Climate Cast

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 player above to hear the whole conversation.

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 than appeasing a smaller, more progressive climate constituency,” Tigue said. But there’s not a lot to go on.“Both Walz and Harris have largely refrained from talking about climate change since announcing their campaign together, but in the debate with former President Trump earlier this month, Harris did address climate change, and the two have since released a platform, though the details on policy are still pretty slim,” she said.To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

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. 

Scientists are concerned that Earth’s temperature rise is accelerating, and certain factors known as “tipping points” could speed up the process. What will that mean for the planet and what can be done to keep the planet warming at a fast pace? Andrew Freedman wrote about the new study for Axios and explains the research behind the warming climate report.To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

Climate change is putting stress on the traditional spruce and pines in Minnesota’s northern forests — and there’s real concern about their future.So, researchers are planting trees from the southern parts of our state in hopes of saving our northern forests.It’s called assisted migration and University of Minnesota professor Julie Etterson is studying if it can be an effective strategy for reforesting and fighting climate change.

An increasing number of wildfires in Canada and the western U.S. is pumping smoke toward Minnesota.But how much smoke will reach Minnesota? And how do meteorologists forecast wildfire smoke events and trends across the state? The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s supervisory meteorologist Matt Taraldsen talks about the wildfire smoke that sullies Minnesota’s blue skies and triggers air quality alerts.To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

Flash floods and extreme temperatures — both heat and cold — are having a negative impact on infrastructure across the Midwest. These extreme weather swings take a toll on roads, bridges and railroads, leading to headaches for travel and daily commutes.Kiley Price wrote about the threat for Inside Climate News and joined MPR News meteorologist Paul Huttner to explain what’s being done to address the aging infrastructure in the Midwest.

Climate change-enhanced rainfall events threaten nearly 92,000 dams across the U.S. and many are over 100 years old — including dams in Minnesota. Climate reporter Kristoffer Tigue wrote about aging dams and the risk for extreme rainfall for Inside Climate News. Tigue joined MPR News meteorologist Paul Huttner to explain how extreme weather events pose a threat to dams in Minnesota and the Midwest. To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

Lakes are a part of Minnesota’s Identity. While the thousands of lakes are cherished for their recreational accessibility across the state, some of those pristine bodies of water could — one day — help generate a vast amount of clean energy through solar power. Matt Simon wrote about floating solar panels for Grist. Simon talked to MPR News meteorologist Paul Huttner about floatovoltaics.To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

Last year, the Minnesota Legislature passed a law requiring the state’s electrical utilities to transition to 100 percent carbon-free energy sources by 2040. That means replacing power sources that produce carbon dioxide such as coal and natural gas with renewable sources such as solar, wind, hydropower and biomass.But how do you define “carbon-free” and what guidelines will be used to make sure utilities are meeting that standard? “We’re really hoping that carbon-free actually means carbon-free,” said B. Rosas, a policy manager with the advocacy group Climate Generation. Rosas talked to Paul Huttner about the organization’s efforts. To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

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. 

Looking to buy a new e-bike? Well, the Minnesota Department of Revenue has a new rebate program to help with the costs. Assistant Commissioner Sarah Bronson from the Department of Revenue talks through details of the program and how to apply.