Senator Marty has been leading the fight for a quick transition to a clean energy economy. We are in a downward spiral on climate, where human-generated impacts on the climate are causing more frequent and severe tornados, hurricanes, droughts, flooding, and fires.
Despite the destruction, we continue pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, making the problem worse. Minnesota has taken steps forward in wind and solar, especially in electric power generation, plus we have “clean car” standards and some work to increase energy efficiency.
However, even as Minnesota has taken steps forward, Minnesota regulators allowed the expansion of the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline, which pumps enough dirty oil from tar sands in Alberta to generate more greenhouse gas emissions than the entire Minnesota economy prior to its expansion! We have limited time to stop our greenhouse gas emissions, yet Minnesota effectively doubled them through the expanded capacity of this one pipeline.
John seeks to establish and implement a plan to transition to a 100 percent renewable energy future that bringing Minnesota’s entire economy – not just the electric sector – to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Although Minnesota has not treated climate change with the urgency needed, it is ahead of most other states on the issue.
Unfortunately, in the big picture, the Trump administration has mocked concerns about climate change. They are pushing for a radical increase in fossil fuel production, overwhelming any state policies on climate.
“Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do.”
– Wendell Berry
Climate Change is an Existential Threat to our Grandchildren and All of Humanity
This is serious business. Instead of increasing fossil fuel consumption we need to be shutting down fossil fuel infrastructure before its projected end-of-life.
We need huge changes throughout our economy – including agriculture and manufacturing. Our transportation system must be dramatically changed and building design & heating and cooling as well. It means ending single-use plastics and recycling our electronics and other products into new products rather than disposing them.
For decades, scientists have been calling for bold action on climate. Senator Marty has pushed for environmental sustainability during his entire tenure in the senate. But due to climate denial from the Trump administration and the entire Republican party, along with the clout of powerful corporate interests, we have made little progress. That needs to change now.
Eight years ago, a report published by the National Academy of Sciences estimated a 1-in-20 chance that global temperatures could rise by 5° Celsius by the end of the century. That’s far worse than the 2° rise that the Paris Climate Accords committed to preventing.
It’s worse even than the catastrophic impacts that the report said a 3° rise would trigger. The report described a 5° increase as “beyond catastrophic” because it threatens the very existence of humanity. One of the scientists involved said:
“To put [it] in perspective, how many of us would choose to buckle our grandchildren to an airplane seat if we knew there was as much as a 1-in-20 chance of the plane crashing? With climate change that can pose existential threats, we have already put them in that plane.”
There is no issue more critical to the long-term survival of humanity. That’s why Senator Marty is fighting against the Trump administration’s dangerous energy policies and pushing for an economy-wide transition to a 100% renewable energy future in the next two decades.
