Source: Tony Webster/Creative Commons The Minnesota Environmental Partnership is proud to feature the following post as part of our Student Voices Series. This is part of a continuing collaboration with Macalester College’s Geography Department and its students. The following column was contributed by Katie Lund and represents her views. As countries around the world commit… Read more »
By Robert Moffitt, American Lung Association This post originally appeared in MinnPost We see evidence of climate disruption every day, right in our own backyard. The ragweed pollen season has increased by over two weeks in the past 15 years, causing plenty of discomfort to those with allergies. Extreme weather events and changes to the… Read more »
Saint Paul, Minn. (May 23, 2015) — Earlier today, Governor Dayton used his veto pen on two major budget bills: the Agriculture and Environment Budget Bill, which contained a scaled back version of his buffer initiative and other provisions that would roll back Minnesota’s environmental protections; and the Jobs and Energy Budget Bill, which contained… Read more »
May 18, 2015, St. Paul, Minn – As the Minnesota Legislature prepares to adjourn later today, it’s clear that the outcomes of this Session will be marked by steps backward and missed opportunities for the precious Great Outdoors Minnesotans value dearly. “When we ask Minnesotans what they value most about our state, they talk about… Read more »
By Johanna Rupprecht, Land Stewardship Project The owner of a controversial Houston County silica sand mine was notified Monday by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) that he must stop mining and apply for a DNR Silica Sand Mining Trout Stream Setback Permit. The Erickson silica sand mine in Houston County’s Yucatan Township is… Read more »
By Johanna Rupprecht, Land Stewardship Project For longer than I can remember, my family has taken the same route from our farm in southeast Minnesota to visit my grandparents in north-central Wisconsin. The first leg of the four-hour trip takes us across the Mississippi River and through the farmland, pastures and rolling, wooded hills of… Read more »
By Bob Christie NOTE: Land Stewardship Project members and staff met with Governor Mark Dayton about frac sand mining issues on Dec. 4 in Winona, Minn. The meeting began with Bob Christie of Utica, Minn., sharing his perspective as a lifelong farmer on why frac sand mining is wrong for southeast Minnesota. Gov. Dayton was… Read more »
By Johanna Rupprecht, Land Stewardship Project The process of environmental review for frac sand mine proposals in Winona County has been seriously flawed from the start. But there’s still time for citizens to get involved and push for an in-depth, comprehensive review—otherwise known as an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)—that would show the full impacts these… Read more »
By Steve Morse, executive director of MEP Now that the 2012 Legislative session has ended and the commotion about the stadium has somewhat subsided, let’s look back at what our elected leaders did on some issues that garnered less press, but faced significant threats: Minnesota’s water and Great Outdoors. Sadly, for those keeping score, the… Read more »
Energy issues have not received as much attention as the Vikings Stadium or the constitutional amendments this session, but there have been attempts at rollbacks to our Renewable Energy Standard. There is still an opportunity to move forward on clean energy with the inclusion of solar in the bonding bill. The House version of the… Read more »