The following article summarizes the original event which is listed below the summary.
Finding solutions to climate change
UMRA's October 2022 luncheon forum featured Jessica Hellman, Ph.D., executive director and Ecolab Chair in Environmental Leadership at the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment. Hellman asserted that getting people to acknowledge the existence of climate change is a battle that is essentially won. Polls indicate a majority of Americans believe that climate change is real. The problems now are finding ways to ameliorate climate change and garnering support for these initiatives.
Climate change it is not just an issue for the coasts; it affects the Midwest as well, Hellmann said. The Midwest accounts for 26 percent of the total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the United States, second only to the 27 percent from the Southeast; much more than the West, California included, at 17 percent; and the Northeast, New York included, at 15 percent.
In global terms, the American Midwest is the fifth largest emitter of global warming gases in the world, just behind Russia and just ahead of Japan. We are seeing major climate change effects here, including urban heat, flooding, warmer and shorter winters, fluctuating lake levels, and ecological changes such as shifts in biomes and increased numbers of pests and invasive species.
Research needs to be better, faster, smarter
The good news is there is a great deal of fruitful study going on to find solutions to these problems, and solutions are being found. But our research needs to be better, faster, smarter, more equitable, and inclusive, Hellmann said. It also needs to be more systems oriented and multidisciplinary.
One example of a systems approach is the identification of methane leaks. Oil fields and individual leaky wells can be huge emitters of methane. Satellite technology can identify and map these leaks so that political and financial leverage can be used to persuade companies to clean them up. For a given volume, methane has 86 times the global warming potential of CO2, Hellmann said.
The U of M is working to foster such creative approaches. Both the Twin Cities campus and the Duluth campus are government-designated Climate Adaptation Science Centers, developing science to help fish, wildlife, and ourselves to better adapt to our changing climate.
The Institute on the Environment brings together researchers from many disciplines, from biology to political science, to focus on specific climate and ecology goals, Hellmann said. The Institute works to develop novel insights, build committed leaders, and tell stories—all with the goals of helping our region to achieve carbon neutrality, define sustainable land use, and ensure safe drinking water
Climate change is a reality that must be met with creativity. We can’t stop it, but we can lessen it and find ways to adapt to it. There is reason for hope.
—Ron Matross, UMRA president
Tackling climate change and building a sustainable energy future
Tue, October 25, 2022, at 11am
Jessica Hellmann, Ph.D.
Executive Director
U of M Institute on the Environment
Campus Club West Wing Dining Room, Coffman Memorial Union
Jessica Hellmann, Ph.D., the guest speaker for UMRA’s October 25 luncheon forum at the Campus Club, is executive director and Ecolab Chair in Environmental Leadership at the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment and a professor in the College of Biological Sciences Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior.
Hellman will share with us the critical role that universities have to play in addressing the climate crisis—by understanding climate impacts, proposing strategies for managing climate risks, and engaging the world in the transition to a sustainable energy future. This work involves every discipline of academia and requires a special capacity to collaborate with policy makers, corporations, and the broader society.
Grand challenges ahead
“We’ve made much progress, but there are grand challenges still ahead,” Hellman says, and she should know. She has been practicing environmental, ecological, and climate science for more than 25 years. She has studied climate impacts for natural and human ecosystems and has proposed new—and sometimes controversial—strategies for adapting to that change. And she leads an institute that pursues climate and other sustainability solutions, by embracing both technology and policy and building the capacity of people to pursue those solutions.
Hellmann holds a B.S. from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. from Stanford University. She served as a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation and the University of British Columbia’s Centre for Biodiversity Research and, before coming to the U of M in 2015, she was a faculty member at the University of Notre Dame. She works with governments, corporations, and non-profits to build investments in renewable energy and adaptation.
Plan to arrive by 11 a.m. on Tuesday, October 25, for a buffet lunch starting at 11:15 in the Campus Club West Wing Dining Room. Reservations and prepayment are due by October 15.
—Ron Matross, UMRA president
Upcoming Events
Many life challenges that get in the way of quality of life and good health at home have little to do with medical issues. Cathy Lauring, our presenter for UMRA’s February 18 workshop, will explore a variety of resources to assist in keeping us healthy at home—including physical, emotional, cognitive, and financial services.
John Bantle will lead the discussion of A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson when the UMRA book club meets via Zoom on February 21.
Join UMRA members to watch two of the best hockey teams in the nation. UMRA has negotiated a discounted ticket price of $33.
Barbara Klick, RN, MBA, the presenter for UMRA’s February 25 Forum, has decades of experience working in human and veterinary medicine, and will bring her wisdom and perspective to our discussion about what we can learn from our pets about facing end-of-life challenges and decisions.
The Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education, of which UMRA is a member, is offering a three-part series of free webinars exploring the cognitive side of retirement. The series is designed to help attendees clarify their goals and embrace the changes that occur during life’s next chapter.
The Fourth Friday Book Club will meet via Zoom on February 28 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. CST to discuss The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.
Join members of the UMRA Hiking Club for a hike on March 3 at the Holland Lake Trailhead in Lebanon Hills Regional Park in Eagan. It is the largest park in the Dakota County park system. Our route will take us on an unpaved trail with some roots, rocks, and easy hills. It will be about 5 miles for 2 to 2.5 hours. We will meet for an optional lunch afterwards somewhere nearby (TBD).
You are invited to the March 5 meeting via Zoom of the Family History Interest Group (FHIG) for presentations by Will Craig and Laura Erickson on researching family history using local and virtual resources.
“Insects” is the theme for the UMRA Photo Club meeting in March, and “Geometrical Forms” is the theme for April. Newcomers are welcome.
Stephanie Daily will lead the discussion of Good Night, Irene by the Mexican-American poet and novelist Luis Alberto Urrea when the UMRA Book Club meets via Zoom on Friday, March 21.
The UMRA Hiking Club will explore wildlife along the Mississippi River in Fort Snelling State Park. The 3.9-mile Pike Island Loop is generally considered an easy route and takes just over an hour. Hikers can leave at that point, or stay to add another short loop. The trail is located below the bluff on which the historic fort sits. The last time we were there we saw a lot of deer, and the river always provides fascinating views.
The UMRA Photo Club will meet at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in the meeting room of the Hennepin County St. Anthony Branch Library, in the small shopping center at New Brighton and St. Anthony Boulevards.
For those interested in lunch, meet at the Great Dragon at 11:30 a.m.
Theme to be announced.
The University of Minnesota Archives, with its major holdings largely tucked away in two huge underground caverns along the Mississippi River under the West Bank campus, holds the essential records of our University of Minnesota’s past. University Archivist Erik Moore will interpret the holdings and bring out a sampling of what it holds. We will also get a tour of the caverns (Minnesota Library Access Center), revealing where these precious materials are housed, including the original tapes of KUOM, now Radio K.
You are cordially invited to see Rick Huebsch, Associate VP for Research, Technology Commercialization at UMN, who will discuss UMN Technology Commercialization. Tech Comm facilitates the transfer of UMN innovation beyond the research lab, to benefit the public good, foster economic growth, and generate revenue to support the University's mission.
Do you have a box or several albums of old family pictures that you are not quite sure what to do with? Or perhaps you just want to find out more about your ancestors and are not sure where or how to begin. This meeting of the Family history group will be an open discussion.