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Tag Archives | climate change

My Commute is Delightful

By on January 17, 2019 in Bicycling, Carfree, Streets

As described in streets.mn’s Mission and Core Values, one facet of better places in Minnesota is that they’re “delight cultivating.”  I’ve been contemplating what sorts of places bring me delight, and one of my biggest joys recently has come from an unexpected source: my work commute route. After years of part-time bicycle commuting, I elected to sell […]

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Chart of the Day: Minnesota Electricity Sources, 2001-2017

By on January 11, 2019 in Chart, Environment

Here’s a cool chart from the New York Times, that has interactive charts for each state showing changes in electricity sources over time. Minnesota’s chart looks like this: The Times follows up the chart with a brief caption: Coal has been the top source of electricity generated in Minnesota for the past two decades. But […]

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Chart of the Day: Total US Carbon Emissions, 1990-2018

By on January 8, 2019 in Chart, Environment

Here’s some bad news for folks concerned about climate change: national greenhouse has emissions have gone up markedly over the last year. In a New York Times article today, Brad Plumer has a story about the 3% uptick over the last year. Here’s the chart: According to Plumer, there are a few reasons for the […]

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Chart of the Day: Greenhouse Gas Pollution (in California)

By on January 2, 2019 in Chart, Environment

Granted, California is different than Minnesota. I suspect our footprint would look slightly different,  considering that Minnesota’s electricity sector is generally more fossil-fuel dependent than those on the West Coast (though Xcel is quickly moving away from coal). The other big difference, I am guessing, would be energy use for home heating. But with this […]

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Map Monday: Minnesota Carbon Footprints by Zip Code

By on December 10, 2018 in Environment, Maps

Here is a very cool map showing the “average annual carbon footprints” of different parts of the state, down to the level of individual zip codes! It’s put together by the Cool Climate Institute at Berkeley using a carbon footprint calculator developed in an academic paper in the Environmental Science and Technology journal. Here’s the […]

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Renter Share Demographic Chart Update

Sunday Summary – November 11, 2018

By on November 11, 2018 in Summary

Join us! Support us! Tomorrow is the last day for you to apply to join the streets.mn Board; here’s Why You Should Apply for the streets.mn Board of Directors.  Not ready to join the Board? There are more ways to support streets.mn, including Give to the Max Day this Thursday, November 15, 2018; here’s more information […]

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Everyone’s 2040 Plan Sucks

By on November 7, 2018 in 2040 Minneapolis Comprehensive Plan, Environment

There have been a lot of posts about the Minneapolis 2040 Comp Plan, including many, many public hearings in which YIMBYs and NIMBYs stand up and fight for more housing, or less housing, or neighborhood character. Every city in the Met Council is supposed to have a 2040 plan. Meanwhile, we are all frogs in […]

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Nicollet Island: Seeing the Forest for the Trees

By on September 27, 2018 in Air Rights, Carfree, Demographics

ometimes people ask if I am bummed to not win last year’s Minneapolis Park & Rec Board race and my answer is always a resounding No. Five seats flipped and my Big Ideas won, along with a new majority ready to implement the same goals. A personal favorite, the Triangle Improvement Plan, was fully and […]

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Chart of the Day: Share of New Homes with Central Air Conditioning, 1970 – Present

By on July 24, 2018 in Architecture, Environment, Weather

An evergreen chart here from the New York Times about a seasonal (in Minnesota anyway) amenity that has radically transformed our cities and homes for the better and for the worse. Here is the chart showing the trend in the Midwest and other regions of the US: I grew up in a house with central […]

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Does Bike Commuting Impact Your Carbon Footprint? And How Much?

By on July 11, 2018 in Advocacy, Bicycling, Environment

[This post originally appeared on the Our Streets Minneapolis blog.] Many bike commuters cite reducing carbon emissions as their reason for biking. Does switching from a car or bus to a bike reduce one’s carbon footprint and by how much? Japan, China, the Netherlands, and Denmark collect the most data on carbon emissions and bikeable […]

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