April 5th 2022 meeting

March 30^th 2022

Hi Folks

Our next meeting will be April 5^th at 10am in the Senior Center. FYI the Tuesday Group meeting that day is “Emily Ford’s 1,200 Mile Winter Trek”.

For this month’s meeting I suggest we look at issues arising from the Russia/Ukraine war and energy supplies to Europe. Meeting climate change objectives is difficult in the best of times, but with the disruptions of war it becomes much harder. Russia has enormous natural resources and generates a lot of its income from exports of energy and grain. Europe imports a substantial amount of the natural gas it needs from Russia.  The natural gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 runs next to the currently operating Nord Stream pipe between Russia and Germany through the Baltic Sea. The Germans recently cancelled its operating license. Europeans are facing the probability of gas shortages (Austria, as an extreme example, imports 80% of its gas from Russia). Can/should the USA come to the rescue? Liquid natural gas (LNG) can be transported by sea but the infrastructure to handle the volume needed takes time to build. LNG is also dirtier than piped gas. Fossil fuel infrastructure has a long life. If it is built it will contribute its share of CO2 to the atmosphere. But if Europe runs out of gas for industry and heating there may be local or worldwide recession. There needs to be a big boost to local wind/solar/nuclear energy, but that infrastructure also takes time to build.

Daniel Yergin’s book “The New Map” has an excellent section on Russia and Ukraine. If you don’t have the book here is a link to a recent article Yergin on Putin  (This odd link is the only place I could find the article without a paywall.)

Here is a short article about Nord Stream 2 Nord Stream 2

Here is a 17 minute video (from Azerbaijan) about Russia’s geopolitics. (Tolerate or skip a couple of annoying ads) Russia Geopolitics

On a separate topic I am passing this note on from Veda Kanitz about an April 23^rd conference.

The recently released Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirms that we need urgent action on climate change to protect the health of current and future generations. Health professionals are positioned to lead the way, yet in this time of converging crises of climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and global conflict, it’s hard to sustain effort, or even know where to begin. We need multifaceted solutions that target both mitigation and adaptation while centering the needs of those most vulnerable to climate impacts, and at the same time we need to build and strengthen supportive communities to protect wellbeing. 

Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate and the University of Minnesota School of Nursing are sponsoring Code Blue for Patient Earth: Pathways to Resilience, a conference aimed at engaging health professionals in this critical work.  The conference will kick off on Friday, April 22 with an evening of community building and hearing the stories of Minnesota health professionals engaged in climate advocacy work. On Saturday, April 23, there will be a half-day of live virtual content on creating climate smart healthcare, navigating the mental health impacts of climate change, and advancing climate justice by addressing climate and health through an equity lens. Registration for community members is $10. For more information and to register, visit www.hpforhc.org/CodeBlue.

Finally a shout out for Emily Larson’s plans for Duluth to become carbon neutral!

Thanks

Barb