Climate Cast

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.

President-elect Donald Trump is making cabinet choices that will likely impact U.S. climate policy. Observers of the picks point out ties to the fossil fuel industry. Kiley Price with Inside Climate News spoke to MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner about the picks and what it could mean for the future of climate policy.To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

From data centers to growth — electricity demand in Minnesota is rising.That’s led Xcel Energy to request a 13 percent rate increase over the next two years and increase capital spending by $11 billion.Walker Orenstein, reporter at the Minnesota Star Tribune, said the utility has plans to make major infrastructure investments.

While it’s unclear just how snowy this winter will be, NOAA data shows that Minnesota winters have warmed more than five degrees on average since 1970. Warmer winters may cause more freeze-thaw cycles and increased road salt use. State maintenance engineer Jed Falgren spoke to MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner about what MnDOT is doing to maximize road safety in a changing climate.

Last winter was the warmest on record in Minnesota — a perfect non-storm of conditions that included a strong El Niño combined with warming climate trends. But this year will be different thanks to a weak La Niña developing in the Pacific, said Kenny Blumenfeld, who tracks Minnesota's climate trends with the Minnesota State Climatologist office in St. Paul.“People are going to love or hate this,” Blumenfeld said. “Our all-time record and seasonal snowfall was during a La Niña winter. And number three, which we just experienced in the 2022-’23 winter, that was 90.3 inches. That was a La Niña, too. You do tend to get a bit more snow, even in a weak La Niña compared to an El Niño type winter.”The warming of the atmosphere plays a role in extra-snowy winters, Blumenfeld told MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner. ”The warming of the planet obviously puts more water into the atmosphere, and that's one of the reasons that we're seeing the increased snowfall during the winter time.”Click on the audio

Minnesota is experiencing its fourth straight year of flash drought — and farmers are feeling the effects in their fields.“Farmers and ranchers face unique challenges in a changing climate and experience climate related stress,” said Noah Fish, an agricultural reporter for Agweek.“It’s not only their operations that are undergoing this change, but it’s emotional stress; these are farmers that are the ones out there working every day in these conditions.”But grants offer relief, Fish said. The state of Minnesota is using federal grants to help farmers adapt to expanding droughts and a changing climates. Fish joined MPR News meteorologist Paul Huttner to talk about the kind of funding that is available to farmers and how it is helping.To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

Finding balance in life can be a challenge for everyone.It can be especially hard to balance a life in climate work, politics and raising a family. That’s been Anna Farro Henderson’s experience, one she details in her new book “Core Samples: A Climate Scientist’s Experiments in Politics and Motherhood.”Farro Henderson joins MPR News Meteorologist Paul Huttner to talk about the climate crisis and encouraging young women to enter the STEM field.   To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

Minnesota’s climate continues to shift. The trend toward warmer winters and more erratic precipitation patterns continues.“What we see globally and what we see right in our own backyards are the fingerprints of a warming world,” Heidi Roop, the Director of Minnesota’s Climate Adaptation Partnership, said. She added that we should expect these extremes to continue.“If we look out towards the end of the century, some of our future climate models show that our spring-time precipitation could be as much as 40 percent wetter and our summers around 20 percent dryer.”She spoke more about Minnesota’s climate trends with MPR News Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner.

Climate advocates are showing strong support for Gov. Tim Walz’s vice presidential campaign. They point to his record. “Walz was responsible, or at least, signed into law several climate action bills that are progressive no matter which state you live in,” said Kristoffer Tigue, who wrote about Walz’s climate record for Inside Climate News. “That includes a law from 2023 which requires Minnesota utilities to produce 100 percent of their electricity from carbon free sources by 2040. He also signed several other bills that do a lot to advance the effort to slow down climate change.” Tigue joined MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner to talk about Walz’s record in Minnesota and what that might mean for the Harris-Walz ticket. “A lot of advocates and political analysts believe that the Harris-Walz ticket will probably walk a line that’s similar to what Biden has been doing in his last couple of years as president, which is taking kind of a moderate approach, trying to appeal to a broader audience, rather tha

A new report from the Global Carbon Project finds several sources of methane gas are on the rise.Sahrah Kaplan, climate and science reporter for the Washington Post says the powerful greenhouse gas is “the fastest way to heat the planet and we’re doing that at an ever accelerating rate.”Kaplan wrote about the Global Carbon Project report and joined Climate Cast to explain how agriculture as well as human influence are contributing to the rise in this potent greenhouse gas. To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

David Lipsky, author of “The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial,” talks about the history of climate change and those who deny the science behind human-caused climate change. To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

The State Fair gates are open – but there’s a noticeable absence in the Miracle of Birth Center: birthing cows and newborn calves. It’s all due to the spread of avian flu, also known as bird flu or H5N1. So how serious is the spread of avian flu, and what does climate change have to do with the spread of viruses between species? Izzy Ross is a climate solutions reporter for Interlochen Public Radio and wrote about the threat of bird flu spreading to dairy cows for Grist. Ross stopped by Climate Cast to talk about the link between bird flu and climate change.

Recent abundant levels of rainfall across the state have pulled Minnesota out of drought for the first time since June 2022. Will this rainfall pattern continue? And how are Minnesota’s precipitation swings a symptom of climate change? Kenneth Blumenfeld with the Minnesota State Climatology Office talks about recent rainfall across the state and explains how both dry and wet patterns — sometimes lasting several months — are connected to climate change.