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Re: July 31, 2026 Independent)
This letter is directed to those who might be attending the open house meetings Aug. 4-13 to discuss Xcel's proposed 765,000-volt transmission line going across southern Minnesota.
This project needs two permits from the state to start.
1. A 'Certificate of Need' from the P.U.C. stating why the project is needed.
2. A 'Route Permit'; which is why they are holding these public meetings. They need public feed back concerning adjustments before they submit it in February 2027.
So why is the line needed? They say because the coal fired plants are being shut down. Why are they being shut down? They say too much carbon dioxide (CO2) is being added to the atmosphere from those plants, which is causing global warming.
Over the last decade or two, I have submitted many letters detailing with back up data, why global climate change comes primarily from solar radiation, ocean currents and volcanic particulates; not from man's puny 4 percent of total global CO2.
Last year, an analysis of climate data by the respected AI Grok 3 beta verified we've been fed a lot of worthless fluff by the media and climate activists, who over the last 40 years have manufactured a scary emotional narrative with out good empirical evidence.
A rise in temperature always precedes a rise in atmospheric CO2. In other words, as ocean and soil temperature rises, the CO2 increase does not come along until 6-12 months later. Ice core samples tell the same story that happened centuries ago.
These facts and a lot more with empirical data can be obtained at scienceofclimatechange.org
I am not against power lines if they are really needed, but this plan to shut down reliable 24 hour a day power delivery is nonsense. Why saddle landowners with a ¾ million-volt power line across their property when we have the technology to burn coal cleanly? And besides, farmers can use the extra atmospheric CO2 that coal fired plants produce because CO2 is plant food.
Phil Drietz
Delhi