Fresh Energy executive director Michael Noble was quoted in last week's
Pioneer Press article "
Minnesotans plugging into electric vehicles." "With everybody talking about reducing our reliance on oil, electric vehicle technology is the biggest idea for widespread deployment of new cars that don't run on gasoline," he said.
Read more about how Minnesotans are getting on board with electric vehicles, and what policy makers and business leaders are doing to support the trend.
On March 15, the Media Center at Fresh Energy launched a new information service: Midwest Energy News. Each day, we search feeds from more than 300 news and commentary sites to find energy-related stories important to our region. Those stories are linked directly on the Midwest Energy News homepage, as well as through our Twitter and Facebook feeds. We hope this will be a valuable service not just for energy insiders, but for anyone interested in the dramatic changes going on in the Midwest.
If you spent any time in the Twin Cities during the snow storm last week, you may have happened upon Fresh Energy's logo... more than 1,000 times. Minneapolis business Element Six Media has developed an innovative way for businesses to promote their brands through seasonal snow storms: the company physically stamps the snow with a company's logo. Check out the pictures.
What an honor it was to be invited to participate in Expedition Copenhagen of the Will Steger Foundation! In 10 days, often running 18 hours--even 21 on occasion--I had the chance of a lifetime to join the convergence of humanity that was Copenhagen. While the negotiators, the heads of state will get 90% of the press, for me the real story of Copenhagen was the coming together of youth, who built cross cultural networks, soberly asking the negotiators in a sea of orange T-shirts, "How Old Will YOU be in 2050?" Our team of youth delegates was a diverse and wicked-smart bunch who came from 7 states across the Midwest--MI, WI, MN, IA, IL, ND and SD.
Between UN climate discussions in Copenhagen and a climate bill in the U.S. Senate, one can't avoid the buzz about cap and trade. It's easy to get lost in the news. Luckily, Minnesota Public Radio last aired a highly educational series about cap and trade and how it affects Minnesotans last week. Check out the four-part series, called Cap and Tradeoffs.
Families aired December 7, 2009 Stephanie Hemphill opens the series with Cap and Trade 101. She discusses how the revenue may be dispersed and how much the system may cost families. Fresh Energy Science Policy Director J. Drake Hamilton provided information to Hemphill, who quoted her in the piece.
Transportation aired December 8, 2009 Dan Olson reports on how the transportation sector could help the nation reduce its pollution 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. He interviews a former Minnesotan, now living in Denmark, about the American mindset about cars and driving.
Agriculture aired December 9, 2009 Mark Steil discusses carbon sequestration and how it may affect farmers in Minnesota. He also evaluates corn-based ethanol and methane.
Big Emitters aired December 10, 2009 Stephanie Hemphill closes the series with a story about some of the state's largest polluters and how they would adjust to a cap and trade system. She also highlights 3M's ambitious energy reduction goals. The company has cut its pollution in half in five years.
When I got out of bed on Sunday morning, I could not believe the news coverage of the 100,000 person demonstration on the streets of Copenhagen. I was angry. The BBC story lead story was about arrests and violence, none of which I saw from noon to 6PM while walking 6 kilometers with an enormous crowd of people from all over the world. By 9:30AM Sunday, the Associated Press reported that Danish police say only 13 of 968 people detained during Saturday's protests remained in custody.
Aurora Conley, an Ojibway woman from Bad River Indian Reservation near Ashland, WI is a Will Steger Foundation youth delegate who led the march along with indigenous peoples from all over the world. She might even be asked to address the plenary session on behalf of the world's indigenous people on the conference's final day. I am working here in Copenhagen to support Aurora and 11 other amazing emerging leaders that Will Steger has assembled to put pressure on U.S. negotiators at the summit. Please take five minutes to watch this beautiful video of Saturday's Copenhagen march posted by The Uptake, and hear Aurora's message that should be taken to heart by the negotiators inside the Bella Center: "We're moving now!"
Last Friday morning, I stepped off the plane in Copenhagen for the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP15). My role at the Copenhagen climate conference is as a policy mentor and coach to 12 youth delegates from 7 Midwest states. They make up Expedition Copenhagen, traveling with polar explorer and global warming eyewitness Will Steger. I had reviewed all the negotiating positions of individual countries like my own, China, Japan, Canada--and important blocks of countries, the European Union, the Alliance of Small States, the G-77 developing nations. I felt prepared to track the formal negotiations of the conference. What I was unprepared for was the remarkable intensity and focus of the youth delegates I would meet that night.
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