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.

McConnell plans to bring Green New Deal to Senate vote
The Senate majority leader wants to put the massive progressive climate change framework to a vote. Its Democratic sponsor is not pleased by the move from the top Senate Republican.
North Dakota to sue feds over pipeline protest police costs
North Dakota will sue the federal government to try to recoup the $38 million it spent policing the prolonged protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline — a tactic one expert believes has little chance of success.
To protect imperiled salmon, fish advocates want to shoot some gulls
Biologists think gulls are eating more juvenile salmon than they thought, and fish advocates are proposing to kill problem gulls. But opponents say dam modification is what's needed to protect salmon.
The Twin Cities will feel like Kansas in 61 years
While the underlying science isn't new, the publication of new "climatic analogs" for 540 urban areas in North America aims to illustrate for the general public how significantly altered the climate will be without significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Heading south: Warming to change how U.S. cities feel in 2080
The climate in New York City in 60 years could feel like Arkansas now. Chicago could seem like Kansas City and San Francisco could get a Southern California climate if global warming pollution continues at the current pace, a new study finds.
Are there eco-friendly alternatives to road salt?
The chloride in road salt corrodes vehicles and bridges and can be harmful to pets -- and it has an outsize impact on water quality in the rivers, lakes and streams that capture its runoff. So now, public works agencies and homeowners alike are on the lookout for safer alternatives. A single answer has proven elusive.
Walz's Commerce Dept. to renew Line 3 appeal
Last summer, state utility regulators approved the controversial $2.6 billion pipeline replacement project. Former Gov. Mark Dayton's administration appealed that decision. Walz announced Tuesday his administration will file its own challenge.
Tree-munching insects likely to survive cold
Several species of destructive tree-eating insects — some native to Minnesota, others not — actually are cold-hardy enough that they'll likely survive until spring.