It’s time: Declare a Climate Emergency

It’s happening now. It’s happening here. Snow comes later, leaves earlier. Whenever there isn’t snow, there’s fire. This summer, wildfires threatened our boundary waters, burned cabins, and spread fear throughout northern Minnesota. Our homeland is in pain. We need to act now. We are truly in a state of emergency.

This is why local governments of all sizes and in all regions of Minnesota are joining together to declare a Climate Emergency on January 24th and 25th – asking for immediate action at all levels of government to address the climate crisis. By acting simultaneously, our statewide local governments hope to amplify our impact, by speaking together to urge local, state and federal action.

So, what can you do to help? It’s simple! To declare a climate emergency, our local governments must pass the Climate Emergency Resolution before January 24th. The next county board meeting will be at the Cook County courthouse on January 18, 2022, following the Public Health and Human Services meeting.

The Grand Marais City council meeting was over by the time this newspaper came out but be sure to contact the city councilor’s and ask them to support the Climate Emergency Resolution.

The best way for you to show your support is to show up! Spread the word. The greater the crowd, the greater our chances. You can also increase our ranks by filling out our online petition. It just takes a few seconds at form.jotform.com/ 220097927884166. Finally, you can write letters to newspaper editors, city councilors, county councilors, and state representatives – they will read them, and it will make a difference!

The reasons behind this statewide movement are simple. The Climate Crisis is here. We are feeling its effects in a small rural community in northern Minnesota and around the world. As the United Nations recently said, “man-made climate change is an urgent and even an existential threat to life on Earth.” The question is whether we can rise as a community, nation and world to take meaningful action now.

It’s happening now. It’s happening here.