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.

EQB report sums up frac sand mining issues
The Minnesota Environmental Quality Board has produced a report on silica sand mining. The EQB is a multi-agency oversight body that received a petition to do an in-depth study of the possible environmental effects of frac sand mining.
Minneapolis and St. Paul go dark for Earth Hour
City buildings in Minneapolis and St. Paul will go dark for an hour on Earth Day as part of a global climate change event.
A Minnesota filmmaker says he hopes his documentary about frac sand mining will help policy makers understand how the issue is affecting residents and communities.
The Sierra Club is harshly criticizing a new partnership that aims to create tough new standards for hydraulic fracturing.
Government forecasters say much of the United States can expect a warm spring and persistent drought.
Steve Ellis is one of four beekeepers from across the country who allege that the EPA has failed to protect bees from pesticides.
Companion bills in the Minnesota House and Senate addressing environmental and health concerns related frac sand mining have been approved by policy committees and now move to finance panels.
Dayton defends his criticism of EPA at Duluth town hall
At a town hall in Duluth last night, Governor Mark Dayton defended a statement he made last week critical of the EPA, saying "one of the real problems we have with government right now is these overlapping layers of jurisdiction."
Severe hurricanes may become more common along the East Coast
Climate change may bring bigger hurricanes more often on the Eastern Seaboard. The effect on tornadoes remains unclear.