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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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Listen to Climate Cast, the MPR News podcast all about our changing climate and its impact in Minnesota and worldwide.

Fond du Lac Band to spear walleye in 13 lakes

Fond du Lac Band to spear walleye in 13 lakes

The quotas for individual lakes range from 304 walleyes from Tait Lake north of Lutsen in Cook County to 59 for Cadotte Lake southeast of Hoyt Lakes in St. Louis County.
by Dan Kraker

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The future of clean, green fish farming could be indoor factories

The future of clean, green fish farming could be indoor factories

Aquaculture in the U.S. has lagged because of opposition from environmentalists and people living on the coast. But entrepreneurs say they've found a way to produce fish on land with little pollution.
by Dan Charles

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Change to St. Paul's recycling starts this week

Change to St. Paul's recycling starts this week

Starting Monday, St. Paul residents will be able to put all their recyclables together in one bin for curbside pickup. City officials say they hope it boosts recycling, which has stagnated in recent years.
by Jon Collins

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Unchecked irrigation threatens to sap Minnesota groundwater

Unchecked irrigation threatens to sap Minnesota groundwater

An MPR News investigation shows that several hundred Minnesota farmers are probably pumping groundwater to irrigate their crops without required permits, making it harder for the state to understand and regulate what's happening to a water resource increasingly seen as vulnerable.
by Mark Steil

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How we did the irrigation well permit story

How MPR News found hundreds of irrigation wells pumping groundwater without a required state permit.
by Dave Peters

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Newbie urban gardeners may not be aware of soil's dirty legacy

Newbie urban gardeners may not be aware of soil's dirty legacy

According to figures just released by the National Gardening Association, the number of American growing food in urban areas increased 29 percent between 2008 and 2013 from 7 million to 9 million people. But many of these city-dwelling gardeners still aren't aware of how to grow food in urban soil safely, according to a study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University's Center for a Livable Future.
by Maanvi Singh

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Feds hope $5 billion settlement a lesson for polluters

Feds hope $5 billion settlement a lesson for polluters

This week, the federal government announced a record-breaking $5 billion settlement in a remarkable environmental case. The toxic legacy of the company involved, Kerr-McGee, stretches back 85 years and includes scores of sites across the country.
by Elizabeth Shogren

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Quam named Nature Conservancy's chief operating officer

Quam named Nature Conservancy's chief operating officer

Lois Quam had recently served as a special adviser to U.S. Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry focusing on global health and public-private partnerships.
by Elizabeth Dunbar

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Enbridge oil pipeline expansion plan spurs heated debate

Enbridge oil pipeline expansion plan spurs heated debate

Several hundred activists gathered Thursday to speak for an against a plan by Enbridge Energy to expand an oil pipeline project.
by Elizabeth Dunbar

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US reaches $5.15 billion environmental settlement

The federal government on Thursday reached a $5.15 billion settlement with Anadarko Petroleum Corp., the largest ever for environmental contamination, to settle claims related to the cleanup of thousands of sites tainted with hazardous chemicals for decades.
by The Associated Press

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