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.

Biden: Infrastructure plan gives $1B for Great Lakes cleanup
President Joe Biden's administration says the bipartisan infrastructure law will pump $1 billion into a Great Lakes restoration program. Biden travels to Lorain, Ohio, on Thursday to highlight the measure's benefits for the lakes.
Amid rush to Minn. lakes, calls to require boater education get louder
A sharp interest in boating during the COVID-19 pandemic and growing concern over safety and environmental impacts have led to calls for a required education course for adults to operate a boat in Minnesota.
Corps of Engineers set to resume ice measurements on Lake Pepin ahead of shipping season
An annual rite of approaching spring in the Upper Midwest gets underway this week, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers begins measuring the ice thickness on the Mississippi River at Lake Pepin.
Bills would ban ‘forever chemicals’ from cosmetics, cookware, ski wax
After the Minnesota Legislature passed a ban on so-called “forever chemicals” in food packaging last year, a DFL lawmaker wants to extend the ban on PFAS to more consumer products. But the bills face opposition from industry groups and chemical manufacturers.
Scientists seek funding to look for toxic tire chemical in Minnesota waters
Minnesota scientists are seeking funding to investigate if a toxic chemical from tires is harming popular fish species. Researchers in Washington state have linked the recently discovered chemical in rubber tires to the sudden deaths of coho salmon.
Corporate climate pledges are weaker than they seem, a new study reports
Many companies mislead by using accounting practices that make their environmental goals relatively meaningless or exclude parts of their businesses in their calculations, NewClimate Institute finds.