PRINCETON, Minn. – The state’s own eyewitness to the impacts of climate change is making a trek to northern Minnesota this week to share his stories.

Arctic explorer Will Steger is to speak tonight in Princeton and Thursday in Grand Rapids, and says there's o mistaking what he's seen on his many journeys:

"In the polar regions, the ice is starting to melt, and we're seeing the ice shelves in Antarctica and the higher Arctic disappearing. At the same time, we're starting to see weather extremes all around not only the United States, but all around the rest of the world right now."

Despite what he's witnessed, Steger believes there are ways to reverse the trends and says he's hopeful about the future.

"There are solutions to the climate change, and the solutions are economical. It's changing our economy into a clean-energy economy - new fuels and lessening our demand on energy, in particular - which means the saving of money, not only at homes, but in businesses. So, the solutions are definitely economical."

Joining Steger at the public forums will be J Drake Hamilton, science policy director at Fresh Energy, who says those solutions include job creation through modernizing coal-fired power plants.

"Everyone from pipefitters and welders, who'll be putting pollution-control equipment on these plants, to engineers and electricians - so, all kinds of skill sets will be needed. The result will be that we'll have multiple health benefits. We'll be saving lives, and we'll be modernizing the whole electricity system for the state."

In addition to job creation, Hamilton says reducing pollution from coal plants will have a positive impact on the state’s health.

"Coal is the number one source of the climate pollution, and it's a number one source of a number of respiratory illnesses. So, when we talk about improvements that get us cleaner air, we're also really directly talking about improving people's lives."

Steger says he has put his exploring on hold for now to focus on educating the public about climate change. His next trek will be a 2,000-mile journey across the Canadian Arctic by dogsled, but he says that's still a few years off.

More details on the forums are online at fresh-energy.org.



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As the economy has changed with the pandemic in the past few years, Indiana's small communities have seen an exodus of jobs and people. However, experts say there's hope on the horizon in the form of community redevelopment through renewable energy.

According to the Clean Grid Alliance, Indiana already has the second-most clean-energy jobs in the Midwest because millions of dollars are being invested in wind and solar energy.

Connie Neininger, senior advisor for the Center for Infrastructure and Economic Development, said clean energy could be the answer to revitalizing a community.

"The rural area needs to find its niche, and that could be renewable energy, because more and more companies today are looking for renewable-energy sources," she said. "Especially globally, they're looking for communities that have renewable energy available."

Since 2021, Neininger said, clean-energy jobs in the Hoosier State are growing twice as fast as the overall economy. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will provide $6.9 billion over the next five years for road, bridge and redevelopment projects.

Neininger said economic development agreements can be a powerful incentive to recruit for renewable-energy businesses. She recommended hiring a qualified attorney or consultant to advise on issues such as financial incentives or tax-abatement agreements.

"When a renewable-energy project comes in and invests sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars into that community with its infrastructure," she said, "the actual equipment - that is adding to the county's assessed valuation."

Neininger warned that local officials need to be clear-eyed about which types of companies they recruit, making sure their community and the employer are a good fit.

"They may not have the workforce available," she said. "They may not have the infrastructure, whether it's water, wastewater or even power. And they may not have the transportation - the roadways, the access to interstate - as do a lot of the metropolitan areas."

Oregon is pursuing an aggressive climate plan to switch to renewable energy sources, but it faces one often overlooked issue: enough high-voltage power lines to facilitate the transition.

An Oregon law requires utilities to cut greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2040. However, the Northwest's aging transmission lines will need a reboot to ensure wind and solar resources on the east side of the Cascades make their way west.

Emily Moore, director of climate and energy at the Sightline Institute, said lines can take 10 to 20 years to build, and the grid is nearing capacity.

"We need to be looking much farther into the future in order to start those complicated processes now," Moore contended. "And not wait a decade or 20 years until it's much more urgent."

Moore argued creating a plan for building power lines in the region is going to be critical. She pointed out a glut of wind and solar projects in the Northwest cannot come online because there is a lack of transmission capacity.

There are several hurdles to siting transmission lines. Negotiations are required with landowners and tribes, and not every community likes the idea of having tall lines stretch across the land.

Fred Heutte, senior policy associate for the Northwest Energy Coalition in Portland, said public engagement is key, especially with the communities where the lines may end up going.

"Their voices are really important and getting benefits to those communities as a result of the new transmission is also very important, and being protective of the environmental and cultural resources that may be affected by new transmission is also important," Heutte outlined. "All of those things come into play here."

Moore noted the biggest transmission line player in the region is the Bonneville Power Administration, a federal entity which owns about three-quarters of the high-voltage lines in the Northwest.

"We do have, of course, our Northwest congressional delegation, which has influence over BPA and many folks think that they should be encouraging or at least engaging with BPA on more proactively building new lines," Moore emphasized.

She added states should do everything they can to maximize energy sources like rooftop solar, which reduce the need for transmission lines.

Proposed legislation would help schools throughout Virginia adopt renewable energy.

The bill would direct the Virginia Department of Energy and the Commission on School Construction and Modernization to gather information about climate-smart programs for schools to implement. Schools in the state would also receive technical assistance and help seeking funding sources.

Del. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Ashburn, the bill's author, said while the program the bill creates is completely optional, an important part of future building will include renewable energy.

"When you build a school, it doesn't just last five years, and then you tear it down, and you build another one. It's got to last a long time. Decades, right?" Subramanyam pointed out. "And I don't see us in 20, 30 years; I don't see a future that's not going to involve renewable energy."

Subramanyam considers it common-sense legislation, and an easy way to help schools, without forcing them to adopt the measure, if they do not have the funding to do so.

School administrators told him they were not sure how to access certain climate-friendly resources. A previous version of the bill was introduced in 2021 but needed to be revised. Subramanyam hopes the legislation will aid schools in preparing for a climate-smart future.

Molly Robertson, research associate at Resources for the Future, believes it is a critical part of the puzzle to ensure schools move toward climate friendliness. One benefit she sees is getting schools access to information about adapting renewable-energy resources.

However, she noted if they do not have the resources to get involved with the program, there is not much help in the way of accessing climate-smart grants. Robertson added there are lower-cost options to make Virginia schools more environmentally friendly.

"The easiest one that a lot of schools have tackled is replacing their lighting system and using high-efficiency LED bulbs," Robertson explained. "But, there are other things that can make an even bigger impact, like replacing heating systems from natural-gas heating systems to electric heating systems like heat pumps."

She emphasized larger school districts have energy-conservation programs in place, but others might need to establish them, potentially starting at the state level. While it is one part of a larger puzzle, Robertson thinks the bill offers schools a unique opportunity to be part of the push to decarbonize buildings.