As noted in past updates, the team has finalized its legislative priorities:
Clean air, including geothermal (see below)
More accessible solar through standardized regulations and specifications
East Phillips funding
Speaking of East Phillips funding, the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute is attempting to raise $100K to provide necessary private funding for the Urban Farm. If you can, please contribute.
An exciting development is enhanced geothermal energy. New technologies will enable suppliers to drill deeper: up to two miles down, where the temperature is 80-400 degrees. The potential effects are stunning: the technique, if and when fully implemented, could provide all the nation’s electricity needs without fossil fuels. The technology is still under development, but it looks very promising.
There is a new team at the Sierra Club North Chapter: The Degrowth Team. The team’s purpose is to find a way to meld economics with a limited planet. The new team will meet on the third Monday of each month. You can find Degrowth and other team meetings on the Sierra Club Calendar.
There is uncertainty about the future of IRA programs like conservation rebates under the new administration. A small portion of funding has already been transferred to states. What will happen with the rest? One source of hope is, since 80 percent of the funds have gone to red states, there may be support from Republican elected officials. Sierra Club is pushing for more funds to be transferred by January 20.
Unfortunately, Minnesota has been very slow to roll out the program, so there’s no chance of our being able to get much funding before then. Tax credits have been authorized by Congress, and could only be cancelled through congressional action.
As part of its public information initiative, the team will continue to offer presentations to the public about existing tax credits. There’s too much uncertainty about other programs to say more.
Finally, there is a new national Sierra Club program: Truth Tellers, which gives members an opportunity to take part in on-line climate conversations.