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.

Smelt wrestling, carp trains and other local fish tales
Where did lutefisk come from? And why did Congress ship Minnesota carp by the carload? Eric Dregni's book, "Let's Go Fishing!", shares fishy trivia and traditions from around the region.
Neal Shusterman and Sy Montgomery on the human mind and the animal mind
A "National Book Awards at Concordia College" event in Moorhead, featuring Neal Shusterman, author of "Challenger Deep," and Sy Montgomery, author of "The Soul of an Octopus." Shusterman's award-winning book explores the human mind and mental illness, Montgomery's book explores the animal mind. NPR's John Ydstie was the moderator at Concordia College in Moorhead.
Barrier completed to block Asian carp from Great Lakes
Environmental officials are celebrating the completion of a nearly 2-mile-long, 80-foot-wide earthen berm designed to keep Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes.
California governor makes some water restrictions permanent
Amid a persistent drought, Gov. Jerry Brown is permanently banning wasteful water practices like hosing pavement. His executive order does allow some districts to loosen water restrictions, though.
Bee colony losses up from last year, study says
Bee colony losses were 3.5 percent higher than the previous year, according to an annual survey done by the Bee Informed Partnership.
Who gets the scarce water?
An MPR Water Month program from the Commonwealth Club's "Climate One" series. Part 1: Almonds and lawns. Part 2: Reinventing water. Part 3: Climate change and extreme weather.
It's good to be a tick in Minnesota
In just a few decades, the blood-sucking arachnids have spread to almost all forested areas of the state. So has Lyme disease, which the ticks carry.
Boaty by another name: 'Sir David Attenborough' is chosen for research ship
Boaty McBoatface received more than 124,000 votes in an online poll by Britain's Natural Environment Research Council — more than 10 times the 11,000 votes for Attenborough's name.
The environmental cost of growing food
Economists are working on ways to put a price on the environmental damage of growing food. Take sugar: Half of what we eat comes from beets, half from cane. Each has an impact, in very different ways.