“Although we say that mountains belong to the country, actually they belong to those who love them”

This quote, by the Buddhist monk Dogen, is very representative of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The residents of this northern part of the country are a mix of life-long residents (Yoopers) and recent transplants, like me. The one thing that brings us all to the table to work on issues like Climate Change is our love for the place where we live. One organization that is working to reduce the carbon footprint of our area is the Superior Watershed Partnership.  The Watershed Partnership is trying to cross traditional social lines to bring people together to work on the issues of climate change. Their Earthkeepers initiative has brought me, a liberal college hippie, to the church services of conservative rural Baptist churches so we can sit down and talk about making their place of worship more energy efficient. So far through these efforts we have estimated that we have reduced the UP’s carbon emissions by more than 3.5 million pounds.