CO2 Pipelines - activism, coalitions and legislative strategies

Our December 4, 2023, Educational Webinar focused on the lived experience and activism of three extraordinary women committed to educating communities, environmental groups, non-profits, landowners and individuals about the dangers of CO2 Pipelines and carbon sequestration.  This was an informative 90 minute presentation on how grass root activism, coalition building and legislative strategies work to stall and ultimately stop CO2 Pipeline development.

In the video to the left,  a panel of experts from Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois - Peg Furshong from CURE, Pam Richert from the Eco-Justice Collaborative, and Jan Norris, activist from Montgomery County, Iowa, provide an update on CO2 Pipeline activities in their states.

LWV UMRR Chair, Mary Ellen Miller (LWV Metro Des Moines) moderated a lively discussion after the presentations.  

For more background on CO2 pipelines, check out this post on the UMRR Blog.  

Peg Furshong, CURE Minnesota

​Peg Furshong joined CURE (Clean Up the River Environment) in August of 2012.  She is currently working on constituent engagement, leading CURE's Water Democracy Program, and organizing their work around carbon pipeline resistance.

​Peg also focuses on building relationships with members and providing educational and experiential opportunities. She was instrumental in the development of the Connecting People with the Outdoors Program and is responsible for CURE's signature programs which include the biannual Tallgrass Prairie BioBlitz and the Freshwater Mussel Field Days.

In January 2016, Governor Dayton appointed Peg to the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission for District 3 where she advises on Legacy funding in greater Minnesota.

Born and raised in Montana, she came to Minnesota with a love for nature and the values of the natural world.  Outside of work, she spends time with her husband and children gardening, biking, and enjoying life on the tallgrass prairie in southwestern Minnesota.

Peg holds a Master of Science degree in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in Information, Process & Communication (IPC) from Montana State University-Billings.

Pam Richert, Eco-Justice Collaborative

​Pam Richart is a land use and environmental planner by training and Co-Director of Eco-Justice Collaborative (EJC), a non-profit based in Champaign, Illinois.  EJC was formed in 2008 to work for solutions to climate change that integrate environmental, economic, and social justice.

Pam recently co-authored “Transforming Agriculture in the Midwest: A Critical Response to Climate Change." This report, with its focus on equity, was prepared for RE-AMP, a network of over 130 nonprofits whose mission is to set collective strategy and enable collaboration on climate solutions in the Midwest.

Within the past 20 months, Pam helped found, and now serves as lead organizer for the Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines. This Illinois coalition consists of eleven non-profits and over 100 landowners working together to stop CO2 Pipelines and carbon sequestration first proposed by Navigator CO2 Ventures (now cancelled) and Wolf Carbon Solutions.

That work also includes organizing to pass a state-wide moratorium on CO2 pipelines and sequestration; and a comprehensive carbon capture, storage, and CO2 pipeline bill that she helped draft with principal author, Jenny Cassel from Earthjustice. 

Jan Norris, Activist - Montgomery County, Iowa

Jan Norris lives outside of Red Oak in Montgomery County Iowa on property in the Norris family for 4 generations. This is where they raised their 3 children and love to entertain their grandkids. She and her husband, James have been retired for 10 years after selling their financial planning businesses.

Jan serves on the Red Oak Library Board and is part of the comprehensive plan steering committee developing a vison for Montgomery County’s future. Jan is chair of the Montgomery County Democrats and on the State Central Committee. She has been through Al Gore’s Climate Reality Training multiple times.

​After looking into why their neighborhood received certified letters about a pipeline two years ago, Jan has been devoted to learning all she can about the projects to serve as a resource to others and educate and organize her community.

Photo - NPR News May 22, 2023