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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.

Submit a question or story for Getting to Green here.

Climate Cast

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

How a COP26 delegate faces her ecological anxiety

How a COP26 delegate faces her ecological anxiety

Many Minnesotans feel anxiety and grief about the ravages of climate change. Dr. Laalitha Surapaneni, who just returned to Minnesota from the United Nations COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, told host Cathy Wurzer about the reasons she sees for concern — and hope.
by Cathy Wurzer and Kelly Gordon

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Minn. to ask some industries to monitor for ‘forever chemicals’

Minn. to ask some industries to monitor for ‘forever chemicals’

The draft plan targets state-permitted facilities that likely use or discharge PFAS or have in the past — including chrome platers, auto shredders, landfills, airports and wastewater treatment plants. 
by Kirsti Marohn

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Amazon birds are shrinking as the climate warms, prompting warning from scientists

Amazon birds are shrinking as the climate warms, prompting warning from scientists

A new study examined 77 bird species in the Amazon over a 40-year period. It found they were rapidly evolving due to rising temperatures because smaller birds shed heat more efficiently.
by Christopher Intagliata and Lauren Hodges

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Minnesotans return from climate summit energized despite its shortcomings

Minnesotans return from climate summit energized despite its shortcomings

More than 60 Minnesotans have returned home after spending up to two weeks in Scotland at the United Nations climate change summit known as COP26. The delegates say they're energized from the experience, but that a lot more work needs to be done to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.
by Dan Kraker

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This Colorado 'solar garden' is literally a farm under solar panels

This Colorado 'solar garden' is literally a farm under solar panels

The newly passed federal infrastructure bill could lead to a boom in solar production requiring a lot more land, including farmland. But research is showing solar panels might actually help some crops grow.
by Kirk Siegler

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Here's what world leaders agreed to — and what they didn't — at the UN climate summit

Here's what world leaders agreed to — and what they didn't — at the UN climate summit

The agreement was built from compromises on many fronts, including a last-minute effort by India to weaken efforts to phase out coal. Still, it broke new ground in creating a worldwide consensus to transition away from fossil fuels and to speed up countries' ambitions to cut emissions faster.
by Lauren Sommer

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Nations strike climate deal with coal compromise

Nations strike climate deal with coal compromise

Almost 200 nations accepted a contentious climate compromise Saturday aimed at keeping a key global warming target alive, but it contained a last-minute change that some high officials called a watering down of crucial language about coal.
by The Associated Press

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As climate worsens, environmentalists also grapple with the mental toll of activism

As climate worsens, environmentalists also grapple with the mental toll of activism

After her son's death, a mother in the Midwest promotes mental health for environmentalists. It's part of a larger push to address the burnout and psychological stress that can affect activists.
by Alex Smith

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Coastal tribes in Oregon hope to bring sea otters back to their community

Coastal tribes in Oregon hope to bring sea otters back to their community

Sea otters were hunted to near extinction along the U.S. West Coast. During the century they have been away, a lucrative shellfish industry has grown in the waters where restoration would take place.
by Amy Mayer

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