Climate change is real.
This upsets some people because they know and are worried. It disturbs those whose politics prevents this acknowledgment, too. But the data is clear. It’s happening.
Considerable effort has been expended to create a strange dynamic of denial, which only exists in nations with powerful oil interests. But I can observe climate change in my own notes, and so can loggers and even oil company analysts, who are hardly left-wing activists.
So, what do we do? That’s where we get stuck. As with all major problems, doing nothing is an option and one preferred by those invested in the status quo. A lot of money has been spent telling people that they can’t eat cheeseburgers, use stoves, or drive their favorite truck if we embrace renewable energy or decarbonization efforts.
Climate policy is also cultural policy. This is where the debate gets stuck. Here in northern Minnesota, however, we ignore a great deal of economic and cultural opportunity by denying reality.
What if addressing the climate crisis also solved economic problems we’ve battled for generations?
In today’s column (gift link), you’ll meet a climate strategist from Miami-Dade County who recently relocated to his hometown of Duluth. What he learned on the front lines of climate change holds lessons for us here — not because the danger is the same, but because the opportunity is greater.
Read “From South Beach to Superior’s shore, bringing resilience back home to Duluth” in the Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025 edition of the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Aaron J. Brown is a columnist and member of the editorial board for the Minnesota Star Tribune. His new book about Hibbing Mayor Victor Power and his momentous fight against the world’s largest corporation will be out soon.
