Just like electric vehicles and solar farms, the bare bones of a large building can be environmentally friendly if constructed with certain supplies, and supporters of a new Minnesota law hope it spurs more use of cleaner materials for big projects.

This year, Minnesota adopted the Buy Clean Buy Fair Act. It initiates a process for requiring certain state construction projects, such as a government building larger than 50,000 square feet, to be built or renovated with steel, aluminum and concrete materials leaving less of a carbon footprint.

Justin Fay, senior lead of public affairs and advocacy for the nonprofit Fresh Energy, said it strikes a good balance between cutting pollution and keeping the building sector viable.

"It utterly disproves the notion that it's a choice between being economically successful or being clean," Fay contended. "We actually can do both."

The effort prioritizes buying sustainable building materials produced locally, helping to create demand for regional construction firms submitting bids. While industry researchers note the materials can be more expensive, the costs are offset by operational efficiencies for the structures. Next up, a task force will soon begin the process of phasing in standards under the law.

Abby Hornberger, Minnesota policy organizer for the BlueGreen Alliance, which has pushed for these pilot projects around the country, said the timing is crucial as the effects of climate change are becoming more apparent in the Midwest.

"As we experience more fluctuating temperatures in Minnesota, we're going to have even more infrastructure fixes that are needed," Hornberger stressed. "We're just trying to make sure that the products that we're buying at the state level are less emitting."

Hornberger added what stands out with Minnesota's program is the task force in charge of setting up the procurement standards will include voices speaking for those who have suffered from environmental injustice.

The bill was approved during the recent legislative session with broad support from a range of sectors, including groups tied to the construction industry.

A Pennsylvania group warned progress on environmental protections could be at risk under a second term for President-elect Donald Trump.

The state's Climate Action Plan aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 26% by 2025 and 80% by 2050.

Tom Schuster, director of the Pennsylvania chapter of the Sierra Club, said it is important for Pennsylvania to continue to curb fossil fuel pollution to prevent severe climate effects. He highlighted the state's growing shift to cheaper renewable energy, noting Trump might not stop it but it could slow down.

"Donald Trump, as president, has pledged to encourage more drilling for and burning of fossil fuels and some rollback policies that are aimed at transitioning to clean energy faster," Schuster pointed out. "That is definitely bad news for the effort to protect our communities."

Schuster added the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure law has provided major funding for climate initiatives. He argued Pennsylvania has effectively utilized these resources for both emissions reduction and climate adaptation efforts.

Schuster emphasized the urgency of utilizing the current available funding, as the longevity of some programs is uncertain with the new Congress and administration. He stressed the need for Pennsylvania to implement state-level policies such as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which is currently before the state's Supreme Court.

"If the court rules in favor the Department of Environmental Protection and the environmental groups such as the Sierra Club that are supporting it, we need to quickly implement that program to help reduce climate disrupting pollution from the electricity sector and create an investment fund for new clean energy investment," Schuster outlined.

Schuster pointed out Gov. Josh Shapiro's proposals aim to boost renewable energy requirements for utilities, spurring solar and wind development. The state's RISE PA plan, tied to the Inflation Reduction Act, focuses on cutting industrial climate pollution -- the largest source in Pennsylvania -- while preserving jobs and industry.

By Allison Frost for Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Broadcast version by Isobel Charlé for Oregon News Service reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public News Service Collaboration

When Matt Swihart started Double Mountain Brewery in Hood River, Oregon, in 2007, his vision was to sell beer in the most ecologically sustainable way possible: in reusable bottles, which would be returned, cleaned and refilled to be sold again.

The numbers, he says, help make his case.

“A single-use beer bottle, as well as a single-use aluminum can, involves a certain amount of carbon through its life cycle … a reusable beer bottle, like the one we use in Oregon, is about 69 times less than a single-use recycled beer bottle.”

That number is based on the glass bottle being reused about 20-25 times, but even reusing it a single time, he claims, cuts the carbon nearly in half, because of how much carbon is used in the original manufacturing.

Reusable beverage containers are also not a particularly novel idea.

“In the ‘70s, it was the norm, ubiquitously, throughout the United States and still is across the world, where reusable beer bottles and soda bottles are used throughout many countries.”

Market forces shifted beverage manufacturers away from refillables and into unique containers that could be more effectively branded for consumers, and the infrastructure fell away.

Swihart began small and is now engaged in building a regional infrastructure that any beer brewer in Oregon can choose to access, with the help of the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative, which partnered with the company in 2018 to make standard refillable glass beer bottles.

One Oregon company that was inspired by Swihart’s efforts is Revino, which is based in Newberg and launched just last year. It’s working with a number of vintners to put their wine into Revino’s returnable, refillable bottles.

Willamette Valley Vineyards recently announced a rollout of over 1,500 cases of a Pinot Noir it makes in Revino’s bottles. Customers will get a 10-cent wine credit for every bottle they return to the winery.

Revino co-founder Adam Rack says only about a third of glass bottles are even recycled, so getting reusable bottles into the process is key. He also thinks Oregon’s landmark Bottle Bill should be updated to include wine bottles.

“California has already added wine bottles, Maine as well,” he said. “We used to be the leaders in the Bottle Bill, but now we’re kind of falling behind. So it’s about time to modernize.”

Both Rack and Swihart say they believe reducing and reusing will play an increasingly important role in helping lower carbon emissions and transform a single-use mindset into one of true sustainability. That’s something they think everyone can drink to.

Wisconsin ranks 26th in the nation for wind energy, generating far less than neighboring states.

Wisconsin has about 900 megawatts of installed wind capacity, compared to neighbors that produce more than 10,000 megawatts.

Experts say better wind resources in neighboring states and lower solar costs enticing the state to invest in other projects contribute to the lag.

Wisconsin farms are also smaller than those in the Great Plains states, said Sam Dunaiski - executive director of Renew Wisconsin - which he called a unique challenge.

"You can't just put two turbines right next to each other, right?" said Dunaiski. "The atmospheric dynamics requires a little bit more spacing in between turbines - and in order to do that, you know, you need a little bit more land."

But Dunaiski said the state's wind potential is high. Some Wisconsin utilities have already added wind options to their portfolios, and all have set goals to reduce carbon emissions.

At least a handful of wind energy projects are planned for Wisconsin in the coming year.

Another challenge is misinformation - that wind turbines are noisy, negatively affect property values, or pose health risks. Dunaiski said most of those claims are not supported by scientific evidence.

What has been proven, he said, is that wind energy is less harmful to wildlife and the environment than traditional power generation.

"We have the potential here to do our own energy, in our own state," said Dunaiski, "to add great-paying jobs, like wind turbine technicians, to the mix. And we also give landowners kind of a lifeline in this aspect."

He explained that farmers, who have been hit hard economically in recent years, could benefit from gaining an additional income stream by leasing land for these projects.

Dunaiski said building momentum will require more education and training, added transmission - to help get energy from rural areas where it's produced to Wisconsin residents - and advances in technology to help update old equipment and capitalize on current installations.

"As we continue to grow these turbines and make this technology better and more efficient" said Dunaiski, "that wind resource - that lacking wind regime that we have in Wisconsin - becomes less of a problem, and we're able to access what wind resources we do have in our state better."

There are 10 wind projects generating electricity in Wisconsin. The oldest started in 1999 - and the newest, the Red Barn Project, started last year.




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