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.

Smoke chokes West Coast as wildfire death toll keeps climbing
Wildfire smoke that posed a health hazard to millions choked the West Coast on Saturday as firefighters battled deadly blazes that obliterated some towns and displaced tens of thousands of people.
Photos: Oregon grapples with historic wildfires
Fires have forced residents from their homes across much of Oregon. Photographers Bradley W. Parks and Jonathan Levinson have been covering the wildfires for Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Boundary Waters designated a dark sky sanctuary
Late last month the International Dark Sky Association designated the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness as a dark sky sanctuary — one of only 13 in the world. It's part of a broader effort to promote the region along the border between northeastern Minnesota and Canada as a mecca for stargazers, and to protect its dark skies. 
How Big Oil misled the public into believing plastic would be recycled
An NPR and PBS “Frontline” investigation reveals how the oil and gas industry used the promise of recycling to sell more plastic, even when they knew it would never work on a large scale.
Carmakers revving up electric truck and SUV production
Nearly half of all vehicles sold in the United States are sport utility vehicles, and the International Energy Agency reports they’re second-largest contributor to the increase in greenhouse gas emissions in the last decade. But a new wave of electric SUVs and pickup trucks is on the horizon.
St. Paul brewery, U of M team up on Organic Brewers Alliance
The project will help breweries connect with organic farms for hops, barley and other ingredients such as honey. The goal is to support sustainable agriculture practices.
The world lost two-thirds of its wildlife in 50 years. We are to blame
Human activities are causing an "unprecedented" and alarming decline in wildlife populations around the world, a new report warns. It says the staggering loss ultimately threatens human life as well.
Small farmers challenge conventional agriculture in Pineland Sands
One farmer's plans to irrigate his land to grow crops has triggered a legal challenge by organic farmers and clean water advocates. They say traditional agriculture is not a good fit for the sandy soil, and they envision a different way of farming in this region.