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.

Parks in nonwhite areas are half the size of ones in majority-white areas, study says
Amid high temperatures and a pandemic, green spaces are a lifeline. But new data shows parks in low-income and nonwhite areas are smaller and more crowded than those in high-income and white areas.
Food is growing more plentiful, so why do people keep warning of shortages?
For more than a century, food has been getting more abundant, and cheaper. Yet people keep worrying about food shortages. Some economists say the fears actually create their own problems.
What the pandemic has revealed about climate change views, activism
The early months of the pandemic saw a short decline in air pollutant levels and the usage of fossil fuels. But while the green effects may be fleeting, the pandemic has offered a variety of lessons for climate change activists about how to move forward with the movement. We explore what’s ahead for climate change education and activism.
Author ventures into the Russian wilds to save a magnificent owl
Ornithologist and writer Jonathan Slaght spent several frigid winters camping in the forests of the Russian Far East. He was there to study the biggest owl in the world, which survived by eating fish snatched out of holes in the river ice.
Did you get mystery seeds in the mail? Don't plant them
Officials are warning recipients not to plant the seeds and introduce potentially invasive plants to the state. The Agriculture Department isn’t sure what plants the seeds are from, but warn they could pose a risk to farm crops or natural landscapes.