Climate Cast

President Biden made a visit to Minnesota farmers this week to highlight investments in our region’s rural economy.

But with climate change-driven weather whiplash the last few years, how are our local farmers really doing?

Dan Guenthner runs Common Harvest Farm near Osceola, WI. He spoke about the challenges of farming in the face of climate extremes.

Climate change is wreaking havoc on the global insurance market. That’s the takeaway from a piece in Grist that points out natural disasters now cost the U.S. insurance industry $100 billion a year.

Lois Parshley wrote about the trends in the first of a 4-part series for Grist.

Go Midwest, young man?

That’s the title of a recent piece in Time Magazine that touts the Midwest as a place people will likely move to in the future. So which factors make the Midwest a potentially attractive place to relocate?

 Alana Semuels, the author of that piece, shared more about her findings.

Minnesota leaders set an ambitious goal to be carbon-neutral by 2050. What will it take to carry out Minnesota’s green energy transition?

Here at MPR News we’re tracking Minnesota’s clean energy progress, in a series called Getting to Green.

We talk about it with MPR News reporters Dan Kraker and Kirsti Marohn.

Congress is due to pass a new farm bill this year. This major piece of legislation sets the rules for all things food and agriculture for the next five years.

While it’s still yet to be written, some say the bill needs to bring changes to conservation programs and crop insurance to help farmers become more resilient to climate change.

Michael Happ is with the Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy and he’s been looking at the bill.

An increase in water vapor in the atmosphere is driving more extreme weather around the world.

How is that playing out here in Minnesota?

John Abraham, Thermal Sciences Professor and Mechanical Engineering Program Director at University of St. Thomas, shared more about the little known but growing climate concern.

What rights do children have for a healthy sustainable environment in a world of climate change?

The United Nations laid out children’s rights to health and survival including access to clean drinking water, in a 1989 treaty. Now in 2023, it’s issuing an urgent call to action for governments to protect and ensure those rights as the impacts of climate change intensify.

Professor of Environmental Health Sciences Frederica Perera at Columbia University shared more about the latest UN guidance on this week’s Climate Cast.

Drought and the nation’s hunger for mouth-watering french fries led large farms to pump significantly more groundwater than they’re allowed.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is expanding its electric school bus program using three million dollars from the state’s settlement with Volkswagen over exaggerated fuel efficiency claims.

This round of funding will cover the costs for eight more school buses and there will be future rounds in the near future. In addition, the Minnesota Department of Commerce and the Environmental Protection Agency will run separate pools of funding for electric school buses.

Brian Timerson, who oversees the program for Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, shared more about the opportunities available to switch to electric school buses.

Minnesota-based Cargill has developed modern sails they’re calling ‘WindWings’ that allow giant cargo ships to harness wind energy.

Last week, the first ever vessel outfitted with the giant 123-foot sails embarked on a test journey from China to Brazil. It’s said the sails could help the ship dramatically slash its fuel costs and greenhouse gas emissions.

Andrew Freedman from Axios shared more about the innovation and what it’ll take to decarbonize the marine shipping industry.