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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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The Amazon rainforest, ablaze in Brazil

The Amazon rainforest, ablaze in Brazil

There have been 74,155 fires in Brazil so far this year, mostly in the Amazon, and about half of which have ignited in just the past month. Some world leaders are raising the alarm.
by Suzette Lohmeyer

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Macron urges G7 members to put Amazon fires at top of agenda

Macron urges G7 members to put Amazon fires at top of agenda

In a tweet, the French president called the 2,500 active fires in the Amazon an "international crisis" and urged fellow G7 members to "discuss this emergency first order" at their upcoming summit.
by Scott Neuman

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North Dakota agency disregarded policy on spill reporting

North Dakota's Health Department disregarded its own policy in updating the volume of a 2015 pipeline spill at a natural gas processing plant, and it remains unclear whether promised quarterly inspections of the site have been done in the past two years as cleanup continued.
by The Associated Press

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Chemical fingerprints point to fracking as culprit behind new methane emissions

Chemical fingerprints point to fracking as culprit behind new methane emissions

Scientists have been debating what’s behind a recent spike in methane emissions. A new study ties the spike to shale gas emitted through fracking, and sounds the alarm for reducing natural gas use.
by Paul Huttner and Megan Burks

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Weevils a tiny weapon in Christmas Lake's invasives fight

Weevils a tiny weapon in Christmas Lake's invasives fight

An experiment to control invasive watermilfoil with the help of a native beetle is underway in the Twin Cities’ western suburbs — and it’s being conducted by a group of high school students.
by Kirsti Marohn

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UN: Don't worry about drinking microplastics in water

UN: Don't worry about drinking microplastics in water

The World Health Organization says the levels of microplastics in drinking water don't appear to be risky, but that research has been spotty and more is needed into their effects on the environment and health.
by The Associated Press

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More U.S. towns are feeling the pinch as recycling becomes costlier

More U.S. towns are feeling the pinch as recycling becomes costlier

The U.S. recycling industry is facing a quandary: Too much of the plastic we use can't be recycled, and taxpayers increasingly are on the hook for paying for all that trash to hit the landfills.
by Rebecca Davis

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2015 North Dakota liquid gas spill much bigger than reported

A 2015 pipeline spill of liquid natural gas in western North Dakota initially reported as just 10 gallons is at least hundreds of thousands of gallons larger and may take another decade to clean up, state health officials said.
by The Associated Press

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