Chelsea DeArmond

Sunset photo woth a mix of wispy and chunky clouds.

Change is in the air

Photo of a mulberry tree that shows the difference in leaves, which are deeply lobed closer to the trunk and then become more and more tear-drop shaped toward the end of the branch

Mulberry leaves are so interesting

Chicago just went all in on renewable energy » Yale Climate Connections From City Hall to O’Hare Airport, every city-owned building now runs on renewables.

Chicago just went all in on renewable energy and is demonstrating that it works. Chicago now powers EVERY city-owned building – from airports to police stations – with renewable energy. That includes O’Hare airport.

Page Against The Machine

Oh, I was wondering if they switched to aluminum! Cool

Just noticed all the street lights are working around Lake Phalen!

The City of Saint Paul just got a geothermal planning grant for geothermal at the Hamm's brewery development too. That historic site used to provide heating for the surrounding neighborhood, and that could be the case in the future as well.

Geothermal heating, cooling projects survive federal cuts, others in doubt Geothermal projects are still moving forward at the Como Zoo, The Heights, Hamline-Midway Library and the Wakan Tipi Center.

Solar energy and electric vehicle incentives took it on the chin in the Big, Beautiful Bill but geothermal remains a bright spot for cities and climate advocates. It’s catching on with these St. Paul churches, residences and Xcel’s new service center at The Heights www.twincities.com/2025/08/10/g...

Everyone should listen/read! Local action on forming parallel municipal renewable utility is inspiring, creative, and very grounded in economic and business realities. Also, Missy is awesome. Thanks to her whole team and the City of Ann Arbor for tackling this.

3/7
Pressure Local Officials to Block Cooperation

Cities can:

*Prohibit local police from assisting unmarked federal agents.

*Deny federal agents access to local jails...surveillance infrastructure...or street-level intel.

*Pass ordinances that restrict or penalize non-transparent policing.

Climate mitigation and adaptation measures are not costs. They are investments.

The true costs occur when mitigation fails and adaptation is too slow so we suffer from continually worsening extreme weather events like heatwaves and floods.

Invest now to reduce costs in future.

What fictional character could help us out of this mess?

Rare thread that sheds light on a huge threat—and also points to a surprising solution

Indeed

How One School Became a Power Plant for Its Community - RMI A Baltimore community will see discounted electricity bills thanks to new solar panels on a local school and Inflation Reduction Act incentives.

From our friends at ‪@rockymtninst.bsky.social‬. A good example of schools supporting community on multiple levels. Including: "Solar4Us @ Henderson-Hopkins also offered job training and local hiring opportunities..." Support the win-wins! 🔌💡

rmi.org/how-one-scho...

If Rochester can do it, your city can too.

I sometimes joined my childhood friend Craig in the ginseng fields of rural central Wisconsin he captures so well in these pages.

A huge field of golden dandelions at East Side Heritage park along Phalen Boulevard in Saint Paul

Great time to bike Phalen Blvd and enjoy the dandelion bloom before the first mow of the season

Petty Woman

It's gone now!

It smells so bad

Wow

A small fire pit with two hands stretched out toward it for warmth, illuminated by the flames

Nice night for a fire

Old-fashioned ink drawing of a mink walking in the forest.

Saw a mink playing on the bank of Keller Creek today.

Refugees reach land in an inflatable raft. A young child in the foreground crouches on some rocks, crying.

"The Stranger's Case," William Shakespeare Sir Thomas Moore: Act II Scene 4
___

Imagine that you see the wretched strangers,

Their babies at their backs and their poor luggage,

Plodding to the ports and costs for transportation ...

Photo of a row of juniper trees heavy-laden with snow along a fence-line

Wow!

being an indie bookseller in the helltimes has felt both very stable and very stabilizing, and part of me wishes everyone could be on my side of the counter for a little while, because I think it would help some of you be a little less cynical and doomy right now. so here is my VERY anecdotal data:

YouTube video by Michael Smith - Topic Panther In Michigan

youtu.be/3ugUJpTr26Q?...

Cougar cubs spotted in Michigan for first time in over a century ‘It's something that should be celebrated, that we have the habitat to support an elusive animal like this.’

There's a panther in Michigan
www.popsci.com/environment/...