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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Climate Cast

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

Scientists want you to mail dead butterflies for research if you live in these states
The USGS wants to test if butterflies and other insects are being hurt by contaminants, such as those in pesticides. It's seeking specimens from Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas.
Reducing the carbon footprint of the cannabis industry
Recreational marijuana is now officially legal in Minnesota but this may not be great news for the climate given the intense greenhouse gas emissions of growing the plant indoors. So as the cannabis industry continues to expand, how can it reduce its massive carbon footprint?
Minnesota Supreme Court deals another setback to proposed NorthMet mine
The Minnesota Supreme Court has dealt another blow to the proposed NorthMet copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota, sending a key water quality permit back to state regulators for additional work.
Withering heat is more common, but getting AC is still a struggle in public housing
Many people in public housing are especially vulnerable to extreme heat, and there's no federal requirement for air conditioning. That leaves some tenants struggling to pay for it on their own.
DNR confirms new Line 3 aquifer breach in northern Minnesota
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources confirmed it’s investigating the rupture near Moose Lake, south of Hill City in Aitkin County in an area with complex wetlands and peat bogs. It’s the fourth confirmed breach of a groundwater aquifer along the Line 3 corridor.
How much is climate change fueling intense heat across the world?
The heat is on for Minnesota this week and heat waves are making news across the world. How can scientists gauge when heat events are normal and when they’re fueled by climate change?
On the structure that once supported enclosed monorail trains, the new open-air, at-your-own-pace Treetop Trail loops for more than a mile through the forest canopy at the 485-acre zoo in Apple Valley, Minn.