The challenges below are listed in order as determined by the 18 participants. The bullet points include additional information highlighting why the participants felt the challenge was important and significant.
Adjusting farming practices and other rural and urban land management to be adaptable to more frequent extreme weather events while remaining lucrative and having a positive impact on the environment.
- Across the Midwest, annual precipitation has increased (up to 20% in some locations), leading to more frequent and higher magnitude flooding. Consequences include degrading water quality and infrastructure, increased spread of disease, and the introduction of toxic chemicals into the water supply.
- Supporting agricultural best management practices, including balanced planting and crop diversity, and encouraging plantings of perennials, and buffers on private and public land can improve water quality and reduce sediment runoff.
High intensity precipitation events may lead to short-term increases in water temperature, higher magnitude flooding, erosion, runoff of sediments and pollution, and degraded stream habitat for coldwater fish and other aquatic invertebrates.
- Supporting agricultural best management practices, including balanced planting and crop diversity, and encouraging plantings of perennials, and buffers on private and public land can improve water quality and reduce sediment runoff.
- Degraded water quality and water infrastructure are more likely to spread disease, mold, and other pollutants and introduce toxic chemicals to the water supply, especially during extreme weather events.
- Water is a priceless resource.
Technology changes quickly. To be knowledgeable about current energy technology, individuals and organizations must know what energy issues to address first and what technology to use.
- Local organizations, like the Southeast Clean Energy Resource Team (CERTs) and others, can provide community members with resources to help successfully implement energy project ideas.
- Tax credits for clean energy and solar were recently extended to help offset the cost of clean energy adoption in the US and clean energy is a quickly developing market experiencing triple digit growth in recent years.
The annual cost of an average homeowners’ insurance policy in Minnesota increased 310% ($368 to $1140) from 1998 to 2012 due to extreme weather events. Premiums are still not high enough to cover all paid claims.
- There is a clear relationship between patterns in extreme weather events such as hailstorms and floods and increases in insurance claims in Minnesota.
- Minnesota is one of two states in the US without a high-risk home insurance pool to spread risk proportionately among homeowners whose homes are at greater risk for extreme weather events.
- Fewer than 1% of Minnesota’s one million households purchase flood insurance.
Additional challenges
- Water
- Across the Midwest annual precipitation has increased (up to 20% in some locations), with much of the increase due to more high intensity rain events. This leads to more frequent and higher magnitude flooding.
- Coldwater streams are heating up, becoming too warm to support coldwater fish and some aquatic invertebrates and reducing fishing-related tourism.
- Degraded water quality and water infrastructure are more likely to spread disease and introduce toxic chemicals to water supply, especially in an extreme weather event.
- Land use
- Difficult for farmers to choose practices that are less lucrative but have a more positive environmental impact.
- Farmers, especially those nearing retirement, cannot be expected to transition all of their crops at great expense and with a delayed return on investment.
- Longer growing season may lead to a potential intensification or expansion of agriculture, increasing sediment/pesticide runoff that degrades aquatic habitat.
Back to learning about the Winona County Climate Dialogue!