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.

States move to blunt Obama carbon plan
The push against Obama's new carbon emission standards has been strongest in some states that have large coal-mining industries or rely heavily on coal to fuel their electricity.
Study finds medical pot farms draining streams dry
State fish and wildlife officials say much of the marijuana being grown in northern counties under California's medical pot law is not being used for legal, personal use, but for sale both in California and states where pot is still illegal.
Minneapolis' biggest buildings enlisted to fight climate change
The largest buildings in Minneapolis must meet a June 1 deadline to report their energy and water use to the city. That data will eventually become public, and city officials hope it will lead those who manage and use those buildings to find ways to use less energy.
Your take: The Tucson water use model
MPR News' water reporting from Tucson generated a strong response from listeners and readers. Hear what some said about potential lessons for Minnesota and join the conversation.
Rain Man: How one Tucson resident harvests the rain
Brad Lancaster, perhaps the nation's expert on capturing and using rainwater, creates an oasis in the desert where he lives. And what he used to do illegally is now sanctioned by the city and imitated by neighbors.
Biologists from the Fond du Lac Band of Chippewa found zebra mussels on an aluminum can in Crooked Lake in Lake County, DNR officials said today. Further searches of the lake found more zebra mussels.
It's mosquito season: How to keep them at bay
The Twin Cities' annual war against mosquitoes is set to shift into full gear as mosquito control crews start spraying adult mosquitoes in the northern suburbs as early as this week.
What Minnesota can learn from Arizona about water
In a groundwater Q and A with MPR News reporter Dan Kraker, University of Arizona water expert and author Robert Glennon says Minnesota's water situation is not all that different from that in dry Arizona.
Lawmakers: Closing lock best option to hold back carp
President Barack Obama is expected to sign legislation soon that includes a plan to close the Upper St. Anthony Falls lock to all boat traffic within a year to prevent the spread of invasive carp.
MPR News reporter Dan Kraker joins The Daily Circuit to talk about his reporting in Arizona and what lessons Minnesota can learn.