Environmental News

MPR News is your source for environment news from Minnesota and across the country.

Getting to Green: Minnesota’s energy future

Getting to Green is an MPR News series that shares stories about Minnesota’s clean energy transition, including what needs to be done to get there.

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Climate Cast

Listen to Climate Cast, the MPR News podcast all about our changing climate and its impact in Minnesota and worldwide.

A Minnesota hazelnut with unique climate fighting abilities
The University of Minnesota’s Forever Green Initiative is developing special crops that can improve crop productivity and fight climate change. One of which is a hybrid hazelnut grown regeneratively that’s packed with flavor and good for the environment.
Glaciers from Yellowstone to Kilimanjaro are predicted to disappear by 2050
A new report says glaciers in a third of UNESCO World Heritage sites will disappear. Two-thirds of glaciers in the heritage sites can be saved — but only if carbon emissions are cut quickly, it says.
Wolf researchers record rare video of a mountain lion in northern Minnesota
Researchers studying wolves in far northern Minnesota have released rare footage of a mountain lion recorded last month on state land about 10 miles south of Voyageurs National Park.
This coral reef resurrected itself — and showed scientists how to replicate it
While scientists studied a coral reef ecosystem in the South Pacific, rising temperatures led them to believe it was doomed. Then, something miraculous happened.
Boil water advisory lifted for Mounds View residents
The Twin Cities suburb on Tuesday morning canceled a “precautionary boil water advisory” that had been in effect for more than a day, after testing found no contamination of the city’s water system.
Pumpkins can be composted, donated to farms, fed to wildlife
Hold off before throwing that porch pumpkin into the trash along with Halloween candy wrappers. Those jack-o’-lanterns don't have to end up in the local landfill.
Minnesota readies high-tech effort to clean up 'forever chemicals'
State environmental authorities said Monday they will soon deploy new technology to the Twin Cities eastern suburbs to help clean water supplies contaminated for years by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. Lake Elmo will be the first test.
Boil water advisory issued for Mounds View
The city of Mounds View on Monday issued what it's calling a “precautionary boil water advisory” after there was a loss of pressure in the city's water mains.
Study: Plant-covered ponds are source of greenhouse gases
University of Minnesota researchers found that ponds covered with a floating plant called duckweed produced more methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.