Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now

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.

Submit a question or story for Getting to Green here.

Climate Cast

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

As ice melts, Arctic issues heat up

New sea routes beckon, as do mineral and energy opportunities.

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Fates of wild rice, mining intertwined in northern Minn.

Fates of wild rice, mining intertwined in northern Minn.

A 40-year-old state law limits how much of a mining byproduct called "sulfate" can be discharged into wild rice producing waters. Prompted by mining industry concerns that the standard is too stringent, the state has been giving it another look.
by Dan Kraker

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
State's newest renewable energy plant converts manure, veggie waste

State's newest renewable energy plant converts manure, veggie waste

The plant in Le Sueur, Minn. uses tiny organisms to break down a a slurry of corn silage and manure to create methane gas to fuel four electricity generators that will send eight megawatts directly to the city's distribution system.
by Mark Steil

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Feds warn Bakken oil may be more volatile than traditional forms of oil

Feds warn Bakken oil may be more volatile than traditional forms of oil

The warning comes after the massive explosion caused by an oil train derailment on Monday near Casselton, N.D. No one was hurt, but worries about toxic fumes prompted the evacuation of hundreds of residents from the small eastern North Dakota town.
by The Associated Press

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
How mass-produced meat turned phosphorus into pollution

How mass-produced meat turned phosphorus into pollution

It's a quandary of food production: The same drive for efficiency that lowers the cost of eating also can damage our soil and water. Take the case of one simple, essential chemical element: phosphorus.
by Dan Charles

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!
Federal flood insurance program is drowning in debt. Who will pay?

Federal flood insurance program is drowning in debt. Who will pay?

Before a disaster, FEMA helps with flood insurance -- cheap flood insurance. You can buy a FEMA flood insurance policy for about half the "actuarial" rate private insurers would offer. (The actuarial rate more accurately reflects the value of a property at risk.) But now FEMA has a problem. "We are $24 billion in debt," its director says.
by Christopher Joyce

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

More snowy owls visiting Minn. this winter

Minnesota is getting a few extra visitors from Canada this year: We're in the middle of an irruption of snowy owls.
by Steven John

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!