1.  Protections for our air and water are often accused of being "anti-business," but their function is to not let industry pollute as much as it wants and then pass on the costs of cleanup to the public at large (taxpayers).  A group of more than 800 former employees of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is warning that federal plans to weaken pollution safeguards by allowing the burning of coal-fired power plants, gas turbines, and diesel generators to provide the surging electricity demands of data centers will increase carbon emissions and health risks.  More than 1,300 data centers already operate in the U.S., and more than 2,000 more are planned, according to Cleanview, a market intelligence company that tracks U.S. power infrastructure.  The weakened rules will also make it harder for communities to weigh in on proposed data centers through public comment, so let your voice be heard by those who represent us.  

2.  While the U.S. in late September 2026 steeply lowered the fuel economy standards that until now have helped us to burn fewer fossil fuels, China's rapid transition to electric vehicles (EVs) is making them the leader in lowering emissions from transportation.   According to David Wellace-Wells, climate opinion columnist for the New York Times, and author of "The Uninhabitable World," China's diesel consumption in 2026 fell around 12%, while gasoline demand dropped 8%, and EV truck sales grew faster than EV auto sales.  EV trucks in China cost around $21 to go 200 kilometers, compared to a U.S. diesel truck that costs $101 to go 200 kilometers.  Mileage standards in the U.S., known as Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) requirements, have been implemented since the 1970s energy crisis, and would save 14 billion gallons of gasoline from being burned by 2050 had the standards remained in place.  Let your representative know your thoughts on weakening standards that will come at a significant environmental cost as well as a human cost.

3. Federal incentive rollbacks to clean energy have introduced uncertainty in Minnesota's legally binding 2040 clean electricity standard, but for the sixth consecutive year, more than half of Minnesota's electricity came from no-carbon sources.  Power sector emissions are 48% below 2005 levels, well ahead of the national average.   Over the past five years, renewables accounted for 98% of all new generating capacity, while clean energy employment hit a record high in 2024, growing at twice the rate of the broader state economy.  2026 data from Clean Energy Economy Minnesota and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy shows that a 2025 uptick in the use of coal due to natural gas price spikes is a reminder that a fossil-fuel dependent grid is exposed to fossil fuel volatility.  The answer is more renewables, more storage, and more transmission, so be a supporter of legislation that furthers Minnesota's climate goals.  Large customers such as data centers must pay their fair share, meet the 2040 clean electricity standard, and not be allowed to shift costs onto ratepayers.   

4.  In 1903, on a three-day camping trip in the Yosemite Valley with naturalist John Muir, President Theodore Roosevelt was moved to emulate his hero Abraham Lincoln, the first president to extend federal protection to portions of what is now Yosemite National Park.  Despite the deep popularity of conservation policies and protected public lands, since January 2025 the federal government has acted to eliminate protection from more than 96 million acres of U.S. public lands, an area equivalent to more than 70 Grand Canyons or 38 Yellowstone National Parks.  These rollbacks weaken conservation and habitat protections across all public lands, while expanding extraction such as oil drilling and mining in protected areas, and slashing staff and funding at 433 sites managed by the National Park Service, according to a report by the New York Times.  Protection of public lands (America's "best idea") is overwhelmingly supported by the American people, so be among those who speak out in their defense.