Minneapolis, MN -- Minnesota could reduce 5.9 million metric tons of greenhouse gas by electrifying its residential and commercial buildings, according to a new report released today by Environment Minnesota Research & Policy Center and Frontier Group. The study, Electric Buildings: Repowering Homes and Businesses for Our Health and Environment, found that completely repowering Minnesota’s homes and businesses with electricity by 2050 would result in reductions in pipeline gas usage equal to 168.4 billion cubic feet. Going all-electric in our state’s buildings would help cut emissions, improve public health and protect the planet, the report concluded.
Minneapolis, MN -- President Joe Biden will unveil his “Build Back Better” infrastructure package on Wednesday in Pittsburgh, the same Pennsylvania city where he first announced his presidential campaign in 2019. Based on the fact sheet released by the White House on Wednesday morning, his plan focuses infrastructure investments on key measures to improve public health and the environment, including expanding electric transportation, removing lead from drinking water and strengthening our electric grid.
WASHINGTON -- The Environmental Protection Agency reinstated its website centered on climate science and policy on Thursday. This information was removed from the EPA website by the previous administration. This relaunch is a strong signal that the Biden administration will restore the role of science in protecting our communities and public health.
Minneapolis, MN -- Environment Minnesota Research & Policy Center and more than 130 additional groups from coast-to-coast sent Whole Foods CEO John Mackey a letter Thursday calling on him to commit to a concrete and verifiable plan to reduce the company’s plastic footprint. This letter comes on the heels of a Greenpeace report released last week that found that the chain was failing on its policies and practices aimed at eliminating plastic waste.
Minneapolis, MN -- Environment Minnesota Research and Policy Center released a new report today, “What are Minnesotans Fixing?” which compiles data from the popular repair instruction website iFixit.com about what items people in Minnesota were fixing the most in 2020. The report also takes a closer look at the broader repair ecosystem that causes Minnestoans to throw away 6,500 cell phones per day. The report examines these repair barriers that make it harder than it should be to perform basic repairs and how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the things we were fixing.
X.X million visitors from STATE went to the repair guide site iFixit last year, but Y of the top 10 manufacturers of consumer electronics don’t provide necessary parts and information to perform basic repairs.
Environment Minnesota Research and Policy Center is part of The Public Interest Network, which operates and supports organizations committed to a shared vision of a better world and a strategic approach to social change.
