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About two months ago, several of us were sitting around after dinner enjoying some Haagen-Dazs ice cream and talking about the state of the city. We started chatting about the various commissions that have been established by Duluth’s city government and wondered if there would ever be a climate commission. 

The consensus was that the current mayor or city council wouldn’t undertake any initiative to see that happen. 

And then we asked ourselves why we had to wait for the mayor or city council to establish this new commission. 

Ever since that ice cream summit, I kept thinking about the idea of a citizen-led initiative and how we the people could take it upon ourselves to come together and create a climate commission. It could be a long time before our elected officials would step forward. 

And given that we’re all adults, do we really need to ask for anyone’s permission to establish or coordinate such an initiative?

I also kept thinking about the 2018 climate vulnerability assessment, which stated that our city would be facing numerous climate challenges in the next 50 years, and the 2021 climate emergency resolution that was passed by the city council. 

Given the various reports and public acknowledgements that Duluth needed to pay more attention to climate change, you would have thought that our city’s leaders would have established some kind of climate task force or commission. 

But, no. There’s not been any talk or actions taken to make it a reality. There’s still a lot of reluctance or resistance to acknowledging or addressing climate change in this city. 

In fact, you get the distinct feeling that many of our community leaders would prefer talking about anything else besides climate change and its impact upon the future of Duluth. 

On Aug. 19, New Scientist reported that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius was now almost out of reach. The next day, the U.S. National Weather Service reported that strong to severe thunderstorms were possible across the Northern Plains and into the Central Plains, along with the threat of large hail in eastern Colorado and hazardous heat across Texas and the Gulf Coast. 

And on Aug. 22, AccuWeather reported that 37 out of the 50 states in the U.S. had already reached 100 degrees in 2024. Also, the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society State of the Climate reported that in 2023 all three dominant greenhouse gasses reached new highs: carbon dioxide – 50% higher, nitrous oxide – 25% higher and methane – 166% higher. 

It becomes more evident every day that climate change is happening faster than we had expected even five years ago. 

Along with continuous rises in the atmospheric CO2 levels and the constant breaking of records for high temperatures around the planet, we are seeing and experiencing more extreme weather events. Climate change is becoming a part of our daily lives. 

On Aug. 26, we’re announcing the creation of the Climate Commission in Duluth. It will be a citizen-led initiative that in the next year will hopefully engage at least 3,000 people across the city to not only identify their concerns about climate change but to also find ways to support each other in undertaking some initiative to address those concerns. 

There will be no application, membership fees or waiting for the mayor or city council to appoint you. Everyone is welcome to join and participate.

Our initial plans will begin with promoting and encouraging people to join or participate in such groups as the Duluth Climate and Energy Network, Sierra Club, Citizens Climate Lobby, Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light, and  Climate>Duluth. 

We’ll also be reaching out to high school and college students exploring and hopefully addressing the need for counseling and support services with young people who are dealing with climate anxiety and depression. And there will be ongoing efforts to expand climate education throughout the city.

In his book Ecological Governance: Toward a New Social Contract with the Earth, Bruce Jennings wrote, “Ecological citizenship depends on the capacity to see and to make connections. Civic deliberation feeds on the imaginative capacity to see beyond the limits of one’s own situation and experience. Publics or communities are formed when a significant number of people develop that capacity and orient it in the same direction.”

Hopefully, the Climate Commission will help all of us see the many possibilities to individually and collectively respond to climate change by seeing beyond this moment, and embrace the “imaginative capacity” of our city to create a more resilient, sustainable and environmentally just community. 

If you would like to participate, just send us an email (risson1954@gmail.com) or text (8562468035).