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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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Unprecedented Northwest heat wave builds, records fall

Unprecedented Northwest heat wave builds, records fall

Portland, Oregon, reached 112 degrees on Sunday, breaking the all-time temperature record of 108 F, which was set just a day earlier. In British Columbia, the village of Lytton reached 115 F — a new all-time record high for Canada.
by The Associated Press

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Heat brings more reports of dead fish in Minnesota lakes

Heat brings more reports of dead fish in Minnesota lakes

It's not uncommon for the DNR to get reports of large numbers of dead fish floating in Minnesota lakes in spring and summer. But fish die-offs have been more frequent and widespread than usual, as temperatures soared to record highs in June across much of Minnesota.
by Kirsti Marohn

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SpaceX's new rocket facility is making its Texas neighbors mad

SpaceX's new rocket facility is making its Texas neighbors mad

When SpaceX opened its rocket factory and launch pad in South Texas, few locals thought it would morph into such a large operation. Now environmentalists are worried about the long-term effects.
by John Burnett

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Portland records hottest day ever amid Pacific Northwest heat wave

Portland records hottest day ever amid Pacific Northwest heat wave

Portland, Oregon, had its hottest day ever recorded — reaching 108 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. Seattle reached 101 F, making it the hottest June day on record in that city.
by The Associated Press

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Yellow crazy ants, an enemy to seabirds, have been wiped out on a remote Pacific atoll

Yellow crazy ants, an enemy to seabirds, have been wiped out on a remote Pacific atoll

After more than a decade, the terrorizing reign of the yellow crazy ant is over on the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. The invasive insect had been threatening ground-nesting seabirds on the Pacific atoll since at least 2010.
by Vanessa Romo

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Congress votes to reinstate methane rules loosened by Trump

Congress votes to reinstate methane rules loosened by Trump

Congressional Democrats have approved a measure reinstating rules aimed at limiting climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas drilling, a rare effort by Democrats to use the legislative branch to overturn a regulatory rollback under President Donald Trump.
by The Associated Press

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Xcel Energy changes course, new plan does not include Becker gas plant

Xcel Energy changes course, new plan does not include Becker gas plant

Bowing to calls to speed up its transition away from fossil fuels, Xcel Energy is proposing a new energy plan for the next 15 years that does not include building a controversial new natural gas plant in Becker.
by Kirsti Marohn

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Opinions plentiful on Xcel’s plan to cut coal, add natural gas

Opinions plentiful on Xcel’s plan to cut coal, add natural gas

Advocacy organizations, state agencies, counties, cities and residents have weighed in with strong opinions on the resource plan, which requires approval by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.
by Kirsti Marohn

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Minnesota crops showing drought stress at a crucial time

Minnesota crops showing drought stress at a crucial time

Conditions are dry all across Minnesota. Severe drought is spreading into the northwest and south. Crops are showing signs of stress, and without widespread rains over the next few weeks, crops will continue to deteriorate.
by Dan Gunderson

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