Climate change is affecting all of us. When I was a growing up, my dad took us fishing or swimming in clean lakes near our Minnesota farm. Land of 10,000 clean lakes, we would brag.
A WCCO news article, “More of Minnesota's lakes and streams are reaching concerning levels of contamination ... data from the (MPCA) shows there are 305 new bodies of water that qualify as ‘impaired,’ bringing the total number of such lakes and streams in the state to 2,904.” Pets die after swimming in water with toxic algae bloom, now being found in lakes all over Minnesota.
We hear that people with asthma should stay inside due to the air quality. According to the Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota temperatures are higher now than in the last 20 years. When the temperature is higher, people run their air conditioners, which use fossil fuels to run, which cause more air pollution.
Clean energy is cheaper than fossil fuels. In Burlington, Vermont, a city of 42,000 people, 100% of the city’s electricity now comes from renewable sources. The city hasn’t raised energy rates in eight years! In Stewartville, where I live, and in my surrounding communities, our electrical rates keep rising.
Twenty-four states have already passed a 100% clean energy bill. Our elected officials have the power and the people of Minnesota, especially our children and grandchildren, are calling upon them to pass the 100% clean energy bill. We all need our water and air for the future.
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Diane O’Mara, Stewartville
The Trust Project
