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Sometimes, it feels like I’m screaming into the void. Not only on this blog (hi, loyal readers!), but generally speaking, when it comes to the climate.

It happens quite often here in Minnesota. You’re having a normal conversation with a family member, friend, or complete stranger. The topic could be anything. Suddenly, there is a lull, and one person brings up the weather.

Here in Minnesota, it’s usually about how “bad” the weather is, or how “good” it is, as compared to some desired normal. November, I’ve determined, is the time when there is a near-universal acclaim for the “beautiful” or “gorgeous” weather we’re having.

I mean, sure, in September, when the leaves are (supposed to be) turning colors, and there is a light breeze, and it’s 60° and sunny, that’s some pretty nice weather. To be celebrated, even!

In November, weather like this should be cause for panic.

I’ve been searching for the perfect rejoinder, that doesn’t make me sound like a complete scrooge, to the statement “this weather sure is beautiful”, but still reminds folks how freakish it is.

A fact I’ve been pondering lately is that during high school (back in the mid-90s!) we used to have a Thanksgiving ski camp at Welch Village. This required a packed snow depth of about 10″ or so. All man-made, to be sure, but at least it was cold enough (daily temperatures below 28°) to make the snow.

I’m currently wondering if we’ll even be able to go skiing before December 1st this year.

All of which to say, it should be cold-slap-in-the-face obvious that the climate has changed dramatically here. Most Minnnesotans know that on a gut level, even if they are not yet able to elevate it to the level of their electoral decisions.

However, with the recent election result, I feel hope again that maybe, just maybe, we’ll muster the political will necessary to combat climate change.

The coalition around this is broader than you might think:

• Skiers, Snowboarders, Cross-country Skiers
• Snowshoers and fat bikers
• Snowmobilers and ice-fishers
• Ice skaters and hockey players
• Sledders, snow-people makers, and more

You’d be hard-pressed to find a Minnesotan that doesn’t enjoy one of those things.

I read Jeremy Jones’s recent post with interest, because he attacks this idea that he should just “stick to snowboarding” and “not get political”.

I get it. You came for the powder, not the politics. But here’s my problem with that advice: I can’t stick to snowboarding without snow.

And the reality now is that engaging in any of those activities now is a political act. You simply can’t avoid it, because the way things are going, they will all disappear.

The whole piece is worth reading, a couple highlights:

• Clean energy employs three times as many people as oil and gas.
• Wind, solar and batteries are not just better for the environment, they win on the economics as well.

More…

Outdoor recreation is a $1.3 trillion piece of the American economy, supporting 5.2 million jobs, roughly four times as many as oil and gas. We’re the lift ops, the guides, the shop techs, the gear makers, and the motels and diners in every mountain and river town in the country.

But they act like a giant and we act like a hobby. Oil and gas spent $219 million on the last election and $150 million lobbying Washington. They vote together, give together and fight every bill that touches their business.

Our current Minnesota representatives score highly on the Environmental Scorecard from the League of Conservation Voters, but with so many priorities in front of us after a disastrous two years of Trump 2.0, we need to ensure that climate stays at the forefront. Our legislators can walk and chew gum at the same time, and we as constituents should advocate with that reality in mind.

The combined economic might of the clean energy industry, and the outdoor recreation industry, should be enough to move the needle with legislators. We have the playbook for rapidly advancing our technology, as well as ensuring the protection of our environment. But, the window for implementing dramatic policy changes that could mitigate the worst outcomes of climate change is closing rapidly. Minnesota is already experiencing significant changes. We need to act now before our winters are gone forever.

Back for the second year in a row, I was able to join up with some work friends for a one-night camp-out in a not-too-close, and not-too-far-away campsite.

We went to Krueger Campground near Wabasha. It’s a fun area of the state that doesn’t look like what you might think of when you think of Minnesota. The campsite was tucked into a river bluff overlooking a large valley. Feeling very thankful for the extra day off this week, we had the whole place to ourselves.

The weekends during school get so packed with events and activities, I need to remember to reserve some nights for quick get-aways.

We continued the program set down last year of whipping up some true camping gourmet meals. Starting with some chips and cowboy caviar, we moved on to a fruit course (pineapple) before some impossible-sliders with secret burger sauce. Then a seafood course of salmon and potatoes, before a noodle and pork-belly dish.

I was stuffed to the brim, but the dessert was an elevated s’mores with stroopwaffles standing in for graham crackers. Delish.

After a hearty breakfast of chilaquiles, I didn’t want to head back to civilization. However, the beauty of the one-night get-away is that it’s a quick pack and drive back home. Before long, I set my direction north, hit play on a podcast and followed the river back home.

This new generation of climate activists is picking up the torch, now lit by LED. They recognize they have a life-and-death stake in the climate system they will be inhabiting for longer than anyone in my generation. Some of them are the children and grandchildren of those who have gone before. People like Sophie Kivlehan, James Hansen’s granddaughter, who served as a youth plaintiff in the landmark Juliana vs U.S. government. Although dismissed last year, the case argued that the government was violating the youngest generation’s constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property, as well as failing to protect critical public trust resources.

Source: A New Generation of Climate Leaders Is Our Last Hope

When an Outside editor reached out to ask me to write this story, I was on a trip to Marble Canyon, Arizona, to train raft guide companies on what is happening with the river. I drove my diesel Sprinter van from Tucson to the site, which tallied 383 miles at 20 miles per gallon of gasoline. When I ran the numbers later, the lifecycle water footprint of my fuel was around 110 gallons. One drive to the work I do on the Colorado River used more than 20 times the water of everything I did with AI in 11 weeks. That comparison stopped me cold—and I study this for a living.

Source: How Much Water Does AI Use? An Expert Analysis of the Real Footprint.

As the current owner of a diesel sprinter van… ouch.

despite having higher initial infrastructure costs to build because of overhead lines and electric substations, electric locomotives usually cost 20% less than diesel locomotives, according to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute. They offer superior performance and efficiency over diesel, featuring over 90% energy efficiency, higher acceleration and hauling power, lower operating costs (25%-35% less maintenance and costing up to 50% less to run) and zero tailpipe emissions. Electric locomotives don’t carry the weight of 3,000 to 5,500 gallons of diesel fuel. They surpass diesel locomotives while pulling urban and commuter trains, as well as pulling heavier freight trains because of their ability to be quieter with steady and high torque.

Source: Duluth-to-Minneapolis Electric Train Doesn’t Have to be a Dream – Streets.mn

We should be running an electrification conversion across our entire rail infrastructure.

If US educational leaders were to consult their Swedish colleagues, the advice they’d likely get is not to remove digital technology whole cloth. “The goal is recalibration rather than reversal,” wrote Fälth. This was echoed in a statement sent to Undark by the Swedish Ministry of Education and Research: The “Swedish government believes that digitalization is fundamentally important and beneficial, but the use of digital tools in schools must be carried out carefully and thoughtfully.”

Source: Sweden goes back to basics, swapping screens for books in the classroom – Ars Technica

Just posting another article on this…

I’ve been reading and listening to Cal Newport for almost a decade now, and I’m a big fan of his work. His books, including Deep Work, Digital Minimalism and A World Without Email have been foundational in my thinking about how we use technology in our work and in our daily lives. He has a popular podcast as well, which I listen to regularly, much to my kids’ chagrin.

So, I was pretty excited to see his byline on the front page of the NYTimes Opinion section today – Stop Filling your Mind With Digital Doritos.

(I have no idea why they change the online title of this article to be worse… or at least more boring.)

It is quite a long essay, ironic, perhaps given that the thesis is that we’ve lost our ability to concentrate. It is well worth a read, because while he mostly focuses on education and the working world, there is a broader point about our society’s ability to focus and hold deep complex thoughts. Look no further than our current AI-Slop Social Media administration and I hope you begin to see the problem of placing people who are not deep-thinkers in charge of our government.

A diminished ability to use our brains also has concerning personal effects. Thinking is what lets us make sense of information in a complicated world. As president, Abraham Lincoln used to regularly retreat to his cottage, on the grounds of the Soldiers’ Home in the heights above Washington, to find the solitude needed to think intensively about the decisions facing him as commander in chief. A contemporaneous letter from a Treasury employee visiting Lincoln at the cottage during these years describes finding the president “reposed in a broad chair, one leg hanging over its arm. He seemed to be in deep thought.”

This was one of my favorite quotes from the article, mostly because the thought of how President Lincoln was sitting in this chair thinking makes me laugh.

I’m interested to know someone’s earnest argument against this article. I don’t believe that “It’s too hard” to make these changes is a valid argument. There’s a lot at stake. I’m interested in building a coalition here.