Mn350

TO INSPIRE MINNESOTANS TO RISE TO THE CHALLENGE OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS.

MN350 IN 2021 CONTINUED ITS WORK TO EDUCATE AND ORGANIZE MINNESOTANS ON THE URGENCY OF ACHIEVING CLIMATE JUSTICE. IN THE SECOND YEAR OF THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC, WE CONTINUED OPERATING PRIMARILY ONLINE TO EXPAND OUR PROGRAMS AND CAMPAIGNS AND INSPIRE A GROWING BASE OF SUPPORTERS TO ACT IN SUPPORT OF AN EQUITABLE CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE. MN350 SCALED TO A NEW LEVEL OF ORGANIZING BY GROWING OUR BASE OF SUPPORTERS, INCLUDING HUNDREDS OF VOLUNTEERS WHO RAISED AWARENESS FOR OUR CAMPAIGNS AND ISSUES STATEWIDE.IN 2021, MN350 OFFERED ONLINE ENGAGEMENT AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR HUNDREDS OF SUPPORTERS, INCLUDING HOW TO WRITE EFFECTIVE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, WRITE NEWS RELEASES, AND HOW TO DO ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS AND BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH GRASSROOTS VOLUNTEERS EFFECTIVELY. WE ALSO OFFERED A HALF-DAY TRAINING FOR 2,000 PEOPLE ON TREATY RIGHTS FROM LOCAL ELDERS AND EXPERTS AS PART OF OUR MOBILIZATION AROUND THE TREATY PEOPLE GATHERING IN JUNE. ALL OF OUR CAMPAIGNS INTEGRATE RACIAL JUSTICE, CLIMATE JUSTICE, PUBLIC POLICY, AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. SOME KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR STRATEGIC OUTREACH INCLUDE:OUR MN350 GREEN NEW DEAL TEAM IS WORKING WITH A COALITION OF BIPOC GROUPS TO ADVANCE THE UTILIZATION OF RESOURCES IN THE CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS TO INCREASE THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND ECOLOGICAL QUALITY OF DWELLINGS, PRIORITIZING INVESTMENTS IN CONCENTRATED POVERTY ZONES. IN AN INITIATIVE LAUNCHED IN FALL 2021, THE GND TEAM IS WORKING WITH LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, ENERGY DEMOCRACY AND LOW-WAGE WORKER/IMMIGRANT RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS TO BUILD A GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN TO PASS A JUST TRANSITION FUND FOR MINNEAPOLIS AND INFLUENCE THE ADOPTION OF A ROBUST CLIMATE ACTION PLAN. THIS WORK BRINGS MN350 INTO PARTNERSHIP WITH ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE NOT TRADITIONALLY WORKED IN THE CLIMATE SPHERE AND HELPS US BUILDCAPACITY AT THE INTERSECTION OF CLIMATE AND BASIC NEEDS ISSUES: ENERGY COSTS, AIR QUALITY AND JOB ACCESS.WE CONTINUED TO INVEST SIGNIFICANTLY IN SUPPORTING INDIGENOUS-LED ORGANIZING THROUGH BIMI'JI 350 AND TWIN CITIES-BASED WORK, INCLUDING A WEEKLY RADIO SHOW THROUGH NATIVE ROOTS RADIO WITH OUR MN350 NORTHERN MN ORGANIZER. OUR ORGANIZER IS AN ENROLLED MEMBER OF THE LEECH LAKE NATION, AND HER WORK IS FOUNDED ON HER CONVICTION, SHARED BY THE REST OF MN350, THAT "ALL PEOPLE ARE TREATY PEOPLE." FOLLOWING HER LEADERSHIP, WE NOW MORE FORMALLY BRAID DEFENSE OF TREATY RIGHTS AS AN OPPORTUNITY IN THE CLIMATE JUSTICE FIGHT.OUR INDIGENOUS ORGANIZING TEAM ARE COLLECTING STORIES THAT DEMONSTRATE HOW SUPPORTING THE FOOD SOVEREIGNTY OF NATIVE NATIONS PROTECTS OUR WETLANDS, WILD RICE BEDS, LAKES AND FORESTS AND THEREBY HELPS US PROTECT NATURE AS A CARBON SINK RATHER THAN A CARBON SOURCE. OUR LEAD ORGANIZER FOR A JUST TRANSITION SCENARIO-PLANNING PROCESS IN NORTHERN MN, UNDERTAKEN THROUGH A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE LINCOLN INSTITUTE FOR LAND POLICY AND THE CONSORTIUM FOR SCENARIO PLANNING, THAT LINKED THE CITY OF BEMIDJI WITH RED LAKE, LEECH LAKE AND WHITE EARTH NATIVE NATIONS TO CONSIDER A FUTURE THAT CENTERS RACIAL JUSTICE, CLIMATE JUSTICE AND HONORING OF TREATY RIGHTS.ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR FOR US WAS THE TREATY PEOPLE GATHERING. MN350 WAS A LEAD ORGANIZER IN BRINGING MORE THAN 2,000 PEOPLE TO NORTHERN MINNESOTA FOR TREATY EDUCATION AND CLIMATE JUSTICE EDUCATION AND ENGAGEMENT AROUND THE CAMPAIGN TO STOP THE LINE 3 TAR SANDS PIPELINE. THIS WAS A POWERFUL MOVEMENT MOMENT TO SUPPORT THE URGENT WORK OF NATIVE NATIONS, TO DEMAND SUPPORT FOR INDIGENOUS SOVEREIGNTY AND FOR ALL PEOPLE TO RECOGNIZE AND ACT ON THE INTERSECTIONALITY OF CLIMATE JUSTICE AND RESPECT AND HONORING OF TREATY RIGHTS.ONE OF MN350'S SIGNATURE CAMPAIGNS FOR SEVEN YEARS WAS AN EFFORT TO BLOCK THE CONSTRUCTION OF ENBRIDGE ENERGY'S MASSIVE LINE 3 TAR SANDS PIPELINE, WHICH ENDANGERS OUR CLIMATE, WATER AND COMMUNITIES IN NORTHERN MINNESOTA. DESPITE THE EFFORTS OF A BROAD COALITION OF ANTI-PIPELINE GROUPS, MANY OF THEM INDIGENOUS LED, THE PIPELINE WAS ACTIVATED IN FALL 2021. OUR WELL-ORCHESTRATED CLEAN TRANSPORTATION CAMPAIGN WAS A LEADING MEMBER OF THE COALITION THAT SECURED APPROVAL OF CLEAN CAR STANDARDS, MAKING MINNESOTA THE FIRST STATE IN THE MIDWEST TO ADOPT THEM. THE ADOPTION WILL SPEED THE TRANSITION TO ELECTRIC VEHICLES. LED BY OUR TRANSPORTATION ORGANIZER, MN350 THROUGHOUT THE LENGTHY RULE-MAKING PROCESS ENGAGED IN OUTREACH, EDUCATION, AND MOBILIZATION OF OUR BASE. WORK INCLUDED MOBILIZING NEARLY 1,500 PUBLIC COMMENTS TO THE MN POLLUTION CONTROL AGENCY IN SUPPORT OF CLEAN CARS MN.RECOGNIZING THAT THE PUSH FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND FUEL EFFICIENCY PRIVILEGES THOSE WHO CAN AFFORD TO BUY CARS, WE ALSO LAUNCHED A TRANSIT JUSTICE ORGANIZING CAMPAIGN IN 2021. THIS CAMPAIGN ORGANIZES TRANSIT RIDERS TO ENSURE A FUTURE IN WHICH OUR PUBLIC TRANSIT SYSTEM SERVES AS A VEHICLE TO BOTH REDUCE EMISSIONS AND PRIORITIZE MOBILITY JUSTICE SUPPORTING ECONOMICALLY-DISADVANTAGED PEOPLE TO EFFICIENTLY GET WHERE THEY NEED TO GO.OUR FOOD SYSTEMS TEAM IS SPEEDING THE TRANSITION TO A RESILIENT, REGENERATIVE, AND INCLUSIVE FOOD SYSTEM IN MINNESOTA BY TAKING ACTION ACROSS REGENERATIVE AG, FOOD WASTE, PLANT-RICH DIETS, FOOD POLICY, AND MORE. MN350'S FOOD SYSTEMS ORGANIZER IS BIPOC, AND THE TEAM HAS TAKEN UP A DIVERSE RANGE OF EFFORTS THAT LINK RACIAL JUSTICE, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND THE FUTURE OF AGRICULTURE. THE TEAM SUPPORTS NEARLY 300 VOLUNTEERS.OUR POLICY ORGANIZER LEADS THE WORK OF OUR POLICY ACTION TEAM, FOCUSING ON HELPING OUR GRASSROOTS BASE BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH STATE LEGISLATORS AND U.S. CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES IN ORDER TO EDUCATE THEM AROUND CLEAN ENERGY POLICY AND CLIMATE JUSTICE.OTHER STAFF CHANGES IN 2021 INCLUDED THE DEPARTURES OF OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SAM GRANT, AND DEPUTY DIRECTOR, KATE JACOBSON. MN350 HIRED A NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TEE MCCLENTY, IN EARLY 2022. AN APRIL 2021 POLL WE CONDUCTED WITH CLIMATE NEXUS FOUND THAT TWO-THIRDS OF MINNESOTANS WANT THE STATE TO MOVE MORE AGGRESSIVELY TOWARDS AN EQUITABLE CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE. SUPPORT FOR THAT GOAL WAS SURPRISINGLY STRONG OUTSIDE OF THE TWIN CITIES, SUGGESTING AN OPPORTUNE TIME TO EXPAND OUR BASE THROUGH RELATIONAL ORGANIZING AND TO BUILD POWER THERE.HOWEVER, MIRRORING NATIONAL ANALYSIS, POLLS AND OBSERVERS PREDICT THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE MOVEMENT IN MINNESOTA MAY FIND IT INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT TO RETAIN EVEN ITS CURRENT POWER. THAT'S PARTLY BECAUSE SUPPORTERS OF THE EXTRACTIVE ECONOMY IN MINNESOTA HAVE FOUND SUCCESS WITH A NARRATIVE STRATEGY CENTERING SAFETY AND CRIME. IN LIGHT OF A SHIFTING LANDSCAPE, MN350 HAS BEGUN EXPLORING A MORE DEFENSIVE STRATEGY. OUR FOCUS IS NOW ON BASE-BUILDING IN GREATER MN AND THE SUBURBAN TWIN CITIES, RELYING ON COMPELLING RESEARCH ABOUT WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO BE PERSUADED BY OUR MESSAGE AROUND ENSURING ALL MINNESOTANS DESERVE AN EQUAL CHANCE TO THRIVE.WE CONTINUE TO BELIEVE THE PATH TO BUILDING SUFFICIENT PEOPLE POWER TO REALIZE BOLD CLIMATE JUSTICE POLICY LIES IN BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS AND BASE-BUILDING IN GREATER MN. WE ALSO CONTINUE TO BELIEVE IN THE IMPORTANCE OF EXPANDING OUR BIPOC BASE BY ORGANIZING AT THE INTERSECTION OF CLIMATE & RACIAL JUSTICE. WE INTEND TO SUPPORT THIS EVOLVING STRATEGY BY INCREASING INVESTMENT OF RESOURCES IN THOSE AREAS.INTERNALLY, WE CONTINUE TO LEARN HOW TO PRACTICE INTERCULTURAL AND TRANSFORMATIVE ORGANIZING. OUR STAFF COME FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS AND HAVE DIFFERENT WORLDVIEWS THROUGH WHICH THEY COME TO ORGANIZE AND ENVISION THE FUTURE. THE RICHNESS OF OUR LEARNING INSIDE MN350 SUPPORTS BETTER ORGANIZING WITH OUR DIVERSE BASE. PEOPLE RESPOND WITH URGENCY AND COMMITMENT TO DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS AND FOSTERING COHERENCE FOR MOVEMENT BUILDING IS DIFFICULT IN PART DUE TO OUR DEEP COLONIAL TRAINING TO ACT IN COMPETITION WITH EACH OTHER RATHER THAN AS LEARNING PARTNERS IN RELATIONSHIP.