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LWV Lake Michigan Region Annual Meeting October 21-22, Sheboygan, Wisconsin

9/24/2022

LWV UMRR's sister water-related ILO is LWV Lake Michigan Region. Consisting of Leagues that border Lake Michigan, this ILO was the model for LWV UMRR. Their Annual Meeting is coming up in October, and will feature a conversation with Wisconsin's US Senator Tammy Baldwin. You can attend in person at the Blue Harbor Resort in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, or attend virtually from wherever you are. This text is from LWV LMR:

Restoring Lake Michigan: Her Past, Present & Future
Friday and Saturday, October 21-22, 2022
Blue Harbor Resort
725 Blue Harbor Drive, Sheboygan, Wisconsin 53081
Attend in-person or via Zoom*

Taking place on the shores of Lake Michigan at the beautiful Blue Harbor Resort in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, this weekend will include our annual meeting, engaging Lake Michigan-related field trips and an exciting line-up of policy makers, scientists, and Great Lakes advocates.

Joining us for an In-person conversation will be United States Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin! Also, learn about a fascinating local NOAA project (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration), the impact of ancient glaciers on the Lake Michigan Watershed, the impact of infrastructure funds on the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and Areas of Concern, and much more.

Conference agenda

In-person registration is $135 for both days, through September 30 ($145 thereafter)
Registration for both days includes a Welcome Reception with light hors d’oeurves, followed by a plated dinner on Friday, and breakfast and lunch buffets on Saturday.
$70 for either the Friday or Saturday session through September 30 ($80 thereafter)
Registration for either day includes only the meals served on the day for which you are registered.
On-line attendance for both days is $30; field trips are not available online.
Discounted rooms are $149 per night and may be reserved by calling the Blue Harbor Resort at 866.701.2583 (you must say you are with LWV LMR).
A discounted room block of 30 rooms is available until September 23. Once sold out or after September 23, discounted room rate will only be extended, based on availability.

Virtual Registration

In-Person Registration

You may be thinking... what is an ILO anyhow? Click here to learn more about what an ILO is and how it fits into the LWV national structure. .

LWV Lake Michigan Region program series on Great Lakes Issues September 8, 15, 22, & 29, 2022

8/28/2022

There are two Interleague Organizations (ILOs) in the US that focus on water issues. LWV Upper Mississippi River Region is one, and the League of Women Voters Lake Michigan Region (LWV LMR) is the other. LWV LMR has four member states and approximately 56 local leagues. Whether it is advocating for full funding of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), supporting strong regulatory protections for the Great Lakes, or educating citizens about emerging threats to the Great Lakes such as PFAS, coal ash or combined sewer overflows, LWVLMR is there. (Curious about what an ILO is? Check out this post.)

Last year, LWV Lake Michigan surveyed representatives from each of the four member states surrounding Lake Michigan, to determine which topics related to the preservation and protection of Lake Michigan were of most interest. With those results in mind, we have prepared a series of programs, with each program devoted to a different state: Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan.

The number one area of interest was Climate Change and, as a result, their 2022 Climate Change Forum was held in-person and online in April 2022. This fall LWV LMR continues their education efforts, with a focus on each state, specifically.   Beginning on Thursday, September 8, 2022, and for the next three Thursday evenings, LWV LMR will offer a 1 ¼ hour program, via Zoom, to educate members and the public about the issues impacting Lake Michigan, in each of the four states.

These programs are complimentary and open to the public. Please share this information with fellow league members, your colleagues, family and friends. See Registration Links below.  Each evening requires separate registration at that state’s link, but each program is open to everyone, regardless of where you live.

The schedule is as follows:
Thursday, September 8, 2022, 7:30 p.m. CT – Indiana
Topics: Climate Change, PFAS, Invasive Species, Coal Ash
Register here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMvdemvpzIiHNy7QM0tb0OP_6Bp2leCC0eZ
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Thursday, September 15, 2022, 7:30 p.m. CT – Wisconsin
Topics: Climate Change, PFAS, Invasive Species, Coal Ash
Register here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMvfuGrqDssGNDA2AJ6eyYb3V96AvOr93gM
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Thursday, September 22, 2022, 7:30 p.m. CT – Illinois
Topics: Climate Change, PFAS, Invasive Species, Coal Ash
Register here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEscumhpz4iGdOkyXGg6WWB0U-fkATZSgU0
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Thursday, September 29, 2022, 7:30 p.m. ET – Michigan
Topics: Climate Change, PFAS, Invasive Species, Coal Ash, Line 5
Register here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUkde2sqDsqEtamYIh68KyOJ3Dbfr6V77ND
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

The programs will also be recorded.
If you have any questions, please contact LWV UMRR at lwvlakemichigan@gmail.com

Carbon Pipelines topic of October 3 UMRR Webinar

8/26/2022

At 6pm on October 3, Jess Mazour, Conservation Program Coordinator for the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter, will speak about the proposed carbon pipelines that are seeking permission to link ethanol plants with underground storage locations. Jess will share background information on the pipelines and then update us on the status of decisions in Iowa, a key state for this set of projects.

The Iowa Utilities Board is conducting hearings across Iowa now - this blog post has information on past and upcoming meetings.

Our October 3 meeting will be via Zoom webinar and the public in invited to attend. Click the green button below to register for the session - we hope you can join us!

Graphic from Agri-Pulse 1/26/2022

Click this button to register for the October 3 webinar

Before Jess's talk, take an hour to watch this excellent background video on carbon pipelines from our friends at CURE. Here, Peg Furshong and Maggie Schuppert discuss a leak that happened in Sartortia, Mississippi and other possible problems with the pipelines. The environmental and human health threats of carbon pipelines are clearly laid out.

The CURE website has more good information to help you understand the threats of CO2 pipelines.

Why are carbon pipelines being proposed? Why are investors and the federal government putting money into these projects? We know that carbon in our atmosphere is causing the earth to warm, which will disrupt our climate and all life on earth. Reducing or eliminating carbon emissions is critical, and there are many different ideas about the best ways to do it. One controversial approach we've been taking for the past two decades is to switch from fossil fuels to 'biofuels' - ethanol and biodiesel. In this post on the UMRR Blog, we reported on a February 2022 report that looks at the utility of ethanol as an option for reducing carbon emissions.

The ethanol industry is seeking ways to improve its environmental performance, especially as relates to carbon emissions. One way to do this is to capture the carbon that is released into the atmosphere. The pipelines would move the captured and compressed CO2 to eventual storage and/or reuse. The first two short YouTube videos following provide some more background on why the ethanol industry sees carbon capture as a way forward. The third is a video that provides more information on the process of capturing carbon from industries.

Carbon capture is part of President Biden's climate plan. This link goes to an article in the MIT Review interview with Shuchi Talati, chief of staff at the Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management. Here, Talati talks about the need to have a range of processes for reducing carbon. We have included a number of references at the end of this post that provide more information on pipeline technology and DOE work on carbon capture. Carbon pipelines are currently used in Texas to transport CO2 for use in extracting oil from spent oilfields, there are also links to information on this practice.

Jess Mazour

Jess Mazour bio: Jess is a lifelong Iowan who found her passion in agriculture, local foods and the environment through her non-profit work. She currently works as the Conservation Program Coordinator for the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter where she is working with over one thousand farmers and landowners across the state who are opposing the carbon pipelines. Jess advocates for an intersectional vision of agriculture for the health of our communities, our environment, our citizens and our bodies. Jess has worked with Senator Bernie Sanders to develop his Rural Revitalization Plan and other federal and state leaders to advance good agricultural, rural, and food policies.

Additional references:
DOE funding carbon capture infrastructure: https://www.energy.gov/fecm/notice-intent-issue-funding-opportunity-bipartisan-infrastructure-law-carbon-capture

DOE program to accelerate carbon capture technology: https://www.energy.gov/fecm/carbon-negative-shot

DOE info on pipeline safety: https://www.energy.gov/fecm/articles/statement-doe-welcomes-new-carbon-dioxide-pipeline-safety-measures-announced-us

Why capturing carbon is part of Biden's plan: https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/25/1032832/why-capturing-carbon-is-an-essential-part-of-bidens-climate-plans/

Discussion of are eminent domain: https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/us-carbon-pipeline-proposals-trigger-backlash-over-potential-land-seizures-2022-02-07/

Agri-Pulse; concerns about yield: https://www.agri-pulse.com/articles/17077-carbon-dioxide-pipelines-unearth-anxiety-in-farm-country Excellent graphic

CO2 Pipelines in Texas: https://www.kindermorgan.com/Operations/CO2/Index#:~:text=Kinder%20Morgan%20operates%20the%20approximately,feet%20of%20CO2%20per%20day.

DOE; Texas demonstration project: https://www.energy.gov/fecm/articles/texas-co2-capture-demonstration-project-hits-three-million-metric-ton-milestone

Carbon Pipelines - Hearings Underway in Iowa

8/24/2022

Wolf carbon dioxide pipeline meetings in August and September
Wolf Carbon Solutions is partnering with Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (ADM) to run a carbon dioxide pipeline from Cedar Rapids, to Clinton, Iowa, and then into Decatur, Illinois. Along the way, the pipeline will cross 5 Iowa counties – Linn, Johnson, Cedar, Clinton, and Scott. The next step for this project is for the company and the Iowa Utilities Board to host public meetings in each county. The schedule is:

Additional Informational Meetings Set for Proposed Navigator CO2 Pipeline
Meetings scheduled in 12 counties, plus one virtual The Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) today filed a letter approving the dates, times and locations for 13 additional public informational meetings requested by Navigator Heartland Greenway LLC (Navigator). The meetings are to discuss Navigator’s proposal to build and operate a large-scale pipeline system that will capture and transport liquefied carbon dioxide from local facilities and span approximately 1,300 miles across five Midwest states, including Iowa.
Navigator requested the meetings in a letter filed on June 15, 2022, and also filed a new proposed pipeline route overview map in Docket No. HLP-2021-0003.
The upcoming IUB public informational meetings are as follows:

Additional hearings that were held last week in Iowa regarding the proposed Navigator pipeline:

Farm Bill 101: What do you know about this important Bill, and what does it mean for the Mississippi ?

7/23/2022

On August 1, LWV UMRR will host a discussion based on the recent Mississippi River Network Webinar - Farm Bill 101. This webinar featured Liz Rupel (Illinois Stewardship Alliance), Jesse Womack (National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition), and Duane Hovorka (Izaak Walton League of America) for this “Farm Bill 101” webinar. The recording of the event is post on the MRN YouTube channel. This video will be the basis for the discussion on August 1. Want to join the discussion? CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE ZOOM ON AUGUST 1 AT 11AM!

In this video, we learn about this major piece of federal legislation that shapes farming livelihoods, how food is grown, what kinds of foods are grown, and its impacts on our environment. This is the first step in our process of providing information and advocacy opportunities to those in our UMRR community on the Farm Bill. We will roll our more in the weeks to come.

Iowa Environmental Integrity Project Report: Clean Water Act's Promises Half Kept at Half-Century Anniversary

7/8/2022

DES MOINES, IA -- A half century after the passage of the landmark federal Clean Water Act, and almost four decades after the law’s deadline for all waters across the U.S. to be “fishable and swimmable,” 50 percent of assessed river and stream miles – 703,417 miles nationally -- are so polluted they are classified as “impaired,” according to a new report by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP).

Iowa is representative of many states with farm runoff problems, having 93 percent of its assessed river and stream miles impaired for swimming and water contact recreation (the fourth most in the U.S.) because of fecal bacteria and other contaminants, according to state data compiled for EIP’s report, The Clean Water Act at 50: Promises Half Kept at the Half Century Mark.

This post on the Iowa Environmental Council website details finding of the report and points to what needs to be done. This post concludes:

What can be done to close the gaps between the Clean Water Act’s lofty goals and reality?

The Clean Water Act at 50 report offers several solutions as the law’s half-century birthday approaches (the Act passed the U.S. House on an initial vote on March 29, 1972, and became law on Oct. 18, following votes by the Senate and House to override President Nixon’s veto.)

EPA needs to do its job and comply with the Clean Water Act’s mandate for more frequent updates of technology-based limits for industry water pollution control systems. Despite a legal mandate for reviews of these discharge limits at least every five years, highly-polluting industries like chemical manufacturing have not had their standards updated since the 1970s – back when “modern” technology meant computers with floppy disks.
Congress should strengthen the Clean Water Act by closing its loophole for agricultural runoff and other “non-point” sources of pollution, which are by far the largest sources of impairments in waterways across the U.S. Factory-style animal production has become an industry with a massive waste disposal problem and should be regulated like other large industries.
EPA or Congress should impose more consistent, universal guidelines for waterway impairment designations for all 50 states, and for gauging unhealthy levels of key pollutants like nitrogen.
Congress should make it easier to enforce key requirements of the Clean Water Act, including the cleanup plans -- called “Total Maximum Daily Loads” -- that are supposed to be one the primary mechanisms for reducing pollution.
States are set to receive billions of dollars from Congress’ recent passage of a $1.2 trillion bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. Governors and lawmakers should, whenever possible, target this funding to water pollution control efforts, especially in lower-income communities of color that have long suffered disproportionately from pollution.
Congress and states legislatures need to boost funding for the EPA and state environmental agency staff required to measure water quality, and to develop and implement the cleanup plans needed to bring impaired waterways back to life.
Although achieving the Clean Water Act’s ultimate goal of 100 percent “fishable and swimmable” waterways will be hard, EPA should keep driving toward this target by setting interim national goals by decade and by creating enforceable plans to achieve these pollution reductions.

Continuous Conservation Reserve Program

7/8/2022

This post from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition provides excellent information on conservation programs of the USDA aimed at reducing nutrient loss and improving soil health. If you are interested in these programs, take a few minutes to read the post.

Here's the opening paragraph:
On April 1, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) opened enrollment for the Conservation Reserve Program’s (CRP) CLEAR30 subprogram. CLEAR30 is an important component of the larger Continuous Conservation Reserve Program. With both programs taking applications, in this post, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) offers a quick review of how these essential conservation tools function and shares key information for producers interested in applying.

Mississippi National River and Recreation Area

7/7/2022

72 miles of the Mississippi, the part that passes through the Twin Cities in Minnesota, constitutes the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, a National Park. You can paddle the river and not realize that you are passing through the heart of a metropolitan area with a population of more than 3 million. There are places where you can rent a canoe or kayak and be dropped off and picked up, doing an easy paddle with the current on the river.

Wildlife in the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area abounds, even in downtown Minneapolis. Eagles are common along the river, and there migrating birds that use the Mississippi flyway are often seen in the spring and fall. In the summer, you can paddle down the Mississippi, past the Riverside power plant in Northeast Minneapolis, and you will see a mixed colony rookery where herons, egrets and cormorants raise their young. Turn on the sound and listen to this short video to the left. The bird sounds drown out the sounds of the surrounding city and you will see the young squawking while they wait for their parents to feed them.

Biking along this corridor is also a stellar experience. The Mississippi River Bike Trail has several routes through the Park. This is largely on separate trails, not roadsides, and takes you through city and regional parks and along beautiful river vistas. Elevation isn't much of an issue - the hills are few and small, and you can tool along in a very relaxed ride. There are many places you can rent bikes if you travel to the area, both bike shops where you can rent electric or manual bikes, or do a short-term rental through the local Nice Bike system.

There are many excellent restaurants and breweries along the way that will keep you fueled as you enjoy the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. Owamni by the Sioux Chef is located along the river in downtown Minneapolis,. It features Native American fare, and received the James Beard Best New Restaurant Award in June, 2022.

Blog posts by LWV Climate Interest Group

6/26/2022

The LWV US Climate Interest Group is an official group organized under LWV US. They regularly contribute blog posts for the LWV US Blog. Here is a summary of the four posts they have shared to date, with links:

The Economic Cost of Climate Change by by Diz Swift, Dan Zalles, and Carolyn Caywood, June 2022
The need for action has gone beyond individuals making small changes. We need broad, strong public policies to decrease the costs of climate change. This post takes aim at identifying policy changes needed now.

How Changing our Economy can Protect our Planet April 2022
This post examines our personal roles in combating Climate Change.

Climate Change Threats to Food and Water: by members of the League of Women Voters Climate Interest Group, Water Team and Food, Soils, and Agriculture Team . March 2022
This post refutes the assumption that water is both available and safe to drink and that our food supply is adequate may not be true in the future.

What I Learned at the UN Climate Change Conference: by Emily Polakoski, November 2021
Emily Polakoski was a delegate observer for League of Women Voters to the UN Climate Change conference in Glasgow. In this post, she writes about her experience and learnings, including Feminist Climate Justice.

LWV Climate Interest Group

6/25/2022

The LWV Climate Interest Group is open to all members of League of Women Voters. Here's their raison d'être:
As citizens of the world we must protect our planet from the physical, economic and public health effects of climate change while also providing pathways to economic prosperity. To advance League action on this urgent issue, we have formed a nationwide collaboration effort: the LWV Climate Interest Group. We are a group of League members from across the United States working together to fight climate change. We have teams in important climate issue areas to provide materials for local and state Leagues to use in their education and advocacy.

Breaking News! (added July 15, 2022)
Deadline Extended:
COP27 UN Climate Conference in Egypt
LWV US announced that there are scholarships available for League members who identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC), or those members between 18 – 35 years of age to attend the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on Nov. 8 – 20, 2022. The deadline to apply is July 25th at 5pm ET. To apply, please complete the applicant interest form. If you have questions about the application or process, contact Robin Tokmakian at rtokmakian@lwv.org.

Membership in the Climate Interest Group is open to all LWV members. The CIG has ten teams that are organized around ten topic areas - you can link to these teams from the CIG website. The teams meet monthly by Zoom, sharing information on research and events linked to their topic.

LWV UMRR would welcome members from these groups providing updates on these meetings to UMRR so that we can all benefit from the work of the CIG. If you are interested in being a link between UMRR and these groups, please email us at lwvumrr@lwvmn.org. Thanks!