Let’s hear it for the Heartland!
by Fresh Energyby Carin Skoog, global warming solutions coordinator, Fresh Energy
What do you get when you cross a polar explorer and a global warming policy expert? Answer: huge crowds of hopeful Minnesotans and piles of signed postcards to elected leaders, asking for deep, science-based reductions in global warming pollution…and it looks like Minnesotans want it NOW.
Minnesota Environmental Partnership member organizations Fresh Energy, the Will Steger Foundation, and the Lutheran Coalition for Public Policy in Minnesota have been touring the state, bringing a global warming solutions message to more than 5,500 active listeners in churches, civic centers, and college campuses over the past three weeks. Stops along the way include Lakeville, Duluth, Sauk Rapids, Anoka, Albert Lea, Rochester and Moorhead—all peppered with media attention and attendance from the offices of local, state, and federal officials. What makes these events stand out in my mind are the traditionally conservative voting bases they draw from and the fact that, overwhelmingly, people of all walks of life, all ages, all faith denominations, and all political leanings are calling for significant action to slow global warming.
At one point in the tour as I stood behind our display table, I overheard a couple of local dairy farmers talking about their herds while they filled out postcards to Senator Norm Coleman asking for 80 percent reductions in global warming pollution by 2050. I have never had such hope for our state and nation as I do right now: the Heartland is finally starting to weigh in, and we are making a difference.
