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The Senate is due to vote Wednesday on the controversial deal to extend tax cuts and unemployment benefits that both due to expire soon. Minnesota's U.S. Senators and others successfully pushed to add into that bill an extension of ethanol subsidies. Minnesota is the country's fourth largest producer of ethanol. MPR's Cathy Wurzer spoke with Mike Jerke, the general manager of Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company.
What's next for the environmental movement?
The Cancun Climate Change Conference has received little attention, and efforts to pass a cap and trade bill through Congress appear to be dormant. Meanwhile, recent polling has shown climate change to be low on people's list of concerns. Has the moment for action on climate change passed?
Minnesota and North Dakota are at odds over the environmental costs of generating electricity. The dispute could end up in court, and it's not the first time the two states squared off over this issue.
In a new case about climate change, the Supreme Court will hear an appeal from electric utilities, including Minnesota's Xcel Energy, that are trying to short-circuit an effort by states to force cuts in power plant emissions.