Produced by Bill Sorem
Video Reporter at the Uptake
From the Minnesota's Energy Future Forum sponsored by Think Again MN on September 27
It was an exciting evening at the Bloomington Civic Center as Lynn Hinkle and John Farrell described how MN's transition to clean energy could contribute to the prosperty of Minnesotans. They told us clean energy could be an enormous jobs engine. It could also bring the $20 billion our state spends annually on fossil fuels back to MN in the coming decades and grow MN's manufacturing base for solar panels and wind turbine components. "We're talking about accomplishing something truly remarkable," stated John Farrell. Following them, long term energy justice activist George Crocker told us that winning those benefits for our communities would require community organizing:
"Until enough people figure out how to actively pursue their interest, their community's interest, in securing the benefits that John and Lynn talked about ... the power of organized capital will prevail. Organized people can beat organized capital every time that the people are organized. The problem is that they're not."
Panelists: Lynn Hinkle - Policy Director, MN Solar Industries Association
John Farrell - Director, Energy Self Reliant States and Communities Program
Institute for Local Self Reliance
George Crocker - Director, North American Water Office
Moderator - John Doll, former MN Senator and Vice Chair, Senate Energy Committee
