The just-concluded session of the Minnesota Legislature produced benefits for family livestock farmers, while attacks on local control were stymied once again. The bad news is that an exciting program for promoting production of perennial plant systems for biofuels went unfunded. The Land Stewardship Project has developed an overview of the 2008 Legislature’s performance when it comes to sustainable family farming, local democracy and environmentally-sound biofuels production. Check it out by clicking here.

From Transit for Livable Communities:

Check this out: Awesome MPR interactive piece on how Central Corridor might impact University Avenue, with images and stories about the street’s past and present.

This week’s update from lobbyist John Tuma:

“Something happens to a man when he sits before a fire. Strange stirrings take place within him, and a light comes into his eyes which was not there before. An open flame suddenly changes his environment to one of adventure and romance.”

-Sigurd Olson, The Singing Wilderness

As we dig through our camping gear preparing for our first trip to “the Singing Wilderness,” the place that Sigurd Olson described as to “do with the calling of the loons, northern lights and the great silence of a land lying northwest of Lake Superior,” I have one last edition of the Capitol Update. The last edition is always dedicated to recognizing those in the Legislature who championed the environmental cause. I’m probably violating some sort of copyright or writers’ etiquette, but I will affectionately call these recognitions my “Sig” awards in honor of that environmental giant, Sigurd Olson.

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By Daryl Sager, energy justice program associate, Fresh Energy

With the installation of its first solar panel on May 22, the Little Earth of United Tribes housing complex in Minneapolis marked the beginning of its new renewable energy future. (more…)

A new report from the Healing Our Waters coalition summarizes potential impacts of climate change on the Great Lakes region. It also details how proposed Great Lakes restoration legislation in Congress could help the Lakes buffer themselves from some of these effects.

With the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 finally wrapping up, the Land Stewardship Project has developed a report card on where the legislation finally landed in terms of conservation, local food systems, sustainable agriculture and family farmers. Overall, we give it a C-. Not exactly honor roll material, but the initiatives that keep this bill from being a farm country flunker turn out to be pretty key. See for yourself by clicking here.

This week’s update from lobbyist John Tuma:

“If all the good things I have ever done are remembered as long and as well as my scrap with Shields, it is plain, I shall not be forgotten.”
Abraham Lincoln

Political negotiations and compromise can appear to casual observers to be some strange tribal ritual still not fully documented or understood by anthropologists. The interesting combination of personality and ideology clashing in the arenas laid out by our founding fathers for the purpose of balancing power can lead to some very odd and compelling drama. Such was the case in the 1840’s when a young and ambitious Illinois Whig legislator engaged in a “scrap” with the venerable Illinois Secretary of State, a respected Democratic Irish politician with a temper to match.

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This is a good news, bad news story. It’s good that demand for wind energy is booming in the region. It’s good that there is a benefit to the port. It’s also not as good that Minnesota is not manufacturing all or many of these components. And the more oceangoing vessels dock in Duluth-Superior, the greater the risk of invasive species introductions. But Congressman Jim Oberstar has, at least, guided ballast water control legislation through the U.S. House of Representatives.

By Elena Velkov, media relations coordinator, Fresh Energy

The Associated Press today highlighted another coal plant that has screeched to a halt. Westmoreland Coal Co. has suspended the development of its proposed 500-megawatt Gascoyne power plant project in North Dakota, citing uncertainty about federal carbon regulation. Westmoreland Power Inc. will now return more than $560,000 in state subsidies. (more…)

I’m not sure what’s happening. Maybe the cold, wet spring whet our appetites for fresh vegetables to an extraordinary degree. Or maybe more people are getting the word on the benefits of local food. Anyway, the fact is that in the 15-plus years that Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms have been providing fresh, sustainably-raised produce to Twin Citians, I don’t recall so many operations selling out so early. In fact, in the time it took me to write that last sentence, I received yet another e-mail informing me of a sold-out farm. But don’t panic—a few open spots remain. On our CSA web page, LSP has noted which farms are sold out so you can skip those and begin contacting the ones that still have shares available. While you’re at it, check out the newly updated Stewardship Food Directory, which features farms (and retailers) that can round out your culinary needs with local meat, dairy products, grains…you name it. Time to do some spring cleaning of the palate.