1.  Minnesota has warmed 3 degrees between 1895 and 2020, according to DNR recordkeeping, largely from the releasing of 2.5 to 3 trillion tons of planet-warming chemicals into the atmosphere since the burning of fossil fuels in 1750.  Meteorologist Paul Douglas writes that a warmer atmosphere is also wetter, triggering more frequent and extreme flooding events, while a longer growing season, fuel buildup, and increasing periods of drought are creating supersized wildfires over Canada and the western U.S.   According to Climate Central, 80% of power outages are weather-related (storms, heat, wildfires), which have doubled since the early 2000s.  Paul Douglas warns that staffing cuts at NOAA and FEMA are coming at a time when billion-dollar weather disasters are increasing nationwide due to "wetter wets and drier dries" driving more extreme flooding, hurricanes intensifying before landfall, and the warming of oceans from a warmer and more volatile climate.  The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act sought to fight climate change with tax breaks to nudge the country toward clean energy and away from fossil fuels, paired with strict limits on pollution from smokestacks and tailpipes, but recent rollbacks of the 1970s-era Clean Air Act endanger the more than $500 billion in planned investment in manufacturing of solar panels, electric vehicles, and batteries, as well as putting more than 400,000 jobs at risk.  Electricity is expected to become much more expensive as a result.  The U.S. is the country that has pumped the most carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution, and is currently the second-biggest emitter of GHGs, behind China, so be an advocate of policies that protect the planet we call home.  

2.  In the face of warmer temperatures, longer droughts, higher-intensity rainfall, and unchecked development, there is hope in the vast potential of forests to be our ally in protecting ecosystems and people by storing massive amounts of carbon and cleaning our air.  Our efforts to protect and preserve them are crucial, while at home in our own yards, we can grow the kinds of trees and plants needed to reverse the plummeting numbers of biodiverse wildlife across the nation and the globe, according to entomologist Doug Tallamy at the University of Delaware.  In particular, the 3 billion birds that have vanished from North America since 1970 would benefit from planting the mighty oak, which produces the most caterpillars, birds' most necessary food.  In addition to oaks, which flourish throughout the state, foresters at the University of Minnesota Extension also include wild cherries and plums and willows, with aspen and willows becoming more important north of Duluth and cottonwoods becoming more important further west.  Asters, coneflowers, and goldenrods are the best caterpillar-producing flowers to grow throughout Minnesota.  Get a complete guide at Tallamy's Homegrown National Park, searchable county by county throughout the U.S.  

3.  Biodiverse forests are indispensable to human health and can filter or block diseases.  For example, in the U.S., the incidence of Lyme disease has increased alongside suburban development that encroaches on forests.  Since approximately 75% of all new human diseases come from our interactions with animals, internationally renowned scientist Dr. Jane Goodall urges us to listen to the world's scientists who have long warned that a pandemic such as COVID-19 was inevitable as we destroy habitats, forcing animals into closer contact with people.  Dr. Goodall warns that humans and their livestock and their pets far outnumber all other animal life, and have already wiped out 60% of all mammals, birds, fish and reptiles around the world.  While populations of beneficial species that we rely on are dwindling, other species such as mosquitoes, ticks, bacteria, algae, and fungi are expanding their historical ranges to adapt to rapid climate change, spreading diseases.  U of M epidemiologist Michael Osterholm, in his new book The Big One, warns that far deadlier diseases are already forming.   We will need an informed public to work together with governments, NGOs, and medical providers on a plan of action.

4.  The World Wildlife Fund's new The Living Planet Report finds dramatic declines (83%) in the abundance of species that rely on freshwater, with similar declines in oceans, where warming temperatures introduce new predators, cause species to shift to more northern habitats, or make it harder for them to grow to maturity.  Another recent study by the University of Minnesota shows that the 40,000 lakes across the Upper Midwest are at risk of losing oxygen-rich coldwater habitat due to climate change and nutrient pollution.  The study predicts that lakes with suitable coldwater habitat will decline by 67% by mid-century, the result of forests or prairies being converted into farms or urban development that increase algae blooms from phosphorus and nitrogen runoff, as well as the effects of climate change.  Yet the study, published in the journal Ecosphere, concludes that protecting or restoring forested lands within lakes' watersheds, changing farming practices, and practicing shoreline vegetation restoration could help conserve critical habitat, even amid warming temperatures.