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.

Droughts, wildfire smoke clouds outlook for agriculture - and concern for farmers’ health
The increasing drought and smoke from Canadian wildfires are adding to Minnesota farmers’ challenges this summer. But there’s a debate over whether the smoke may actually help as it shields already drought-stressed crops.
Researchers in Duluth turn streams purple to help measure effectiveness of restoration
Researchers in Duluth this week temporarily turned a trout stream purple, part of a broader project to determine the effectiveness of stream restoration projects in the region.
Nature-based preschools encourage kids to connect with the world around them
Dodge Nature Preschool in West St. Paul was one of the first nature-based preschools in the country that helps kids learn and connect to nature year-round. The number of these schools has more than quadrupled since some of the first started in the early 2000s.
How to weatherize and super insulate your home to become more energy efficient
One of the biggest opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is weatherizing and super insulating existing homes and buildings. And lawmakers this year set aside a big chunk of money to help people do just that. So how can you get started?
Biden frames his clean energy plan as a jobs plan, obscuring his record on climate
President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act invests $369 billion to address the climate crisis. But as the president focuses on the law's economic benefits, is his climate win getting lost?
Coping with a future of smoky skies and poor air quality
Minnesota has experienced its worst air quality on record this year. MPR News host Angela Davis talks about what creates polluted air, why we may see more with climate change and how to cope with it.
Minnesota's oak trees are in danger. How Minnesota foresters are working to save them
The Minnesota DNR’s forestry health program, working with the state Department of Agriculture and other partners, are the CDC of tree health in Minnesota.