Matt Doll, Minnesota Environmental Partnership
MEP is proud to announce the publication of our 2022 Briefing Book, Blueprint for our Future. This book identifies the major environmental threats Minnesota faces, the work already being done, and solutions that MEP’s coalition members have put forward.
This project has been driven by MEP’s outgoing Advocacy Director, Sara Wolff, who played a vital role in Minnesota’s environmental community during her more than five years with MEP. It was also made possible by design contractor Connie Lanphear and the many members of our community who provided photos.
The Briefing Book begins by naming the problem: Minnesota is at risk of climate disasters, new threats to our health and well-being, and the degradation of our lands and waters. These are not problems that should take us by surprise: they are the result of years of treating corporate interests as more important than people and of inadequate action to end our economic addiction to fossil fuels. In the book, we note that for the problems we face, half-solutions are not solutions at all. False promises like “clean coal,” methane fuel that is called “renewable,” but isn’t sustainable, expanding highways, or propping up corn-based ethanol will not cut emissions at the pace or scale we need.
But we have ways forward – hence the Blueprint. We can change our regulatory practices and agency attitudes so that climate disasters like Line 3 can be prevented and shut down. We can invest in real climate solutions like sustainable land use, renewable energy, reduction and electrification of vehicle miles traveled, and weatherization for buildings all over the state. These aren’t pie-in-the-sky ideas, and the main side effect of achieving them will be that Minnesota communities will be healthier, safer, and more comfortable to live in.
Minnesota is a state known for our clean waters and Great Outdoors, and there’s no reason that we can’t live up to that image. We can protect thousands of Minnesotans as well as eagles and other animals from lead poisoning. We can reinvest in protecting and restoring the ecosystems we enjoy and depend on. We can shift from an economy where waste fills our land and incinerators pollute our communities to one where resources are conserved, reused, and recycled.
We encourage our subscribers to take a look inside the briefing book and share it widely. Science has given us the blueprints for what we need to win a beautiful future. It’s up to all of us to make sure Minnesota achieves this vision.