Voyageurs National Park is a huge open body of water and islands that dot the area of the Boundary Waters, extending into Canada in northern Minnesota. The park protects nearly 220,000 acres of boreal forests along the 55-mile-long border. One of the great things about this national park is that it is only accessible by boat, meaning that those who come need to be prepared for the journey of hauling their stuff and learning how to pack properly. There is a steady number of about 250,000 visitors per year on average coming into the park to witness the solitude and beauty. 

Geographically, the park is made up of 4 main lakes, Rainy, Kabetogama, Namakan, and Sand Point, which were inhabited by indigenous people for years, with the Ojibwe people of the Bois Forte Band and Chippewa calling it home. The national park takes on its name from French voyageurs who traveled through it as a major route in the fur trade about 250 years ago. With the official signing to be a national park in 1971, there were already private properties standing from families and companies which were sold to expand the border of the park. At first, some took leases to stay on their land, but eventually they were bought out, with about 40 families holding tight to their lifelong leases on the park's land. 

 The park is now used and has grown increasingly popular with the community. Stores and outfitters are popping up at entry points and have allowed for visitors to really appreciate the protected land and the workers who keep the park running. Now, in light of the upcoming 50th Anniversary, The National Park Service and Voyageurs Conservancy started planning events for the upcoming year along with Gov. Tim Walz will proclaim April 8 “Voyageurs National Park Day” in Minnesota while archives tour and open house will be held at the park’s headquarters in International Falls from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.. 

The national parks of the US keep protected land and waters safe. In Minnesota, we are lucky enough to have a State Park of our own but that also means people need to stay current on the news of upkeep and federal attacks on the National Parks. Voyageurs has luckily not seen a lot of budget cuts but many other parks are. To stay up to date the National Parks Service, https://www.nps.gov/index.htm, and National Park Foundation, https://www.nationalparks.org/explore/parks, are great websites for exploring along with consistent information on all National Parks within the US. 

In the capital of Australia, Canberra, they have been entirely powered by renewable energy since 2020, which is quite impressive as Australia is still dependent on coal and gas. Back in 2020, they were able to fully decarbonize their power grid which was a first for a country whose population exceeds 100,000. They are powered by large-scale wind and solar investments made by the Australian Capital Territory, the national and territorial capital along with long-term contracts with clean energy providers. These changes have allowed for lower costs for residents and are beginning to pave the way for a more, decentralized energy model. This change has shown to many that although Australia relies heavily on fossil fuel exports, electricity will not hurt the economy as costs have decreased overall. 

Biochar in the Amazon, this is a century old method that takes plant waste and transforms it into a soil-rich additive. This method allows for certain solids which are rich in carbon to be combusted in the presence of limited carbon then turned into usable pieces of nutrients for crops. Some of the materials it can be used from are feedstocks, timber slash, and cornstalks. Some concerns around this method involve the risks to the amount of land needed to be used along with deforestation, along with how expensive the process can be. Yet the indigenous peoples of the Amazon show that there are methods to keeping it a safe process and lasting for years, and if biochar lasts for thousands of years, it could rival high-tech carbon capture methods as the process costs way less while also doubling as a soil booster, improving crop yields while keeping carbon safely underground. 

The urban ecosystem has a big change to it as Basel exemplifies the green roof movement. These gardens are making the skyline change as they allow for urban biodiversity, climate resilience, and a policy-implemented change, allowing for more enforced worldwide changes. In Basel specifically, this is a decades-old policy that has been included in new and renovated designs. The city has focused on native plants with meadow-like landscapes decorating the buildings. Urban garden roofs have many benefits such as cooling urban heat, managing stormwater, and supporting wildlife, competing for rooftop space with solar panels, prompting discussions about integrating both. This inclusion can change the world and make the cities we populate more liveable. 

No matter what political party you decide to associate yourself with, being informed on the changes, impacts and meanings of Donald Trump’s inauguration is incredibly important to the future. On January 20th Trump already spoke to many changes he plans to move forward with. Alongside the very temporary and short lived TikTok ban Trump’s office announced that he is planning on withdrawing the US from the Paris Climate Agreement. This is the second time Trump is doing this but back in 2021 it took 3 years to process and was immediately reversed by Biden following the election. Unfortunately this time Trump plans to have this action move through faster as he clearly isn’t aware of how it negatively affects the US and world. On the global scale the US is ranked second for the most greenhouse gas emissions while China holds first. With the recent wildfires in California, and extreme weather experienced by two major hurricanes, climate experts state that the planet breached the 1.5 degree Celsius threshold in global warming which humanity has been warned to avoid for years. Trump returns to hurting climate efforts as he contrasts Biden’s hopeful efforts to concentrate on being hopeful, wanting for the United States to lead global climate efforts, seeking to encourage a transition away from oil and gas using subsidies and regulations. It’s important to note that Biden was no heaven sent angel for the US and ran into many troubles in office but in the comparison of Trump’s environmental opinions Biden’s half asleep policies did at least keep the US’ climate change effects to a minimum. 

In his inauguration speech, Trump stated that he wants to push toward declaring a “national energy emergency” with the media spread motto “drill baby drill” circling this act. Donald Trump wants to start offshore drilling on 625 million acres of ocean along with talk of opening up Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to be able to double down on the US making more oil than any other country. His campaign ran on boosting the economy while also decreasing general gas prices. But his promises are empty handed offers to the public as the president does not have the direct power to immediately lower gas prices. The drilling that he wants to endorse could create a larger supply but only in the hands of individual companies as they hold ownership of gas in the US. So all Trump can do is hope to increase supply while the companies make the final decision on how much they will actually go forward with drilling. What’s good is the majority of oil companies are sticking to their current supply and even cutting their revenue instead of increasing it. 

Energy consumption is essential for modern society, but now more than ever we need to step up to protect the land and laws that are currently being threatened which allow us to keep living in a clean energy world. 

Although Halloween was about a month and a half ago, many pumpkins and carved jack-o-lanterns still sit outside people’s doorsteps and are beginning to take the wear of the weather. This means that people are starting to throw away their pumpkins, which is understandable as about 1 billion Americans do the same. However there is a much more sustainable option to this and that is giving those pumpkins to farms across Minnesota as livestock benefit from the vitamins, proteins and fiber in pumpkins. 

Farms such as Alternative Roots Farm in Madelia have had great success in getting local pumpkin donations as word spread around. The best part about these farms is that they accept gourds, and carved pumpkins as they can be given to pigs, chickens, goats, sheep and cows. And they tend to eat the whole pumpkin so nothing goes to waste. 

Pumpkins also act as a natural dewormer as they have an important amino acid called cucurbitin that paralyzes and removes worms within the digestive tract. 

Farms accept pumpkins from Halloween to Thanksgiving, and although the time has passed for this season composting your pumpkins instead is the best alternative. This is because the landfills have a hard time breaking down the pumpkins as they function to store materials instead of allowing oxygen to decompose. And when organic material doesn’t have enough oxygen to break down they release a methane gas which is a harmful greenhouse gas that hurts the environment. 

So whether it be dropping your pumpkins off at a local farm or properly composting them, please be sure to first check solid waste management information, and then take care so animals can receive the natural benefits and we can keep greenhouse gas emission down!

On the ballot for this year's election Minnesotan voters were asked to decide to renew an environmental trust fund for another 25 years. This funding comes from the Minnesota lottery which has been giving 40% of its revenue for environmental and natural resources. This fund was started in 1988 and this was the last time this action was voted on and since then it has protected drinking water by keeping streams, rivers and lakes clean. The bill has also helped expand access to park trails and conserving wildlife areas. 

Although this bill is largely backed by voters some Republican voters have raised a concern to the fact that legislation will no longer be deciding what happens as the commissioner of the DNR, Sarah Strommen, will be the one making the final decisions. It is important to note that this bill does not add on a tax to Minnesotans, instead it will be taken from those who participate in the Minnesota lottery, meaning that if you have no contribution to the lottery, no extra money will be taken from you. 

Yet this year an overwhelming number of voters have backed this law once again, passing it in the 2024 election. More than 77% of voters backed their decisions this year allowing millions of dollars to continue to be put into water research and improving parks. This is the third time that voters have backed the amendment, more than three-quarters of Minnesotan voters approved the trust fund in 1988 and again 10 years later when it voted upon with a similar margin as the original bill. 

This year specifically the law was at a higher stake as it needed 50% of votes to pass once again and many were concerned that it may go under the radar of voters as a consequential presidential race was taking place. Yet this was diminished as 5 out of every 6 voters put down “Yes” while about 200,000 voters left it blank indicating “No” as their vote.

Jared Mazurek believes that “If anything is going to be the bridge across the aisle, I think we can find a common ground in the outdoors”, and that is because no state parks ask you whether you're Democrat or Republican when entering and many Minnesotans really care and love the outdoors. 

Since 1988 nearly $1 billion has been utilized to fund 1700 projects around the state. This includes around $79.6 million which has been used in the past year to help study an elk herd, expanding fishing resources and the study of the wolves within Voyageurs National Park. This election amendment would include a new boost which would increase the amount of money that can be used from the fund by 1.5% each year bringing it from 5.5% to 7%. This annual addition would be used to help fund a new community grant program which is dedicated to serving underserved communities and smaller organizations, which historically have struggled to get the funding they need through the LCCMR process. 

In another 10 years, voters will be asked once again about their opinions on Legacy Funding, the work of putting money into projects not funded by regular state funding helping build long-term conservation efforts, but many are confident that it will be passed again as Minnesotans continuously choose to back the environment. 

The term carbon-neutral means that an industry has made an effort to offset their emissions through carbon reduction methods. Carbon-free on the other hand means that there are no emissions even being produced, which is the official hope for 2040 Minnesota. 

As laws are being made across Minnesota controversy has arisen over what these carbon goals really mean. To bring you up to speed a law was passed back in 2023 called The 100, where Minnesota will aim to be 100% carbon-free by 2040 by requiring residents to use completely carbon-free electricity sources. 

Yet this law has come with two different sides, and the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) is set to hear from both, those of environmentalists and the Minnesota Pollution Control Industry (MPCA). With the announcement, the MPCA wanted to make a change to allow waste-to-energy incinerators and wood biomass as carbon-free utilities. They argued that the big picture of carbon reduction is more important than the “point of generation” when determining if any source is carbon-free. 

To speak to this Cecilia Calvo, an advocate for the environment stated that she is disappointed that pollution sources are being considered. 

What she means by this is that waste-to-energy incinerators and wood biomass produce a large amount of CO2. Where the law defines carbon-free sources as those who generate electricity without the emission of carbon dioxide. As for wood biomass, contentions over whether it is carbon-neutral or not have been a hot topic for years. This is because the greenhouse gas emission is extremely high and very close to low-income homes specifically in Minnesota. This continues to hurt the plan for a safer environment and the neighboring communities as it is not fair to place unnecessary burden on these families and their surroundings.  

Due to this knowledge many fear that just passing the law won’t be enough. That those who want to get their way will find a way no matter what. Regardless, the hope is that carbon-free can come to be a reality through pure electricity powered utilities and the PUC was very appreciative of the feedback they have received as they continue to come to a decision.

By 2050 Minnesota has a plan and hopes to have gas emission to about net zero, pretty ambitious for an entire state, but improvements to homes are one of the most critical decisions to be made when working toward this goal. In an MPR excerpt called “Getting to Green: One home at a time” guests Michelle Gransee and Rebecca Olson bring in their knowledge of this monumental move. Already 33% of the state's electric energy comes from renewable resources due to a large power grid, with zero-carbon power remaining the majority of Minnesota's electricity; these are wind, nuclear and solar energy sources that do not produce any carbon emissions. Although this is a step in the right direction one of the leading carbon issues is emissions from homes and large buildings yet our community has been working toward decreasing our carbon footprint, what makes a larger difference is individuals backstepping actions and decisions. 

Take a whole city who collectively shuts down their power after 10pm, they have decided that it’s better for storefronts to be cold and unheated in the hope of decreasing the overall heating bills rather than keeping furnaces running the whole night, but when people go home they prefer to walk into toasty lit homes. This personal decision results in home owners leaving their AC running all day and lights blaring through their windows until they come home, with every person in the city beginning to do this, the use of shutting down a whole city merely useless. These minor decisions replace the city's decision as a whole as it no longer matters if the city decreases gas use because the homes will override what changes are hoped to be made. Now, many people are not ready to make a complete switch into full electric utilities as the cost and major home renovations can be a bit intimidating. 

So instead there are small changes that can begin to be made such as reseaking the cracks and windows within homes and insulating that attic that has always been used for storage. These improvements not only benefit the environment as heating and cooling will stay within homes for longer periods of time but it’ll also decrease the money poured into cranking up the AC cause that bedroom is just not cold enough. As for those who are ready to make the full switch into an electric household, planning vs last minute decisions is the best route to take and get an utility audit done. Although this may sound like common sense, many people can find themselves overwhelmed and regretful when they become too eager to make the change and contact the first contractors they find. Instead citizens should expect at least a year of preplanning, this allows for many to find discounts and multiple organization input which can help to decrease cost and concern. This transition is also best done with the addition of a supplemental system, this would be a backup gas powered utility, such as a ference, to start up in case of electric failure and to decrease any fear in making the change. As for addressing cost, companies and organizations are very open to creating funding aid, and Bloomington specifically has created a larger incentive program that allows savings for residents investing in energy conservation systems. Specifically the CEE (Center for Energy and Environment), has paired up with individuals who receive low incomes to get low-interest loans to relieve the fear of upright cost. This is a major step in allowing people equal access to environmental improvement plans and a gateway into healthier homes around Minnesota.