Green Ideas & Ham is back with Susan Osborne, mayor of Boulder, CO
On Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 8:00 AM, we’re having our first Green Ideas & Ham of the fall—and we’re expecting a great group of community leaders to be in attendance! We’ll be joined by Susan Osborne, the mayor of Boulder, Colorado, and John Farrell, senior researcher with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance Policy.
We’ll be talking about Minneapolis’ energy future. Minneapolis was one of the first cities to sign the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, which established ambitious goals to cut emissions and increase renewable energy. More than forty other cities across Minnesota have signed the agreement as well. The city has a goal of cutting its global warming emissions 30% by 2025.
The city gets most of its energy through Xcel Energy and Centerpoint Energy, and while these utilities have made some progress, Xcel’s carbon emissions actually increased last year. If Minneapolis is going to meet its global warming reduction goals, Xcel and Centerpoint will need to sharply reduce their emissions and encourage clean energy programs in the city. But neither utility has shown strong support for local renewable energy programs and Xcel even proposed eliminating the popular Solar Rewards Program. As the franchise agreements between the city and Xcel and Centerpoint are coming up for renewal, it’s time to find more ways to drive clean, affordable energy in Minneapolis.
For more information on this topic, you can read this article I wrote recently for the Downtown Journal.
As always, the event costs $15 for each attendee. That includes a $5 donation to Environment Minnesota, and $10 for breakfast to the Red Stag Supperclub. Doors open at 7:30 and the tasty breakfast buffet begins at 7:45. Please join us and have your questions ready for our speakers! Click here to RSVP and donate $5 to Environment Minnesota ahead of time.
