Climate Change in Minnesota: About the project

St. Paul, Minn.

February 2, 2015

The special report Climate Change in Minnesota is the result of more than six months of reporting by MPR News. It's an effort to explore the reality of climate change in Minnesota and how people are adapting to it. It included an examination of voluminous data and interviews with scores of scientists, state and local officials, farmers, foresters, health experts, weather observers, policy makers and residents.

We launched our reporting efforts by convening informal panels and interviewing scientists and others to guide our initial work.

Included were:

Larry Jacobson, University of Minnesota Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, professor and extension engineer.

Paul Moss, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, climate adaptation coordinator.

Andy Holdsworth, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, science policy coordinator.

Peter Snyder, University of Minnesota Department Soil, Water and Climate and Department of Forest Resources, associate professor.

Mark Seeley, University of Minnesota Department of Soil, Water and Climate, professor.

John Abraham, University of St. Thomas, School of Engineering, professor.

Randy Neprash, Minnesota Cities Stormwater Coalition.

Kristin Raab, Minnesota Department of Health, climate and health program director.

Varadarajan Chari, University of Minnesota Department of Economics, founding director of the Heller-Hurwicz Economics Institute.

Hari Osofsky, University of Minnesota, professor of law.

Bob Johnson, Insurance Federation of Minnesota, president.

Greg Spoden, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, state climatologist.

Pete Boulay, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, assistant state climatologist.

Lee Frelich, University of Minnesota Department of Forest Resources, research associate and director of the Center for Forest Resources.

Learn more

Minnesota

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report 2015. Minnesota is failing to meet the goals it set for itself in 2007 to reduce carbon emissions.

Adapting to Climate Change in Minnesota. A 2013 collaboration among state agencies and educational institutions on climate trends in the state.

Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group Final Report April 2008. First state recommendations for dealing with greenhouse gases, a report to the Legislature commissioned by Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Minnesota Climate and Health Profile Report 2015. A Minnesota Department of Health assessment of climate change impacts and potential health burdens.

Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment October 2014. Minnesota Department of Health assessment of which populations are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

National

Climate Change Indicators in the United States, 2014. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's latest summary of climate change indicators and impacts.

National Climate Assessment. A continuing report on climate change in the United States, compiled by the U.S. Global Change Research Program's panel of hundreds of scientists.

Risky Business. June 2014 assessment of the economic risks of climate change in the United States. Heat in the Heartland. January 2015 assessment of economic risks in the Midwest by the Risky Business Project.

The Heat is On: U.S. Temperature Trends. A June 2012 report by Climate Central on state by state temperature trends.

State and Local Adaptation Plans Georgetown Climate Center summarty of government plans for climate change adaptation.

Carbon footprint and resilience tools

U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit. Resources and information for addressing climate change, produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Household Carbon Footprint Calculator. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

What's My Carbon Footprint? The Nature Conservancy.

CoolClimate Carbon Footprint tools for households, businesses, communities. CoolClimate Network at University of California Berkeley.

What's My Carbon Footprint?Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.

Carbon footprint calculator. Climate Friendly.