Olya Wright, the leader of Nordic Nature Group, was selected to speak at the Clean Energy Summit in Rochester, Minnesota that will be held April 14.
Olya Wright, the lead naturalist of the Nordic Nature Group from Cook County, will be one of the featured speakers at the Southern Minnesota Youth Clean Energy Summit in Rochester, Minnesota, on April 14, 2018. Other speakers include two other youth leaders and Rochester Mayor Ardell Brede.
The Nordic Nature Group was instrumental in the passing of the Youth Climate Inheritance Resolutions by both the Grand Marais Public Utilities Commission and the Grand Marais City Council in 2017. Since passing these resolutions the city has begun work on a Climate Action Plan, with the goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2040.
The Nordic Nature Group and iMatter worked together on this project to make it happen (iMatter is a national youth led organization).
“Our resolution asked the City to create a Climate Action Plan (CAP) which commits Grand Marais to reduce their carbon emissions by 2040,” said Wright. “It also committed them to include youth formally with decision-making that has to do with Climate Change and the environment.
“Through this process we have discovered an important fact: 60 percent of Grand Marais’ carbon emissions come from electricity.
“Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (SMMPA) is Grand Marais’ power provider. SMMPA also provides power for 17 other Minnesota cities. A significant fact is that 83 percent of SMMPA’s electricity comes from coal. This is important because coal plants are the nation’s top source of carbon dioxide emissions, and a primary cause of Climate Change.
“As reducing carbon dioxide emissions is key to stopping climate change, we decided to create the Southern Minnesota Youth Clean Electricity Summit. The purpose of this Summit is to bring together youth from different communities to find solutions to help tackle Climate Change at a local level. Our goal is to reach motivated youth in Minnesota and especially, those who live in towns served by SMMPA. Our hope and dream is that we can all work together and stop Climate Change.
“What I believe our work in Grand Marais really shows is that youth can speak up and make a difference about issues that matter to them and that the support and involvement of the community was key to our success. So if you know any youth or adults that would be interested in attending our Summit please spread the word,” Wright said.
For more information please visit http:// www.imatteryouth.org/ so-mn-summit/
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