Climate

Rochester-based power provider pledges to be 80 percent carbon-free in 10 years
Currently the Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency gets much of its power from the coal-fired Sherco 3 power plant in Becker, Minn. But Sherco 3’s majority owner, Xcel Energy, announced last year it intends to retire the plant in 2030.
Antarctica hit 65 degrees this week — potential record high for the continent
WMO says the Antarctic Peninsula on the continent's northwest tip near South America is among the fastest warming regions on Earth. Temperatures there have risen almost 3 degrees Celsius over the last half-century.
High water wreaks havoc on Great Lakes, swamping communities
The five inland seas are bursting at the seams during the region's wettest period in more than a century, which scientists say is likely connected to the warming climate. And no relief is in sight. Meanwhile, the toll is extensive: accelerated erosion; homes and businesses flooded; roads and sidewalks crumbled; beaches washed away; parks rendered unusable.
Some Midwest farmers see hope in Democrats' climate platforms
A small group of farmers in Iowa believe they’ve influenced the field of Democratic presidential candidates to focus more on climate change and how agriculture can be part of the solution to global warming.
MN students were in Puerto Rico learning about energy resilience when a quake knocked the power out
The students got a front-row seat to the kind of scenarios they’ll be planning for as future regional planners and civic leaders. The frequency and intensity of disasters such as storms, fires and flooding are expected to worsen under climate change.
For state utility regulators, it’s Line 3 all over again
More than a year and a half after regulators at the state Public Utilities Commission first approved the oil pipeline replacement project, they’re being asked to consider it again. A state court overturned the project's environmental review last summer, and the PUC now has to decide whether to approve a revised assessment.
State regulators to hear public comments on Line 3 pipeline project once again
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved the project, which would replace an aging Enbridge Energy oil pipeline across northern Minnesota, in June 2018. But last summer, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that the project first needed a revised environmental study in order to move forward. On Friday, the PUC will hear public comments on the new study.