Will Steger shared helpful information last night in his presentation at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Baxter. As the global change denyers have said, the earth has gone through periods of warming and cooling over the millions of years of its history. This is mostly caused by the elyptical route the earth takes traveling around the sun which results in long periods of time when when earth is closer to the sun followed by long periods of time when the earth is further from the sun.

What makes this present warming unique is that this warming trend is peaking considerably higher than previous warming periods. During this warming period half of the Arctic sea ice has disappeared. Animals who live in the Arctic area are in danger of extinction, and waters around the world are warming. Note that the Atlantic off New Jersey this fall was five degrees warmer than normal this month.

At the same time we know that global CO2 emissions are increasing incrementally. going up 3 percent in 2011 alone. We are putting more and more carbon into the atmosphere, and temperatures are going up and weather is becoming more and more unpredictable. Fresh Energy is helping Minnesotans take many steps to reduce our carbon footprint. Using wind, solar and other sources is helping us reduce our need for fossil fuels and at least slowing the problem. Better conservation of energy is making a huge difference too.

I’m proud to live in a state where we’re taking steps to do the right thing by our planet.

Beth Passi

Vice President

Brainerd Lakes

League of Women Voters