Environmental News

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3M has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury in connection to discharges from a chemical plant in northern Alabama that may not have complied with permit requirements.
BBC World Service special: 'My Perfect City: Oslo'
This hour, we head across the pond to get some ideas from Oslo, Norway about ways to improve our cities from an environmental, social and economic standpoint. Should Oslo get the "gold medal for urban living?"
Study: Young walleye are smaller in MN lakes with zebra mussels, spiny waterflea
A new University of Minnesota study has found that when lakes were infested with the two common aquatic invasive species, young walleye didn’t grow as large as quickly, as they did before the invaders arrived.
What's next for the Keystone XL pipeline in South Dakota
Plans for construction of the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline inched forward last week with several approvals at both the federal and state levels, but opponents in South Dakota say they haven’t given up on preventing, or at least slowing, the pipeline’s construction.
Bigleaf maple syrup flows as profits drip from once-maligned Northwest tree
The Pacific Northwest is getting into the lucrative maple syrup industry. Farmers and researchers in Washington state are beginning to tap the sweet potential of the much-maligned bigleaf maple tree.
Locust swarms in Africa are worst in decades
The worst outbreak of desert locusts in Kenya in 70 years has seen hundreds of millions of the bugs swarm into the East African nation from Somalia and Ethiopia. Those two countries have not had an infestation like this in a quarter-century.
Top-five flood possible for the Red River this spring
Communities along the Red River could see a top-five flood this spring, according to preliminary flood outlooks from the National Weather Service.
As court case continues, MPCA defends handling of PolyMet permit, citing efficiency
In the third day of an unusual court hearing investigating alleged “procedural irregularities” in the way a mine permit was issued, former MPCA Commissioner John Linc Stine testified his agency asked the EPA to delay submitting critical comments because his staff was stretched too thin responding to other comments.