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 man who has run the Superior National Forest for 15 sometimes tumultuous years is retiring at the end of December.
Christmas tree growers push 'green' message
Christmas tree growers are trying to capitalize on their message that their products are good for the earth with a growing environmentally conscious segment of the population, including the young.
Budget cuts imperil environmental programs, along with health and safety
A 24-state survey by the national association of state environmental agency leaders showed agency budgets decreasing by an average of $12 million in 2011. The Washington, D.C.-based group also says federal grants to help states administer new federal Environmental Protection Agency rules regarding air and water quality also have waned.
Push to keep invasives out driving force behind ballast water measures
The quest to stop invasive species from reaching the Great Lakes in the ballast water of ocean-going ships is moving forward, but there's a lot of argument over how strict requirements should be.
UN: Concentrations of greenhouse gases hit record
Concentrations of carbon dioxide up 39 percent since the start of the industrial era in 1750, the U.N. weather agency said Monday.
Science panel: Get ready, global warming means more wild weather
"We need to be worried," said one of the study's lead authors, Maarten van Aalst, director of the International Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre in the Netherlands. "And our response needs to anticipate disasters and reduce risk before they happen.
Paying for past choices: Cities struggle with infrastructure
Many Minnesota cities are stuck with unfinished housing projects and empty industrial parks and infrastructure expansions that once looked promising but now feel burdensome.
Chippewa County will be the first in Minnesota in four decades to offer a bounty on coyotes.
US House OKs creating new ballast water standard
The U.S. House passed a bill Tuesday that would create a national standard for cleaning ballast water in ships.