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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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Climate Cast

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

Climate scientists: Global warming 'extremely likely' man-made

Climate scientists: Global warming 'extremely likely' man-made

Scientists can now say with extreme confidence that human activity is the dominant cause of the global warming observed since the 1950s, a new report by an international scientific group said Friday.

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DNA test confirms ID of wolf that bit Minn. teen

The wolf had deformities that might have limited its ability to hunt, which may have contributed to its unusual behavior.
by Dan Kraker

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After floods, Colorado's water full of filth and oil

More than 37,000 gallons of oil and bacteria from raw sewage and animal excrement from feed lots have also spilled into floodwaters. Overall, state officials are warning people to stay away from the water.

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Poll: Majority of Minnesotans unaware of proposed sulfide mining projects

Poll: Majority of Minnesotans unaware of proposed sulfide mining projects

Although the U.S. House passed a bill last week to speed up government review of gold, copper, silver and uranium mining, most Minnesotans are still unaware of efforts to increase mining in the state.

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Pollution control upgrades approved for coal plant

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission has approved a plan by Duluth-based Minnesota Power to install pollution control upgrades at one of the state's largest coal-fired power plants. The $350 million project is expected to reduce mercury emissions.
by Dan Kraker

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Council recommends Legacy funds for fight against invasives

In what state lake associations are calling a landmark event, the Lessard Sams Outdoor Heritage Council is recommending funding aquatic invasive species programs for lake associations in Minnesota.
by Dan Gunderson

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Rooftop farming is getting off the ground

While farmers in post-industrial cities like Detroit and Cleveland are claiming unused land for cultivation, in New York and Chicago, land comes at a high premium. That's why farmers there are increasingly eyeing spaces that they might not have to wrestle from developers: rooftops that are already green.

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Mississippi River's 1926 dead zone holds lessons for Gulf of Mexico today

Mississippi River's 1926 dead zone holds lessons for Gulf of Mexico today

Here in the land of 10,000 lakes, zebra mussels and Asian carp have generally topped the list of recent marine environmental concerns. But in the 1920s, before wastewater treatment plants were built, there were far bigger problems.
by Elizabeth Dunbar and Matt Sepic

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Bartender bounces bear from Juneau bar

A black bear walked into the bar at the Alaskan Hotel in downtown Juneau on Monday night and was promptly shooed away by the bartender.

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What 95% certainty of warming means to scientists

Top scientists from a variety of fields say they are about as certain that global warming is a real, man-made threat as they are that cigarettes kill.

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