Minnesotans love the environment.

If there’s one thing we can say about ourselves, it is that Minnesotans are dedicated to making sure we take care of the environment. In 2008, we did something pretty amazing. We passed the Legacy Amendment, voting to raise to raise our sales tax in order to protect and restore Minnesota’s lakes, rivers, and wildlife.

With the Republicans now in control of both the House and the Senate, we’re going to have to work harder than ever to protect our environment. Some Republican legislators have already begun their attack on the environment.

New GOP Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen has introduced a bill to repeal our state’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. The House Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee voted last month for a bill to repeal our cap on carbon emissions.

The same kinds of bills have been introduced in the Senate. We have to be extravigilant in our protection of the environment in order to stop these bills from being passed.

It makes no sense to repeal our greenhouse gas reductions goals or our cap on carbon emissions–by reducing our greenhouse gas and carbon emissions, we are keeping our environment clean and stimulating our economy. Plus, we are growing our workforce through investment in the green economy. We must make sure these legislators know that protecting Minnesota’s environment is something we care deeply about, and repealing laws to protect it goes against the values of Minnesota.

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