Any Given Day

It was Wednesday, July 15. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued an alert that the air-quality index in Duluth was 1,134. Heavy wildfire smoke from northern Minnesota and Canada set a new pollution record for the state. It was nearly four times the standard “hazardous” level of 300.

Two days prior, the Duluth News Tribune published an article describing how climate change is driving the heat wave. Reporter Jimmy Lovrien wrote: “Conditions along Minnesota’s border with Ontario, Canada, where multiple wildfires are burning, saw highs top 100 degrees Monday, which is occurring at least five times more frequently than in a world without human-caused carbon pollution, Climate Central said. The rest of Northeastern Minnesota saw temperatures Monday that were two to four times as likely to occur due to climate change.”

And then on Aug. 6, Lovrien wrote another piece titled “Nearly all of Northeastern Minnesota in severe drought,” where he reported that the latest U.S. Drought Monitor Map showed about 90% of Minnesota is experiencing some level of drought, with Northeastern Minnesota and Duluth in severe drought. There was also a concern that this dry condition could go into the fall and lengthen the wildfire season.

With each passing day, we’re hearing more about climate change in our country and from around the world. There have been the heatwaves and wildfires in Spain and France, glaciers melting and shrinking, rising sea levels impacting coastal cities, and droughts in the southwest region of the United States, along with very low water levels at the Colorado River as well as Lakes Mead and Powell.

At times, it can feel overwhelming. For those of us who live in this city by Lake Superior, we have heard about and seen the declining populations of bees and butterflies, the appearance of microplastics and algae blooms in the lake, warmer winter months, and severe droughts over the past eight years. There are moments when many of us would like to turn our backs and try to avoid thinking about this climate reality.

In their book The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis, Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac talk about the different choices facing us and how many of us are being complacent and sticking our heads into the sand. They also remind us that we don’t have a lot of time to respond to this climate crisis.

“Every day that passes is one day less that we have to stabilize our increasingly fragile planet, by now on its way to becoming uninhabitable for humans. Once we hit critical thresholds, the damage to the environment, and consequently to our future on this planet, will be irreversible.”

On any given day in Duluth, each of us face important choices. Do we choose to be complacent and not address the climate emergency that is right in front of us? Do we choose to turn our backs on the various climate events affecting our city?

Or do we choose to face this climate reality and explore what you and I can do to help create a more resilient and sustainable city? Do we choose to see how we can take better care of ourselves, our communities and the environment?

Scientist Peter Kalmus, in his book Being The Change: Live Well And Spark A Climate Revolution, wrote, “We must do everything we can to change direction. And a big part of this is imagining, living, and telling stories of what comes next.”

On Thursday, Sept. 17, the Duluth Citizens Climate Commission is hosting a Climate Town Hall titled “Imagining Duluth’s Climate Future.” Citizens can share their personal climate stories and everyone in attendance will have an opportunity to help create a vision of what Duluth’s future could look like as a more resilient and liveable city in this climate-change world.

The commission hopes that many of you will mark your calendars and join your fellow citizens on Sept. 17, 6 p.m., at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1710 E. Superior St.

Also, during the week of Sept. 14, the commission is sponsoring Climate Week: Duluth which is coordinating a number of climate events to engage, educate and empower Duluth’s citizens to take a more proactive role in addressing climate change in our city.

Here in Duluth, we need to do everything we can to change direction and give our city a better chance to respond and adapt to climate change.

Between Sept. 14 and 20, hopefully you will find an opportunity to become a climate activist and leader, and begin to imagine, live and tell your stories about what could come next to create a healthier and more sustainable city.

On any given day, you can undertake any number of actions around your house, neighborhood or around the city to address the growing list of challenges that we will all face in addressing what the Duluth City Council has called a climate emergency.

If you would like more information about the Climate Town Hall and Climate Week: Duluth, drop me an email at risson1954 @ gmail.com.