Climate Cast

Some recent studies on the rate of species extinction are getting a lot of attention.

Habitats change as climate shifts. How will species adapt?

Elizabeth Crone, a biology professor at Tufts University, explains on this edition of Climate Cast.

Hear her interview and a Climate Story from Hannah Field on the audio player above.

Threats to Minnesota's lakes and rivers — and how to best combat them — brought people from around the state together in Walker, Minn., this week.

MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner was among them. He interviewed Minnesota Lakes and Rivers Advocates executive director Jeff Forester for Wednesday's installment of Climate Cast.

Listen on the audio player above.

It's hurricane season again. In the past few years several hurricanes have intensified so rapidly it surprised forecasters.

What do we know about climate science and hurricanes in 2019?

More: Climate Cast

Hurricane expert Gabe Vecchi, a professor of geosciences at Princeton University, answers our questions.

Hear that interview and a Climate Story from Joshua Houdek on the audio player above.

Fifth-grade daughters ask their dads many different questions. But Elena and Aryanna asked their dads to take them to Washington, D.C. on a mission to lobby Congress, to act on climate change. Paul Huttner caught up with Aryanna's dad Federico as they headed back home to Minnesota in an electric car.

Two Edina fifth graders have persuaded their fathers to drive them to Washington, D.C., this weekend in an electric car to raise awareness about climate change.

Elena Rapallini, Aryanna Rossi and their dads will attend a conference organized by Citizens' Climate Lobby, a group pushing Congress to enact a carbon fee and dividend to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Elena said she hopes she can help influence climate policy.

"I would also like to go because I can get more comfortable to talking to crowds or important people," she said.

Earlier: Minnesota teens urge climate action at Legislature

More: Skipping school to protest climate change

Both girls have been active in local groups seeking climate action. Aryanna said Congress needs to do more.

"I really hope our government makes a difference because this is a problem that is going to affect everything and the next generation," she said, adding that the wildfires last year in California especially moved her because her cousins had to leave their home.

The girls and their dads plan to post updates online about their trip.

Federico Rossi said he jumped at the opportunity to help his daughter try to influence policymakers.

"I share with her the deep sense of urgency and concern about what's going on with the environment, and I share with her the sense that we need to do something and we need to do it relatively fast," he said.

He and Elena's dad, Leo Rapallini, have been working on how to make the trip carbon-free. They'll drive Rapallini's Tesla and estimate they will need to stop and recharge every 250 to 300 miles.

German automaker Mercedes Benz is the latest to make the move toward a carbon-neutral auto fleet. The automaker pledges to change factories and vehicles to go carbon neutral by 2039.

But how does a high-performance automaker shift to a climate friendly fleet in just 20 years?

We transportation analyst Mikki Maynard for an answer.

Hear that interview plus a Climate Story with Erik Berger on the audio player above.

Hazy skies have stuck around for over a week in Minnesota as wildfire smoke from the Canadian Rockies continues blowing into the state.

And it looks like this will be the state's new normal for this summer, and likely summers to come.

"We'll be dealing with the smoke and potential air quality issues here through probably August or September," said Daniel Dix, an air pollution meteorologist with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

MPCA has found an increasing number of days with smoky skies as the agency has studied the issue in recent years, Dix said.

The current smoke is coming from fires in north-central Alberta, where temperatures have been unusually warm.

Wildfire season in the western U.S. has gotten more intense under climate change. The West is experiencing less rain, smaller and shorter snowpack, and warmer temperatures — all of which fuel fires.

Analysis by Climate Central found that the region's wildfire season is now compared to the 1970s is 105 days longer, burns six times the acreage and has three times more fires over 1,000 acres in size.

Minnesota is downwind of the Rocky Mountains, so what burns there often blows to Minnesota.

Hear a Climate Cast interview with Dix on the audio player above.

Nathan Baring, a 19-year-old Minnesota college student, is a plaintiff in the landmark Juliana v. United States climate change lawsuit. Oral arguments are set for Tuesday in a federal appeals court.

Nathan Barring, a 19-year-old Minnesota college student, is a plaintiff in the landmark Juliana v. United States climate change lawsuit. Oral arguments are set for Tuesday in a federal appeals court.

Minnesota apples are world famous for quality. And northern wine grapes and wineries are popping up all over. But what climate trends and impacts are growers seeing as climate shifts? We explore on this week's Climate Cast with a trip to the University of Minnesota's horticulture research center.