Climate Cast

Tech companies are looking to the land of 10,000 lakes as a suitable environment to expand their data footprint.About 10 tech giants, such as Microsoft and Meta, are vying to build data centers in Minnesota to support their growing AI networks. “The Midwest is kind of a big emerging market right now,” said Nick Halter, a Twin Cities reporter for Axios. “That's because we have abundant water, which oftentimes is used to cool these [centers] down, and also because we have much cooler temperatures.”That’s because data centers in cooler climates require less energy to cool their facilities than those in warm Southern states. Some tech companies are also targeting Minnesota because of the state’s renewable energy mandates, Halter said. “The big question here is: How can we get to a place where we have 100 percent renewable energy in Minnesota, which is our goal, while the 10 proposed [data centers] would be the equivalent of the entire state's households’ electricity use?” To hear the full conversation w

The mighty Mississippi, which flows from its headwaters in northern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, has topped an endangered rivers list.A report from nonprofit conservation organization American Rivers states that a combination of extreme flood, drought cycles, toxic runoff, and poor river management threatens the Mississippi. The 2,300-mile-long river is a water source for more than 50 cities in the U.S., including several in Minnesota.Cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (better known as FEMA) are also a concern.“There's just a lot of questions about what's going to happen to that agency,” said MPR News correspondent Kirsti Marohn​. “FEMA plays a role in reducing flood risks and supporting resilient development in communities along the river, and then also helping communities prepare for disasters and recover from them.” Marohn covers central Minnesota communities, water and the environment. She joined MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner to explain the threats the river is facing.

Writer Tamara Dean knew she wanted to live lightly on the planet. Her search to live a productive life while lowering her carbon footprint led her to the Driftless Area of Wisconsin — also known as Bluff Country and the Paleozoic Plateau — with dreams of become a homesteader. Dean shares her experience in her new memoir “Shelter and Storm: At Home in the Driftless.” She spoke to MPR chief meteorologist Paul Huttner for Climate Cast.The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity and length.What prompted you to write this book? I had been spending most of my days in an office, like a lot of people in front of computers, and my partner, David, and I decided we wanted to live healthier lifestyles. We also wanted to live out our environmental principles. We didn't know where exactly we wanted to start over, but when we drove around the Driftless Area, which is mostly in the southwestern corner of Wisconsin, we recognized that this was a place where we wanted to live. You talk about being a citizen sc

There’s a warming trend in cities across American, and that’s extending allergy season for millions of Americans. A new study by Climate Central found five cities in Minnesota have increased their pollen season — in some cases by nearly a month. The Twin Cities allergy season has expanded by 27 days, Duluth is seeing an average of 24 extra days of allergy season, while Mankato is experiencing 11 and Rochester is averaging 10 extra days, said Kristoffer Tigue, a reporter for the Minnesota Star Tribune. “It’s not just the extended pollen season that the studies have have shown are are making allergies worse for people,” said Tigue. “The plants themselves are growing larger, and that’s because there’s more carbon dioxide in the air. There’s even research that suggests that the pollen itself is becoming more allergenic.”To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast

Minnesota experienced a seasonably cold but relatively snowless winter. Now, the spring months are making up for lost time by dumping sloppy snowstorms. State climatologist Pete Boulay said what Minnesota is seeing is over time is a different start and end times for the seasons. “Winter is shifting around a bit,” said Boulay. “We’re not seeing as big of snow storms in November like we used to, but April is becoming a shining moment of winter.” Boulay said winters have also lost their cold edge. Minnesota isn’t dipping into subzero temperatures like it used to, and each season is getting hard to predict. “I couldn’t even tell you what next winter is going to be like right now, because anything could happen.”To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

By creating the Snow, Ice and Permafrost Research Establishment (SIPRE) in 1949, the U.S. military became one of the earliest climate research groups on the planet. The group’s mission was to study the science and engineering of the warming Arctic and the national security implications that could follow. University of Vermont professor and geoscientist Paul Bierman wrote about this in his book, “When the Ice Is Gone: What a Greenland Ice Core Reveals About Earth’s Tumultuous History and Perilous Future.”He spoke to MPR chief meteorologist Paul Huttner for Climate Cast. The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity and length.How and when did the U.S. military become interested with climate changes in the Arctic? They actually got interested during World War II, when they occupied parts of Greenland in part to rescue bomber and fighter pilots who'd landed on the ice and realized how ill-equipped they were to operate in frozen environments. They really stepped it up, though, in the early to mid-5

Wind and solar are among the cheapest energy sources available today, but even when clean-energy projects are ready to go, a cumbersome permit process is slowing down their implementation. Allison Prang wrote a New York Times article about a Minnesota experiment to cut the red tape that is impeding the state’s ability to achieve its clean-energy goals. She spoke to MPR chief meteorologist Paul Huttner about her reporting.  The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity and length. Minnesota has a goal of carbon-free on the electric grid by 2040. How does this new law help speed up that process?When I talked to Governor Walz, he said it was fair to say that without doing some reform for the state’s permitting process, it would be tough for Minnesota to hit that goal.I talked to one lawyer who works with companies that are working on projects, getting them approved in the state. He said it’s taken some as long as 13 months, and people are hoping that the permanent reform law could shave off the typica

Nick Halter, a Twin Cities reporter at Axios, noticed a peculiar pattern on his morning walks — hundreds of ducks braving subzero temperatures. Many ducks still fly south for the winter months. But climate data shows Minnesota winters have warmed more than five degrees on average since 1970, creating a more tolerable environment for ducks and other birds. These ducks are deciding there’s no reason to make the potentially dangerous journey south when Minnesota’s warming climate provides a habitable environment, he said. “You don’t get as cold, you don’t have as deep of freezes and you have more open water,” said Halter said. Ducks that do stick around have no problem staying warm, Halter said. Insulation from their feathers combined with the counter-current heat exchange manages the temperature of the blood destined for their feet. And the open water provides an ecosystem that makes the decision to stay easier. “They kind of change their diet in the winter time,” said Halter. “When it’s warm, they’ll eat inse

It’s a post-pandemic world, and Minnesota’s greenhouse emissions are following the nationwide trend of going up. Based on recent state data from 2020 to 2022, emissions rose 6.4 percent with transportation and agriculture being the biggest contributors. Now, the state is off-track to meet its climate goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. “I think it will be difficult to meet,” said Walker Orenstein, a reporter with The Minnesota Star Tribune. “As the state has pointed out, if we don’t start seeing big drops in sectors that aren’t the electric sector, then it will be troublesome.” MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner talked to Orenstein about his reporting on the biennial greenhouse gas emissions report. To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

A technology that can slow or stop climate change already exists — and has a history of bipartisan support in Washington. But it has a few hoops to jump through before it can make a bigger impact.The method is called carbon capture, which removes carbon from the atmosphere and stores it deep underground.“You can think of this whole process as essentially putting carbon back where it came from,” said Ben Grove, senior manager for carbon storage with the nonprofit Clean Air Task Force. “Geologic storage has been occurring since the 1970s, mostly in the oil and gas industry, but to date, we’ve stored over a billion tons of Co2 in deep geologic formations.”There’s significant storage potential in the U.S. — but challenges in infrastructure and storage permits may stand in the way of progress. “We’re thinking [carbon capture] needs to be scaled up to the gigaton scales,” Grove said. “But this could grow up to a very large industry — like billions of tons [of carbon capture].”To hear the full conversation, click pl

The Antarctic is warming. This means, the ice sheet in the Antarctic Peninsula is shrinking, and ice is breaking off the continent. “The largest icebergs on the planet are going around the Antarctic Peninsula … because these are breaking off the ice sheets as there’s warming,” said MPR News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard, who recently traveled to Antarctica to witness the effects of climate change first hand. “These giant icebergs are very impressive. And then you realize that [the ice sheet] is going to melt,” he said. “It is melting slowly but surely, and will contribute to sea level rise.”To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

Winter is the fastest-warming season in the Midwest — more than five degrees on average since 1970, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.All that warming is having an impact on ice formation. “Climate change is injecting more energy into our weather systems, and that’s resulting in in just more extreme extremes,” journalist Kristoffer Tigue told MPR’s Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner. Tigue wrote about the shift in ice trends for Inside Climate News. Warmer temperatures could result in a later start for ice formation and a shorter lifespan for lake ice. Add a rapid temperature swing in the middle of winter and the ice can become increasingly unstable.“On some of the hotter winters, there’s spikes in these fatalities related to falling through the ice,” Tigue said.To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

The Trump administration has pivoted to fossil fuels. But one form of renewable energy has still gained support in Washington: Geothermal energy, which uses the warmth of the earth to heat and cool buildings.Minnesota has already tapped into geothermal power in Rochester where the city’s headquarters will soon be provided a future with carbon-free heating and cooling. By digging deep into the ground, geothermal power provides energy 24/7.Geothermal has found support in Washington, “because the technology can be installed by people who’ve worked in the natural gas industry,” energy journalist Frank Jossi told MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner.“It’s a natural fit for people with those skills, [and] it sort of fits with the thinking of the Trump administration in terms of keeping jobs in the natural gas industry and also leveraging new technologies that are being developed in that area.”

President Donald Trump has officially begun his second term. One of his first moves was to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement — again. What will that mean for greenhouse gas emissions and climate solutions?Jonathan Foley is executive director of Project Drawdown.He said, “This is not game over. It’s game on. It means the rest of us have to step up and do a lot more.”Foley shared more insights about the road ahead with MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner.

For some living in the warmer parts of the U.S., extreme weather tied to climate change is enough for them to consider cooler, safer climates.No, Minnesota is not immune from the effects of climate change. But one Minnesota realtor says the state’s northern location is appealing appealing to her clientele from southern U.S. “When you’re talking to people that are coming from all over the place, they do mention [Minnesota is] a more livable lifestyle that makes them feel safer,” said Mary Schumann, a realtor with Keller Williams Realty.Schumann talked with MPR meteorologist Paul Huttner about the role climate change is having in people’s decision to move north. To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

The planet has warmed past the 1.5 degrees Celsius pre-industrial normal temperature. Final confirmation on 2024 being the hottest year on record is expected from NOAA and the European Union, but the effects of climate change on a warming planet is being felt from wild fires in California to the snowless winters in Minnesota. “We’re certainly seeing a lot of dangerous climate change now,” said Jeff Masters with the Yale Climate Connection. “Winters have been the most dramatically affected season of all the seasons. They’re so much warmer now, less ice, less snow.”But there are solutions, he added. “It’s the clean energy revolution.” To hear the full conversation with Jeff Masters and MPR meteorologist Paul Huttner, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

Homeowner and auto insurance rates are rising fast in Minnesota.One policy comparison site, Insurify, shows Minnesota’s auto insurance rates had the highest year-over-year increase in the nation.Climbing insurance rates have plagued Minnesotans in recent years, and one of the leading factors to the rise in premiums is extreme weather events.  “More water vapor that’s in our air, that then turns into things that land on our house — whether it's hail or rain — make bigger claims,” said Grace Arnold, who leads the Minnesota Department of Commerce.“The best thing is to be prepared. That means: Have conversations with your insurance agents. Really shop around. And make sure that you’re thinking about your preparation for when we do have these big storms that are as a result of climate change.” To hear the full conversation with Commerce commissioner Grace Arnold and MPR meteorologist Paul Huttner, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to at least partially repeal the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, and some analysts say it could end up helping China more than the United States.“If you take away the incentives for people to buy the stuff that American manufacturers are making, that weakens the case for investing in American manufacturing,” said Canary Media’s Jeff St. John, who wrote about how killing the EV tax credit could impact an electrified future for the U.S. St. John said the tax credit is a major incentive for car buyers, while also incentivizing automakers and battery manufacturers. “Those investments are making a difference in the lives and jobs and economic development to move forward,” he said. “Those are all things that are tied up with the $7,500 per EV tax credit and it's a little bit hard to know what will happen if we untangle that.”To hear the full conversation with St. John and MPR meteorologist Paul Huttner, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate C

Hotter summers and scorching temperatures might be a go-to thought when you think of climate change, but most of Minnesota’s warming is a winter phenomenon.Pete Boulay of the Minnesota State Climatology Office said our warming winters can be credited to a lack of snowfall. “We’re missing the snow pack,” said Boulay. “We’ve seen over the years, deep snow cover has gone down across many places in the state.” That means winters in Minnesota are warming faster than summers are. Boulay talked with MPR meteorologist Paul Huttner about the warming trends and the impacts it could have on the state’s winter activities and outings. To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

New data centers are popping up across the country — and companies are eyeing Minnesota as a potential building site due to its cooler climate. But advocates within the state worry the extra demand from these large buildings could push the state to extend its use of fossil fuels at a time when Minnesota is trying to go carbon-free. MPR News correspondent Kirsti Marohn has been following the story of a Colorado-based company’s proposed $5 billion data center in Farmington, Minnesota, as part of MPR’s Getting to Green series.She spoke with MPR Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner about growing opposition from residents in the rural town.