We are in our second week at the State Capitol and three bills that rollback protections for our air and water have already passed out of the Senate and House Environment committees. Community leaders testified in opposition, including the executive director of the Minnesota Environmental Partnership.  We’ll keep an eye on these bills.  We expect to see more proposals like this.

But thanks to your help, we had a minor victory late last week!  (more…)

Give to the Max Countdown: 8 days to go!

We Minnesotans sure love to fish: Dropping a line in our favorite lake, river or stream is part of our way of life.

But a whopping 40% of our state’s lakes and rivers are seriously polluted – contaminating the fish, making them harmful to our health.

So let’s do something about it. (more…)

[Check out this previous post to hear Steve discuss these issues on AM950 Radio.]

Minnesotans expect our leaders to do more to clean up and restore our lakes, rivers and streams – Minnesota voters passed the Legacy Amendment in 2008 to do just that! But is that money being used effectively?

Our state has a long way to go in cleaning up our water, and preventing future pollution.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency reports that about 40% of Minnesota’s lakes and streams that they’ve tested are categorized as polluted. That means these waters don’t meet basic health standards for swimming or fishing – and definitely not drinking. What’s even more disturbing is that most of our lakes and rivers have yet to be tested! There is clearly more work that needs to be done to test these lakes to figure out where important clean-up work is most needed. (more…)

Steve Morse joined radio host Nancy Nelson Tuesday, Oct. 4, on AM950 to discuss Legacy Amendment funds for cleaning up our water, and how water pollution is tied to agriculture.

Listen to their conversation by clicking play below.

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(more…)

From Congresswoman Betty McCollum

On September 23, House Republicans passed a destructive bill called the TRAIN Act (H.R. 2401).  This legislation institutes needless bureaucratic delays and stall tactics to permanently weaken EPA’s ability to uphold the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. The bill also orders EPA to indefinitely delay its rules to address cross-state air pollution and mercury emissions from power plants.  (more…)

By Kelsey Staberg, Sierra Club Policy Intern

Last Friday, Representatives Betty McCollum, Keith Ellison and Tim Walz stood up to the pro-polluter majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and voted against legislation that exposes Americans to toxic mercury, and creates detrimental health problems caused by smog and pollution for hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans each year. (more…)

Community Leaders and volunteers gather around a giant inhaler at Stewart Field to raise awareness the dangerous health problems of air pollution. Photo by Christy Newell, Will Steger Foundation Intern

On Tuesday, Minneapolis residents protested dangerous air pollution from cars and coal-fired power plants with an 18-foot-tall human hand holding an asthma inhaler. Concerned citizens gathered at Stewart Field, warning that air pollution causes asthma attacks and makes kids sick, and demanding that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reduce toxic air pollution from coal-fired power plants and from cars and encourage a 21st-century transportation system. (more…)

May 27, 2011

“It ain’t over till it’s over,” said New York Yankee great Yogi Berra.

That’s the way a lot of lobbyists, advocates, agency staff, and legislators felt when the 2011 legislative session came to an end at midnight on May 23. Five months of action and drama, but still no budget and deficit resolve. “Extra innings,” Yogi would say! (more…)

May 13, 2011

I am writing this update on Friday afternoon in advance of a long evening back at the Capitol as the House and Senate confer the environment budget bill. The House version is HF1010 and the Senate version is SF1029. The two sides have met a number of times in the last week and are expected to reach final agreement yet tonight (Friday). (more…)

April 29, 2011

I am writing this update on Friday afternoon. It is close to 70 degrees outside and most folks are looking to get there!

The Legislature returned this week to continue their work toward adjournment at midnight of May 23. The committees met long and often to get bills passed out of policy committees to meet the first deadline. The Agriculture Budget bill is finished and signed into law. All other budget bills are in conference committee. Most of the committees have met this past week to review the differences in the House and Senate versions of the spending bills for state agencies and all the programs and projects that the state pays for with general funds. (more…)