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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The United States cut its energy-related carbon dioxide pollution by 3.8 percent last year, the second biggest drop since 1990, the Department of Energy said Monday.
5 x 8:  The  Airpocalypse
When regulations are a good idea, the end of Miami is near, the passing of the last Minnesota survivor of the USS Indianapolis, helping Dusan Travica, and what sustainability looks like.
Xcel Energy Sherco plant returns to service after repairs
Nearly two years after a failure of one of its units led to extensive damage, Xcel Energy's Sherburne County Generating Station is back to normal.
Two Utah men already facing possible criminal charges for purposely toppling an ancient rock formation in a state park have now been removed from their posts as Boy Scout leaders and will no longer be allowed to lead scouting troops.
Fighting erosion along Minnesota's river bluffs
When severe flooding this summer worsened erosion around many of the region's cold-water trout streams, environmentalists searched for ways to keep soil out of the water without breaking local government budgets. They decided to try walls of trees.
The owners of a building near the Chain of Lakes in Minneapolis could face a lawsuit from the city for discharging thousands of gallons of water an hour into the nearby lakes through a storm sewer.
A frugal wall of trees may save eroding Riceford Creek
Southeast Minnesota's high, sandy river bluffs make for some beautiful trout fishing, but that beauty comes at a cost: When it rains, the bluffs routinely send tons of sediment sliding into the cold-water streams, threatening the ecosystem. Severe flooding this summer worsened the erosion, challenging conservationists to find a remedy that wouldn't break the bank. They decided to try walls of trees. Here's what that effort looks like on Riceford Creek, near Spring Grove.
The Lewis & Clark Regional Water System is supposed to deliver Missouri River water to southwest Minnesota. But construction ended when Congress failed to deliver promised funding.
A fight over vineyards pits redwoods against red wine
Environmental groups in Santa Rosa, Calif., are fighting to stop a Spanish-owned winery from leveling 154 acres of coast redwoods and Douglas firs to make way for grapevines. Redwoods only grow in the relatively cool coastal region of Northern California and southern Oregon. Parts of this range, such as northwestern Sonoma County, have become increasingly coveted by winemakers.