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.

Amazon vows to cut emissions to combat climate change
The online shopping giant has been facing pressure from its own employees to do more to combat climate change and rely less on fossil fuels.
Climate One: The art of the green deal
Climate One series host Greg Dalton interviews two members of Congress about their proposals to address climate change — one Republican and one Democrat.
Court suspends two key PolyMet permits
The decision follows an earlier ruling in June to put on hold another major environmental permit PolyMet needs to open its proposed $1 billion copper-nickel mine. Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for Oct. 23.
What a botched climate bill can teach us about passing reform today
In 2009, Congress was on the verge of passing its first comprehensive bill to tackle climate change. Then it fizzled out. A post-mortem on that bill could offer a path forward.
The battle over fish farming in the open ocean heats up, as EPA permit looms
Advocates say farmed seafood is more sustainable than wild-caught. Critics say these farms pollute surrounding waters. Federal waters have been off-limits to aquaculture, but that may soon change.
Minnesota’s busiest state park reopens after flood cleanup
Fort Snelling State Park is the state’s busiest, with about a million day visitors every year. Extended flooding shut the park down for six months and covered parts of it with as much as 3 feet of silt this year. But it reopened Tuesday, just in time for the fall colors to start to turn.
Minnesota Supreme Court rejects Line 3 pipeline challenges
The decision means that state regulators can begin the process of fixing the controversial project’s environmental review, which is required before Enbridge Energy may obtain the permits it needs to begin construction.
The Governor's Biofuels Council will have 15 members, including representatives of the agriculture, biofuels and transportation industries, as well as environmental and conservation groups.
Vineyards facing an insect invasion may turn to aliens for help
A stowaway from China, the spotted lanternfly, is eating its way across Pennsylvania, killing trees and grapevines. Scientists are considering importing the bug's natural enemies from back home.
A fire lookout discusses what's lost in a transition to technology
The number of manned fire lookouts in the U.S. is dwindling, as technology is increasingly used to spot and monitor wildfires. But can technology fully replace the human eye?