Nineteen hours and forty two minutes of reading, small talk, fidgeting and eventually, for the lucky ones, snoring. On Saturday, February 16th, I boarded a bus, bound for Washington DC to participate in a climate change rally. There were 187 Minnesotans in all, united in our opposition to the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. This pipeline will unlock and carry the dirty tar sands oil out of Canada across the Great Plains, to a [...]

Minnesotans Depart for Forward on Climate Rally This morning 70 Minnesotans discovered that changing one word can change the world. As they gathered at the St Paul Amtrak station, a flash mob blossomed singing, “ride on the earth train,” a heartfelt adaptation of Cat Steven’s “Peace Train.” The dream of an earth train was born on November 30th as Susan and Jim Lenfestey left Bill McKibben’s Do the Math Tour feeling inspired and ready for [...]

Standing around in a wind turbine might not sound like the most exciting way to spend an evening but if the owner Jim Nichols is there it can be pretty intense.  He is not as young as he used to be and he has seen a lot of failures in U.S. systems but he has certainly not lost his passion.  It is refreshing to see such resolve and optimism in the face of potential social, [...]

Story written by MN350 member Claire Curran Gone are the days of gentle rain, or so it seems. These days, it’s either suffocating drought or devastating thunderstorm, leaving farmers scrambling for solutions. This has certainly been the experience of Dayna Burtness, lead farmer at Laughing Loon Farm. This is Dayna’s first season; she’s rented 5 acres of land from Seeds Farm and has started a successful organic farm. Her veggies can be found on your [...]

Story written by MN350 writer, Claire Curran. A spark to dream. Creativity to overcome. Courage to inspire. That’s what the congregants of Mayflower United Church of Christ (MUCC) believe it takes to create profound justice for the earth and all its creatures. This deep commitment to justice is not a recent development. Throughout its history, Mayflower has undertaken several social justice projects including the development of Creekside Commons, a housing development that serves 30 low [...]

Story contributed by MN350 writer Claire Curran, St. Peter, MN Housesitting in St Peter, MN doesn’t sound like a great opportunity to do my part to prevent climate change. I’m under no illusions, I know the things I do every day do not compare to the policy decisions that are degrading the global climate. Yet, even in these first few weeks I am hopeful. I am hopeful that choices I make do have an impact. [...]

Reflections on the Duluth flooding by MN350 member Scott Travis. It’s awful tough to see the battering my hometown of Duluth took, but it’s worse to know that this time Nature was spurred on by the climate damage we’ve foolishly caused. I’m mighty proud of Duluth’s response to this mess: no fatalities, only minor injuries, no looting and people taking care of each other as best they can. Except for how much I missed my [...]

On June 12, a van full of MN350 members and Sierra Club staff traveled north to Bemidji to learn of the direct local impacts of the fossil fuel industry and ask experts some critical questions about the true costs of oil spills.   Several pipelines lay beneath (or rather on top of depending on where you are standing) the sandy soil of our neighbors in the north. Throughout the afternoon, Marty Cobenais of Indigenous Environmental Network, [...]

5,000 miles sounds like an awfully long commute, but for musicians and other professionals, traveling long distances is just part of the job.  Most musicians don’t think twice about jumping in a van, bus or airplane to play for crowds around the country.  For Paul Doffing, a local Minnesota singer/songwriter who is looking to hit the national scene, this poses a conflict of interest.  In order to promote and share his music he needs to [...]

In 2007 Featherstone Farm was nearly destroyed by flooding, something that owner Jack Hedin understood as another sign of the impacts of climate change.  In response, Jack and his family at Featherstone Farm, a 140-acre certified-organic-produce farm in Rushford, Minnesota, decided it was time to act on a long held vision of farming sustainably.   Since then, with the support of their community, they’ve added a geothermal energy source and an electric powered tractor. Now, [...]