Climate Cast Minnesota Public Radio

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.

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.

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.

For the U.S. to meet its climate goals, we need more clean energy projects — projects that require space on the electrical grid.

The trouble is: there’s a massive backlog. Some wind and solar projects have been waiting for years to be connected to electric grids. Now the Federal Electric Regulatory Commission (FERC) is taking action to speed up the connection process.

Jeff St. John wrote about the changes for Canary Media, a newsletter focused on solutions to the climate crisis.