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Blacked out in the Star-Tribune…..

This article appeared in the Strib.  No mention of community/environmental concerns.

Trash costs drive Ramsey, Washington counties to consider Newport plant buyout
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MN Elected Officials Letter of Support for Clean Power Plan

September 15, 2015

The Honorable Governor Mark Dayton
116 Veterans Service Building
20 W 12th Street
St. Paul, MN 55155

Dear Governor Dayton:

We, the undersigned elected officials, formally submit this letter to express our support for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) first-ever limits on dangerous carbon pollution from existing power plants using authority granted under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. Moreover, we submit this letter to encourage you to continue our state’s leadership on environmental and energy policy by developing a strong and just compliance plan for Minnesota’s implementation of the Clean Power Plan with a strong emphasis on renewable energy and energy efficiency. Continue Reading →

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Five of Minnesotas eight Congresscritters voted to weaken/block EPA regulation of coal ash:

Congress makes the wrong move on coal ash rules

H.R. 1734 and Senate companion bill S. 1803 are intended to prevent EPA’s (weak) coal ash regulation rule from going into effect.  165 Democrats voted against 1734 and only 19 voted for it.  239 Republicans vote for it and only ONE against.  Stats here. Continue Reading →

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US House of Reps., most MN members, vote for Monsanto

Update:  It’s important to note that this bill is NOT about banning GMO foods, it’s ONLY about labeling so people can make their own decisions.

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Action:  Contact Senators.

From the Organic Consumers Association:

DARK Day in D.C.

Yesterday, 275 members (see vote tally here) of the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of H.R. 1599, the DARK (Deny Americans the Right to Know) Act. By voting for the DARK Act, these politicians voted against truth and transparency, against science, against the more than century-old right of states to legislate on matters relating to food safety and labeling.

They voted against the 90-percent of Americans who are in favor of mandatory labeling of GMOs. They voted against the producers of non-GMO foods.

They voted against you.

Now that the DARK Act has been approved by the House, we’ll have to stop it in the Senate. We have to move fast­because Monsanto is desperate to pass a bill that preempts mandatory GMO labeling laws at the state and federal levels, before Vermont’s GMO labeling law takes effect next year.

H.R. 1599 was sold to Congress via multi-million dollar public relations and lobbying campaigns built on lies and deception. The bill’s sole purpose is to support an industry–Monsanto’s poison-peddling industry–­that was founded on lies and deception from the get-go.

Were the Congress members who voted against you fooled by Monsanto’s slick, deceitful packaging of this so-called “Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act”? Or did they simply vote with their wallets, stuffed full of biotech and junk food industry cash?

Continue Reading →

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“This $153,000 rattlesnake bite is everything wrong with American health care”

Yeppers.

 

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Self-explanatory

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EPA Community Air Monitoring Training Webinar

Webinar:  Thursday 9 July 2015, 09:00 AM – 12:30 PM [Note:  8 (not 10!) Central Time!] Continue Reading →

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Air Quality Index reaches 200 in St. Michael, Minnesota

Air Quality Index of 200 in St. Michael, MN, in July 6, 2015 at 1500

Air Quality Index of 200 in St. Michael, MN, in July 6, 2015 at 1500

http://aqicn.org/city/usa/minnesota/st.-michael/

Continue Reading →

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“Big Ag is conquering Minnesota like a noxious, unkillable weed”

Here is a clear and powerful piece on the political/environmental nightmare confronting Minnesota, by Hannah Sayle, writing for CityPages.

When we add the evils of “big ag” to the evils of frac sand mining, the evils of sulfide mining, the evils of suburban sprawl, the evils of iron mining, and the evils of “bioenergy,” plus climate change, etc., what sort of a future are we looking at for Minnesota? What can we do about it? Could a revived environmental movement push back effectively against all this?  What can we realistically expect of regulatory agencies, constantly stomped by special interests when they do try?  Lots to think about …. and lots to do. Continue Reading →

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Why do Minnesotans put up with this?

On June 23rd, the MPCA “Citizens’ Board” held its last meeting, the board having been abolished by the Minnesota Legislature with the consent of Governor Mark Dayton.

Some very smart, well-informed people must have written the environmental laws of Minnesota in the 1960s and 1970s.  The Citizens’ Board seems to have been designed to keep the MPCA from becoming overly bureaucratic, self-serving, and too closely tied to the interests it was supposed to regulate.  These, of course, are the normal evolutionary tendencies of a regulatory agency, kept down only by constant effort.  No wonder the Chamber and “big-ag,” etc, wanted the Citizens’ Board gone.

Back to the June 23rd meeting, in the basement boardroom of the MPCA, beginning at 9:00 am and ending about 6:30 pm. What I observed, having been there all day, seemed rather different from the media reports I have seen.  No need, however, to take my word for anything.  You can see many of the documents and watch video of the meeting here. Continue Reading →

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