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Energy City Commission – August 28, 2019 <br />Item 5.2: Vern and Lea Iverson: Global Climate Change Presentation <br /> <br />Vern and Lea Iverson attended training from the Climate Reality Leaders focused on the <br />Climate Crisis in Atlanta recently and wanted to share the information they learned with the <br />Energy City Commission. Their presentation included data about the current climate crisis and <br />also solutions. Their recommendation to the city is to consider 100% renewal energy by 2030 <br />for all of Elk River. In Minnesota, only three cities have committed to this – Minneapolis, St. <br />Paul and St. Louis Park. The focus of the presentation included the concept to thinking <br />globally, act locally. They also reiterated many times the Elk River has made many positive steps <br />for climate protection. <br /> <br />Additional facts they presented included: <br />- Minnesota has met our goal early for 25% renewable energy by 2022 <br />- We are “spewing” tons of manmade global warming pollution into the atmosphere, keeping <br />more heat in the atmosphere, holding in sun’s energy close to the earth <br />- Greenhouse gas sources include coal plants, industrial processes, agriculture, transportation, <br />landfills, etc. <br />- The Industrial Revolution significantly changed things including increasing pollution <br />- Eighteen of the 19 hottest climatic years have occurred since 2001 <br />- In Minnesota that means warmer summer days possible in the future, globally it has resulted <br />in more people dying due to heat waves and climate change related events <br />- 93% of heat energy is stored in the oceans <br />- Hydrological cycles are changing resulting in more evaporation, heavier rain events and <br />additional hurricanes <br />- Droughts conditions are also increasing causing climate refugees and more wild fires <br />- Extreme weather catastrophes have increased from 1998-2018 <br />- The true cost of adding carbon to the atmosphere was $635 billion over last two years due <br />to extreme weather <br /> <br />Solutions to these issues presented included: <br />- Subsidies to increase production of renewable energy <br />- Wind capacity increase in Minnesota <br />- Increase technology for solar and battery storage <br />- Individual changes such as electric vehicles, LED lighting, planting trees, reducing <br />consumption of meat <br />- Use your choices, votes and voices to speak truth to power because our world depends on it <br />- Vern and Lea shared personal motivation including the future of the world for their <br />grandchildren as well <br /> <br />The group spent some time discussing the presentation and their feedback for Vern and Lea. Many <br />members wanted clarification on some of the specific facts presented. There was a lack of information <br />about production of infrastructure for green energy like wind turbines and solar batteries, plus end of <br />life disposal which continues to be an issue for many tech products. Larger corporations are able to <br />make major changes to benefit the climate (like Apple or Amazon) but these changes are difficult to <br />apply to small, local companies. Locally to Elk River, ordinance like tree preservation have good <br />intentions but can be costly and detrimental to small businesses. Adding flexibility could be beneficial <br />with the goal for overall benefit rather than site specific requirements. Discussion also included options <br />for local funding for small businesses to help them meet requirements in a more meaningful way.