ass’t Sen. Majority Leader 651-296-6612
Sen. Erin Murphy, Ass’t Sen. Majority Leader 651-296-5931
Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman 651-296-4280
House Majority Leader Jamie Long 651-296-5375
Rep. Dan Wolgemont, Speaker Pro Tempore 651-296-6612
Rep. Athena Hollins, House Majority Whip 651-296-4224
Rep. Esther Albage, Ass’t House Majority Leader 651-296-8659
Rep. Kaela Berg, Ass’t House Majority Leader 651-296-5387
Rep. Luke Frederick, Ass’t House Majority Leader 651-296-3248
Rep. Sydney Jordan, Ass’t House Majority Leader 651-296-4219
Rep. Liz Lee, Ass’t House Majority Leader 651-296-4277
Rep. Brad Tabke, Ass’t House Majority Leader 651-296-8872
Sen. Aric Putnam, Senate Agriculture Policy and Finance Chairperson 651-296-6455
Sen. Rob Kupec, Senate Agriculture Policy and Finance Vice Chairperson 651-296-3205
Rep. Samantha Vang, House Agriculture Policy and Finance Chairperson 651-296-6455
Rep. Kristi Pursell, House Agriculture Policy and Finance Vice Chairperson 651-296-0171

 

Call To Action: Week of April 16th 2023

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First, have you considered joining the Environmental Caucus? Or making a donation?  Now’s your chance!

JOIN ~~~~~~~~~ DONATE

Now, on to business.

We have assembled information and calls to action for you to invest some of your activist mojo.

 

There is a House floor vote on PFAS today (Monday) at 3:30.

Clean Water action is organizing an event.  Contact your house representative and urge a yes vote!  Details here

 

 

From MEP:

Support the Future of Climate Action in Minnesota! 

Unfortunately, the Next Generation Climate Act is missing from the Senate’s omnibus energy bill, SF2847. The climate crisis can’t wait – Take Action: tell your Senator to pass these updated climate targets this session.  Your advocacy could help make the difference.  CLICK HERE 

From Howling for Wolves:

Remove wolf hunting from state law: Take action today!

The wolf and her pack need you to take action and email a message to your state senator and representative. Please personalize it with a few sentences at the beginning! The pre-written letter asks them to vote “yes” to remove wolf hunting and trapping seasons now allowed under state law. After more than a decade of our dedicated work to stop wolf hunting and trapping in Minnesota and to implement wolf protection laws — we now have the opportunity to get it done! Please take action today. CLICK HERE

From Friends of the Mississippi River:

Tell legislators to support FMR’s priorities for the river

Tell your legislators to support the Mississippi River this session. We just need few pieces of information to connect you with your legislators.

See THIS ASK from the Rural Caucus about the state agriculture budget

OH, and Earth Day is coming up!

 

 

 

Mille Lacs Band launches vs the nickel mine

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This is a report from MPR on efforts by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and other groups to chose water over nickel.

The initiative, called Water over Nickel, aims to raise awareness of the risks associated with the proposed Tamarack Mine. It would be an underground nickel mine that Talon Metals wants to build near the tiny town of Tamarack, about 50 miles west of Duluth.

Talon has positioned the project as a major link in a domestic supply chain to build batteries for electric vehicles, a key component of broader strategies to develop a carbon-free economy to combat climate change.

But the Mille Lacs Band, along with its allies, including the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, argue a mine would endanger water resources in the Mississippi and St. Croix River watersheds, along with drinking water for Band members who live only about a mile away from the proposed mine site.

Read the rest here

 

Prove It First at the Capitol April 4th

Environmental Issues, Environmental Poisons, Sulfide Mining

Please join our allies with Friends of the Boundary Waters for a Lobby Day at the Minnesota State Capitol.  Here is the announcement, details, and RSVP info:

Join the Friends of the Boundary Waters and our allies in the environmental and indigenous communities to rally for clean water at the Capitol.

On April 4th, we are headed to the Minnesota state capitol for a day of action. (And this year we’ll be in-person & indoors!) Join other clean water supporters to stand up for the Boundary Waters and make sure our elected leaders understand the true importance of clean water.

SCHEDULE FOR THE DAY:

  • 10 am: Gather and have breakfast/coffee on us!
  • 10 am – 1 pm: Meet with your legislator and tell them to support Prove-It-First
  • 1:30 – 2:30 pm: Rally in the Rotunda with legislators and fellow supporters.

 

RSVP HERE

 

Minnesota’s environmental laws are outdated and inadequate. Let’s change them! In addition to the Prove It First Bill, Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness has drafted a suite of laws designed to update our laws and allow agencies to better serve Minnesotans and the water and wilderness we’re so famous for. Find out more about legislative action on our website, and find your legislator to set up a meeting.

Thank you for your continued support of protecting Minnesota’s clean water!