The RIPE proposal offers conservation payments of at least $100 an acre while producing a crop $100 an animal unit for livestock. It might be the incentive needed for increased buy-in.
North Dakota officials are preparing to file a lawsuit against Minnesota on the grounds that the law interferes with their ability to sell coal and natural gas.
A bill being fast-tracked by Democrats through the Legislature would require Minnesota utilities to have carbon-free electricity generation. It now awaits a vote of the full Senate.
Minnesota set its current goals in 2007 when the state adopted the bipartisan Next Generation Energy Act, which called for an 80% reduction in 2005-level emissions by 2050.
Bison that lived 3,000 years ago were 37% larger than those living today because of a warming climate — a trend that will accelerate, with bison projected to become 46% smaller by the end of the century. Bison are shaggy sentinels of climate change on the prairie.
