A proposed carbon capture pipeline across the Midwest by Summit Carbon Solutions is awaiting approval from Iowa and other states. Minnesota approved the permit for it last year.The five-state, $5.5 billion pipeline system would capture carbon dioxide from ethanol plants and send it to North Dakota for underground storage.As more places, including ours, pursue carbon capture projects, what rules and monitoring mechanisms need to be in place to make sure things work as intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?Eric Schaeffer is Executive Director with the Environmental Integrity Project, which just released a report on the current federal rules for carbon capture projects — and what might be missing.

Last year was by far the warmest year on record globally. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and European datasets all confirm the numbers. That means the 10 warmest years on record globally are the past 10 years.How do climate scientists explain this unprecedented warming trend?Jared Rennie is a research scientist with NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information and he discussed what we should take away from the numbers.

Minnesota officials have set an ambitious goal for the state to be carbon-neutral by 2050.And our Getting to Green series has been digging deep into stories of the clean energy transition. What opportunities and obstacles lie on the path to reach a carbon neutral Minnesota milestone?MPR News correspondents Dan Kraker and Kirsti Marohn guest hosted a series of conversations to talk to experts and listeners about our state's energy future.As a part of that reporting, they toured the home of William and Kristin Mroz-Risse which is now fully electric and more energy efficient. Kristin works for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency as the GreenStep Cities and tribal nations coordinator. William works in the renewable energy sector.

A housing project that tackles homelessness, poverty, and climate change all in one.That’s the goal of Hillcrest Village in Northfield, Minnesota. It’s an emergency shelter and supportive housing development – powered entirely by the sun.Scott Wopata is Executive Director at Community Action Center, which was behind the project.

Anyone getting gas and electricity service in Minneapolis will see an estimated one dollar increase in their bills come next year.The money from the slight hike is meant to go towards helping people weatherize their homes and programs to reduce carbon emissions.It’s a part of the city’s Climate Legacy Initiative and officials say it will raise an additional $10 million each year starting in 2024 for climate action.Dave Orrick wrote about the plan for the Star Tribune and broke it down on Climate Cast.

A major focus of this year’s global climate summit, COP28 or the Conference of the Parties, is the Loss and Damage Fund which was established at last year’s conference.The idea behind it is for developed nations to financially compensate developing countries dealing with the harmful — and very costly — impacts of climate change. On the first day of this year’s conference, global leaders agreed to operationalize that fund with some countries pledging as much as $100 million right away. The U.S. plans to contribute $17.5 million if Congress gives the green light. Still, some say a lot more will be needed — hundreds of billions more. Nfamara Dampha is a research scientist at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment and he’s taking part in the discussion at COP28 as a delegate for the Gambia. Last year, the small country was hit with its largest rainfall in more than thirty years, causing more than $125 million in damage. As these climate events continue, Dampha says developed countries not only have a legal responsibility to help vulnerable countries but also a “moral and ethical responsibility”.

The United Nations 28th global climate conference, also known as COP28, just wrapped up in Dubai.And this year a group of 20 students from the College of St. Benedict and Saint John’s University got to observe the heated discussions about climate change and fossil fuels.Finn Dolezal was a part of that group. He’s a sophomore majoring in economics and minoring in math at Saint John's. He shared more about his time at COP28.

The fifth National Climate Assessment came out last week. It’s an important report that lays out the impacts of climate change across the U.S.In it this year is a chapter on the specific ways climate change affects indigenous communities — and why indigenous leadership and self-determination are essential for addressing the climate crisis.One of the authors of that chapter is Mike Dockry, an assistant professor with the University of Minnesota Department of Forest Resources. He specializes in Tribal and Indigenous Natural Resource Management. He gave us a closer look at the chapter on Climate Cast.

10 percent of U.S. transportation greenhouse gas emissions come from plane travel according to the Environmental Protection Agency. But a first-of-its kind initiative is looking to slash those numbers by creating a hub to scale the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Estimates show that SAF can reduce the lifecycle carbon emissions of flying by more than 80 percent.Peter Frosch is CEO of the Greater Minneapolis St. Paul Regional Economic Development Partnership, one of the partners involved in the effort.

Insurance losses from climate-enhanced extreme weather disasters are changing the insurance landscape. And this week, several groups have sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and the Financial Stability Oversight Council to call for greater federal oversight of the insurance industry in light of soaring disaster costs.Anne Perrault, finance policy counsel with advocacy group Public Citizen, shared more about the asks.

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.

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.

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.

A legal victory this week for 16 young people who sued the state of Montana over their right to a “clean and healthful environment,” as laid out in the state constitution.The plaintiffs argued that the way Montana greenlights fossil fuel projects violates that right — and the judge agreed. It was a first-of-its-kind trial and a first-of-its-kind win.So, what’s next?Amanda Eggert is a reporter with the Montana Free Press and she broke down the ruling for this week’s Climate Cast.

A rulemaking process is underway by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for a law passed this year aimed at addressing health inequities in disenfranchised communities. The legislation carves out specific environmental justice areas and it could mean more Minnesota businesses will have to undergo a pollution analysis before getting permits within these regions. Maps sketching out these newly designated areas were released last month. The regions cover all of the Twin Cities as well as large swaths of Rochester and Duluth. The MPCA has opened a public comments period between July 24 and Oct. 6 as it works to figure out the criteria for determining which businesses will need to carry out a ‘Cumulative Impacts Analysis’. MinnPost reporter Walker Orenstein spoke with MPR News Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner about the latest developments.

Recreational marijuana is now officially legal in Minnesota but this may not be great news for the climate. A 2021 study found that growing an ounce of marijuana indoors can result in greenhouse gas emissions equal to burning a tank of gas.So as the cannabis industry continues to expand, how can it reduce its massive carbon footprint?Ari Seaman is CEO and founder of OG AG TECH as well as COO of C4. He shared a new technology he’s developed to help farms become more sustainable.

The heat is on for Minnesota this week and heat waves are making news across the world.Hospitals in Phoenix are treating burn patients from sizzling pavement. Tourists in Greece are evacuating fire zones.How can scientists gauge when heat events are normal and when they’re fueled by climate change?Climate Central chief meteorologist Bernadette Woods Placky talks about a tool she uses called the Climate Shift Index.

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.

How can your home be a weapon in the fight to reduce climate change?One of the biggest opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is weatherizing and super insulating existing homes and buildings.And lawmakers this year set aside a big chunk of money to help people do just that.Tina Clarke has super insulated her own homes and helped others do the same. She shared her tips on how to get started.

As climate science and impacts evolve, how much should students in Minnesota and across the U.S. learn about climate change causes and solutions?Kristen Poppleton is the senior director of programs climate generation in the Twin Cities, an organization that works with educators and students on climate change education in schools.

A “constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment”. That’s why 16 young people between ages 5 and 22 are suing the state of Montana seeking a transition to a less carbon-intensive energy policy.The trial has been called historic in Montana and could have implications nationwide on climate litigation.Amanda Eggert has been following the case for the Montana Free Press and she shared her reporting with Climate Cast.

Earth’s oceans are the hottest on record. That’s the finding from a recent paper in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences. What effects could this have globally and in Minnesota?

Earth’s oceans are the hottest on record. That’s the finding from a recent paper in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences. What effects could this have globally and in Minnesota?

It’s said that water is life and trying to control and store water through massive dam projects has been a way of life for a long time, especially in the western U.S.  But it turns out dams emit greenhouse gas and can have environmental impacts. Just how much do they emit and why are some rivers better off left to flow naturally? Stephen Hawley, author of Cracked: The Future of Dams in a Hot, Chaotic World, discusses what a world without dams could bring.

The search is on for an electric vehicle with a 1,000-mile range. And a new dime-sized battery may be a step in that direction.Mohammad Asadi is a chemical engineer at Illinois Tech who was one of the people behind the discovery. He spoke with Climate Cast host Paul Huttner about the new technology and other potential uses for it.

The search is on for an electric vehicle with a 1,000-mile range. And a new dime-sized battery may be a step in that direction.Mohammad Asadi is a chemical engineer at Illinois Tech who was one of the people behind the discovery. He spoke with Climate Cast host Paul Huttner about the new technology and other potential uses for it.

The search is on for an electric vehicle with a 1,000-mile range. And a new dime-sized battery may be a step in that direction.Mohammad Asadi is a chemical engineer at Illinois Tech who was one of the people behind the discovery. He spoke with Climate Cast host Paul Huttner about the new technology and other potential uses for it.

The search is on for an electric vehicle with a 1,000-mile range. And a new dime-sized battery may be a step in that direction.Mohammad Asadi is a chemical engineer at Illinois Tech who was one of the people behind the discovery. He spoke with Climate Cast host Paul Huttner about the new technology and other potential uses for it.

The search is on for an electric vehicle with a 1,000-mile range. And a new dime-sized battery may be a step in that direction.Mohammad Asadi is a chemical engineer at Illinois Tech who was one of the people behind the discovery. He spoke with Climate Cast host Paul Huttner about the new technology and other potential uses for it.

The latest United Nations climate report urges that the window of opportunity to prevent catastrophic climate change still exists — but is closing fast. What role do states, including Minnesota, play in keeping that window open?

The search is on for an electric vehicle with a 1,000-mile range. And a new dime-sized battery may be a step in that direction.Mohammad Asadi is a chemical engineer at Illinois Tech who was one of the people behind the discovery. He spoke with Climate Cast host Paul Huttner about the new technology and other potential uses for it.

The latest United Nations climate report urges that the window of opportunity to prevent catastrophic climate change still exists — but is closing fast. What role do states, including Minnesota, play in keeping that window open?

Spring has officially begun, which means maple syrup season is in full swing. But a sugarmaker a the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum says the beginning and end of the season has fluctuated quite a bit as the climate changes.

Minnesota’s northern forests are changing rapidly. Warmer temperatures and shifting precipitation patterns are causing a decline in the growth and survival rates of our trees, particularly among spruce and fir. And with life spans in the decades, the swift changes are creating trouble.Peter Reich with the University of Michigan has been keeping track of our northern forests and he discussed the future of our forests with Climate Cast host Paul Huttner.

Minnesota’s northern forests are changing rapidly. Warmer temperatures and shifting precipitation patterns are causing a decline in the growth and survival rates of our trees, particularly among spruce and fir. And with life spans in the decades, the swift changes are creating trouble.Peter Reich with the University of Michigan has been keeping track of our northern forests and he discussed the future of our forests with Climate Cast host Paul Huttner.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed a bill this month requiring 100 percent carbon-free electricity in Minnesota by 2040. The new law requires Minnesota to produce carbon-free energy from sources like nuclear, wind, and solar power. So, how will Minnesota get to that goal?Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan discussed the roadmap on Climate Cast this week.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed a bill this month requiring 100 percent carbon-free electricity in Minnesota by 2040. The new law requires Minnesota to produce carbon-free energy from sources like nuclear, wind, and solar power. So, how will Minnesota get to that goal?Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan discussed the roadmap on Climate Cast this week.

When MPR News’ Climate Cast debuted in January 2013, it was one of the few regular programs to address how a warming planet could change life as we know it. That urgency has only grown. In 2023, climate change is one of the leading issues driving political, economical and societal change. To celebrate Climate Cast’s 10th anniversary, MPR’s chief meteorologist Paul Huttner talked to an elite panel of experts about how climate change has evolved since Climate Cast began. What does the latest science say about how fast the planet is warming now? What are the biggest climate change impacts here in Minnesota and around the world? How is public opinion adjusting? And how far have climate solutions advanced in the past 10 years? This is a rebroadcast of the 10th anniversary Climate Cast. Guests:Katharine Hayhoe is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading climate scientists. Among other things, she is a professor at Texas Tech University and the chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy.Bernadette Woods Placky is an Emmy Award-winning meteorologist and director of Climate Central's Climate Matters, a program that offers data analyses, graphics and other reporting resources to a growing network of more than 3,000 local TV meteorologists and journalists to help them tell local climate stories.Jason Samenow is The Washington Post's weather editor and the popular Capital Weather Gang’s chief meteorologist. Ed Maibach is the director of the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University. He also codirects the Climate Change in the American Mind polling project.Jamie Alexander is the director of Drawdown Labs, which is Project Drawdown’s private sector testing ground for accelerating the adoption of climate solutions quickly, safely and equitably.Jon Foley is the executive director of Project Drawdown, a leading resource for information and insight about climate solutions.Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS. The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity. Click the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.1. Raising our voices mattersKatharine Hayhoe: When I ask people to describe what they feel about climate change in one word, the answers are: scared, depressed, paralyzed, overwhelmed, angry, guilty, anxious and frightened. Those are entirely reasonable. But unless we recognize that our choices make a difference, we're not going to fix this issue. Too often, we picture climate action like a giant boulder, sitting at the bottom of an impossibly steep cliff, with only a few hands on that boulder. We think, “why should I add my hand to that boulder? It's not going to move. It's pointless.” But when we look around and see all the action that's already happening, we realize that the giant boulder is already rolling down the hill in the right direction. And if I add my hand, and used my voice to encourage others around me to add theirs, it would go faster. As Joan Baez famously said: “The antidote to anxiety and despair is action.” And we can't fix this alone, but together. I'm absolutely convinced we can do it. It all begins when we use our voices to call for action wherever we live, work, study, worship, play. We can use our voices for a better future for us all.2. Climate change impacts are more expensive than everBernadette Woods Placky: When we experience an extreme event, some of the impacts are obvious for the immediate toll on lives and our health. But it doesn't end after the event, especially in these communities that don't have as many resources and are the most vulnerable among us. That's where we have to continue making these connections: a storm is connected to climate change, but it is also connected to what you're already paying to recover and how that factors into your future costs. For instance, the Flood Insurance Program has gone through some major ups and downs. California and parts of the West are really trying to figure out how they're going to cover people with wildfire insurance, especially when affordable housing is already a massive issue, then you add all these extra pieces on top of it with the economy and COVID. It's affecting people who have really worked hard most of their life and done everything right out of their homes. We've gotten to a point now where the cost of taking action and leading toward climate solutions is more affordable than what we're paying in the impacts.3. U.S. systems are not built for such extreme climatesJason Samenow: We've seen about 1.2 degrees Celsius of change. But the increase in extremes is increasing disproportionately. In other words, we're seeing a bigger change and extremes than you might expect for that amount of warming. That has climate scientists particularly concerned because if we go to 1.5 Celsius warming or even 2 degrees Celsius of warming, we're going to see these extremes continue to proliferate. Our systems are built for a climate that was a degree cooler, so the cost of trying to adapt to these extremes is going to be profound. It makes it incumbent in planning decisions to think about where we're headed in terms of the different extremes that we're facing and how they're changing. When we saw Hurricane Ida go through and you saw 4 inches of rain falling in an hour, the systems there weren't built to withstand that. We see these extremes continuing to get worse, the wildfires increasing the speed at which they spread, hurricanes like this past hurricane season — with that 15-foot surge in southwest Florida or around Fort Myers — and you add sea level rise on top of that. There's just a lot of thought that needs to be put into planning across the different economic sectors, whether you're talking about agriculture, health, water, all of these different systems are very vulnerable to extremes and they are proliferating before our very eyes. 4. Weather can solve climate change impactsBernadette Woods Placky: One of the ways we're solving this is through wind and solar energy. That is weather, and it is dramatically shifting how we get our electricity. As the society can move as much as possible over to electrically-driven cars and transportation, and within our home units, businesses and buildings, then we power that with multiple forms of renewable energy. But again, I'm honing in on the forecasting aspect of this. This is weather powering our future. That's one of the areas where we're already seeing tremendous growth, and we'll see even more.5. There are 5 key truths about global warmingEd Maibach: Me and my colleague Tony Leiserowitz have been conducting a poll that we call “Climate change in the American mind” every six months since 2008. One of the things that we've learned from our research is that there are five key truths about global warming. People who understand them are much more likely to be engaged in doing something about the problem. Those five key truths are:Global warming is real and the proportion of Americans who understand it is 7 out of 10.Global warming is human caused. Global warming is bad for people in a whole variety of waysThere's hope actions we take will make a difference.Experts agree that global warming is human-caused, no matter what you hear about it.6. More than half of Americans are both alarmed and concerned about global warmingEd Maibach: There's really no such thing as the general public. That never really does justice to the way people really think and feel about issues. So we used our survey data back in 2008 to identify distinct ways of seeing the global warming issue among the American people. We found six distinct categories: the alarmed, the concerned, the cautious, the disengaged, the doubtful and the dismissive. The top-two categories — alarmed and concerned — make up the majority with 53 percent. Ten years ago, fewer than 3 in 10 Americans felt that climate change was changing the weather here in the U.S. and now it's almost two-thirds, so more than 6 in 10 people who get the fact that the weather isn't what it used to be.7. Politicians stopped denying climate change and started acting on itEd Maibach: In the most recent election, we really didn't see Republican candidates talking about climate change and I would contend that's actually a good thing. Normally during prior election seasons, Republican candidates used to speak out against climate change, against the belief in our human-caused climate change, and against taking action on climate change. But that didn't happen in the most recent election. I think the reason why is because that doesn't play with young conservatives in America anymore. They actually would like their leaders to acknowledge the realities of the problems that we face. I think that's a really important step forward, and I hope it continues to play out. America will be a much better country. Another thing that I think everybody should keep their eye on is the fact that Congress did pass the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which is a major climate solutions bill. So a whole lot of money is going to be flowing through federal agencies to help Americans, homeowners, renters and business owners start to participate in the clean energy revolution, at a much more affordable price than they could have previously participated. My guess is that public enthusiasm for climate solutions is about to skyrocket.8. Overall emissions have decreased since 2007Jon Foley: At the national level, this surprises a lot of people. But the United States as a whole has actually been seeing a decrease in all of our emissions overall, as a country, by about 20 percent since 2007. Most people don't expect that to be true, but it is. Even though our economy and our population have grown, our emissions have been going down since 2007. That's true in Minnesota, too. And what's also really interesting is the price of solar photovoltaics and wind power has fallen more than anybody ever expected. Even the optimists have been caught off guard by how cheap solar and wind have gotten. Solar is now the cheapest form of energy humans have ever had in our entire history, so no wonder it's finally winning. It's beating coal, and it's going to beat natural gas in the marketplace really quickly. That's great news.9. Big actors can move things fasterJamie Alexander: Another thing that I'm looking at is what the big actors in society, such as large corporations, are doing to help us move much faster than any one individual can. We have a lot of big businesses in the Twin Cities that have a lot of clout and influence and can really help us move money much more quickly than any one individual into climate solutions. These big actors in society can help us shift away from the source of the problem and toward the solutions.Large corporations can shift their banking practices away from those banks to finance the sources of the problem and toward climate solutions. One of the things I'm looking at up here in Duluth, where I live, is how we're going to work to transition like workers in the Iron Range, for example, and how mining is going to be. I think that's going to be a really important thing to get right.10. Little changes can make a big differenceJon Foley: We can do a lot of things in our homes that save us money, like retrofitting our homes when we have the chance, taking advantage of tax breaks, insulating and weatherizing our homes, improving our heating and cooling systems to new efficient made-in-America heat pumps. Also small things like reducing food waste, eating our leftovers, making sure we take home the doggie bag, shifting our diets to things that are a little bit more climate friendly. We can also do the talking about it and engage in a larger conversation, not just in the voting booth, but every day about what we buy, how we talk, what we post on Facebook, what we listen to, how we chat about it. Even at work, asking questions about our retirement funds, what our company is doing about climate change and so on. We can be part of a larger democratic conversation as a society that really brings climate change to front and center but also all the benefits climate solutions bring to us too.Click play on the audio player above to listen, or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast to hear the whole thing — Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed a bill this month requiring 100 percent carbon-free electricity in Minnesota by 2040. The new law requires Minnesota to produce carbon-free energy from sources like nuclear, wind, and solar power. So, how will Minnesota get to that goal?Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan discussed the roadmap on Climate Cast this week.

The Polar Bear population is plummeting around Canada’s Hudson Bay. The Canadian government study shows there are 27% fewer bears in just the past 5 years.How much is climate change driving the shift? MPR News Meteorologist Sven Sundgaard paid a visit to see the Hudson Bay bears in Churchill, Manitoba last November.

The Polar Bear population is plummeting around Canada’s Hudson Bay. The Canadian government study shows there are 27% fewer bears in just the past 5 years.How much is climate change driving the shift? MPR News Meteorologist Sven Sundgaard paid a visit to see the Hudson Bay bears in Churchill, Manitoba last November.

The Polar Bear population is plummeting around Canada’s Hudson Bay. The Canadian government study shows there are 27% fewer bears in just the past 5 years.How much is climate change driving the shift? MPR News Meteorologist Sven Sundgaard paid a visit to see the Hudson Bay bears in Churchill, Manitoba last November.

When MPR News’ Climate Cast debuted in January 2013, it was one of the few regular programs to address how a warming planet could change life as we know it. That urgency has only grown. In 2023, climate change is one of the leading issues driving political, economical and societal change. To celebrate Climate Cast’s 10th anniversary, MPR’s chief meteorologist Paul Huttner talked to an elite panel of experts about how climate change has evolved since Climate Cast began. What does the latest science say about how fast the planet is warming now? What are the biggest climate change impacts here in Minnesota and around the world? How is public opinion adjusting? And how far have climate solutions advanced in the past 10 years? Guests:Katharine Hayhoe is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading climate scientists. Among other things, she is a professor at Texas Tech University and the chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy.Bernadette Woods Placky is an Emmy Award-winning meteorologist and director of Climate Central's Climate Matters, a program that offers data analyses, graphics and other reporting resources to a growing network of more than 3,000 local TV meteorologists and journalists to help them tell local climate stories.Jason Samenow is The Washington Post's weather editor and the popular Capital Weather Gang’s chief meteorologist. Ed Maibach is the director of the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University. He also codirects the Climate Change in the American Mind polling project.Jamie Alexander is the director of Drawdown Labs, which is Project Drawdown’s private sector testing ground for accelerating the adoption of climate solutions quickly, safely and equitably.Jon Foley is the executive director of Project Drawdown, a leading resource for information and insight about climate solutions.The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity. Click the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.1. Raising our voices mattersKatharine Hayhoe: When I ask people to describe what they feel about climate change in one word, the answers are: scared, depressed, paralyzed, overwhelmed, angry, guilty, anxious and frightened. Those are entirely reasonable. But unless we recognize that our choices make a difference, we're not going to fix this issue. Too often, we picture climate action like a giant boulder, sitting at the bottom of an impossibly steep cliff, with only a few hands on that boulder. We think, “why should I add my hand to that boulder? It's not going to move. It's pointless.” But when we look around and see all the action that's already happening, we realize that the giant boulder is already rolling down the hill in the right direction. And if I add my hand, and used my voice to encourage others around me to add theirs, it would go faster. As Joan Baez famously said: “The antidote to anxiety and despair is action.” And we can't fix this alone, but together. I'm absolutely convinced we can do it. It all begins when we use our voices to call for action wherever we live, work, study, worship, play. We can use our voices for a better future for us all.2. Climate change impacts are more expensive than everBernadette Woods Placky: When we experience an extreme event, some of the impacts are obvious for the immediate toll on lives and our health. But it doesn't end after the event, especially in these communities that don't have as many resources and are the most vulnerable among us. That's where we have to continue making these connections: a storm is connected to climate change, but it is also connected to what you're already paying to recover and how that factors into your future costs. For instance, the Flood Insurance Program has gone through some major ups and downs. California and parts of the West are really trying to figure out how they're going to cover people with wildfire insurance, especially when affordable housing is already a massive issue, then you add all these extra pieces on top of it with the economy and COVID. It's affecting people who have really worked hard most of their life and done everything right out of their homes. We've gotten to a point now where the cost of taking action and leading toward climate solutions is more affordable than what we're paying in the impacts.3. U.S. systems are not built for such extreme climatesJason Samenow: We've seen about 1.2 degrees Celsius of change. But the increase in extremes is increasing disproportionately. In other words, we're seeing a bigger change and extremes than you might expect for that amount of warming. That has climate scientists particularly concerned because if we go to 1.5 Celsius warming or even 2 degrees Celsius of warming, we're going to see these extremes continue to proliferate. Our systems are built for a climate that was a degree cooler, so the cost of trying to adapt to these extremes is going to be profound. It makes it incumbent in planning decisions to think about where we're headed in terms of the different extremes that we're facing and how they're changing. When we saw Hurricane Ida go through and you saw 4 inches of rain falling in an hour, the systems there weren't built to withstand that. We see these extremes continuing to get worse, the wildfires increasing the speed at which they spread, hurricanes like this past hurricane season — with that 15-foot surge in southwest Florida or around Fort Myers — and you add sea level rise on top of that. There's just a lot of thought that needs to be put into planning across the different economic sectors, whether you're talking about agriculture, health, water, all of these different systems are very vulnerable to extremes and they are proliferating before our very eyes. 4. Weather can solve climate change impactsBernadette Woods Placky: One of the ways we're solving this is through wind and solar energy. That is weather, and it is dramatically shifting how we get our electricity. As the society can move as much as possible over to electrically-driven cars and transportation, and within our home units, businesses and buildings, then we power that with multiple forms of renewable energy. But again, I'm honing in on the forecasting aspect of this. This is weather powering our future. That's one of the areas where we're already seeing tremendous growth, and we'll see even more.5. There are 5 key truths about global warmingEd Maibach: Me and my colleague Tony Leiserowitz have been conducting a poll that we call “Climate change in the American mind” every six months since 2008. One of the things that we've learned from our research is that there are five key truths about global warming. People who understand them are much more likely to be engaged in doing something about the problem. Those five key truths are:Global warming is real and the proportion of Americans who understand it is 7 out of 10.Global warming is human caused. Global warming is bad for people in a whole variety of waysThere's hope actions we take will make a difference.Experts agree that global warming is human-caused, no matter what you hear about it.6. More than half of Americans are both alarmed and concerned about global warmingEd Maibach: There's really no such thing as the general public. That never really does justice to the way people really think and feel about issues. So we used our survey data back in 2008 to identify distinct ways of seeing the global warming issue among the American people. We found six distinct categories: the alarmed, the concerned, the cautious, the disengaged, the doubtful and the dismissive. The top-two categories — alarmed and concerned — make up the majority with 53 percent. Ten years ago, fewer than 3 in 10 Americans felt that climate change was changing the weather here in the U.S. and now it's almost two-thirds, so more than 6 in 10 people who get the fact that the weather isn't what it used to be.7. Politicians stopped denying climate change and started acting on itEd Maibach: In the most recent election, we really didn't see Republican candidates talking about climate change and I would contend that's actually a good thing. Normally during prior election seasons, Republican candidates used to speak out against climate change, against the belief in our human-caused climate change, and against taking action on climate change. But that didn't happen in the most recent election. I think the reason why is because that doesn't play with young conservatives in America anymore. They actually would like their leaders to acknowledge the realities of the problems that we face. I think that's a really important step forward, and I hope it continues to play out. America will be a much better country. Another thing that I think everybody should keep their eye on is the fact that Congress did pass the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which is a major climate solutions bill. So a whole lot of money is going to be flowing through federal agencies to help Americans, homeowners, renters and business owners start to participate in the clean energy revolution, at a much more affordable price than they could have previously participated. My guess is that public enthusiasm for climate solutions is about to skyrocket.8. Overall emissions have decreased since 2007Jon Foley: At the national level, this surprises a lot of people. But the United States as a whole has actually been seeing a decrease in all of our emissions overall, as a country, by about 20 percent since 2007. Most people don't expect that to be true, but it is. Even though our economy and our population have grown, our emissions have been going down since 2007. That's true in Minnesota, too. And what's also really interesting is the price of solar photovoltaics and wind power has fallen more than anybody ever expected. Even the optimists have been caught off guard by how cheap solar and wind have gotten. Solar is now the cheapest form of energy humans have ever had in our entire history, so no wonder it's finally winning. It's beating coal, and it's going to beat natural gas in the marketplace really quickly. That's great news.9. Big actors can move things fasterJamie Alexander: Another thing that I'm looking at is what the big actors in society, such as large corporations, are doing to help us move much faster than any one individual can. We have a lot of big businesses in the Twin Cities that have a lot of clout and influence and can really help us move money much more quickly than any one individual into climate solutions. These big actors in society can help us shift away from the source of the problem and toward the solutions.Large corporations can shift their banking practices away from those banks to finance the sources of the problem and toward climate solutions. One of the things I'm looking at up here in Duluth, where I live, is how we're going to work to transition like workers in the Iron Range, for example, and how mining is going to be. I think that's going to be a really important thing to get right.10. Little changes can make a big differenceJon Foley: We can do a lot of things in our homes that save us money, like retrofitting our homes when we have the chance, taking advantage of tax breaks, insulating and weatherizing our homes, improving our heating and cooling systems to new efficient made-in-America heat pumps. Also small things like reducing food waste, eating our leftovers, making sure we take home the doggie bag, shifting our diets to things that are a little bit more climate friendly. We can also do the talking about it and engage in a larger conversation, not just in the voting booth, but every day about what we buy, how we talk, what we post on Facebook, what we listen to, how we chat about it. Even at work, asking questions about our retirement funds, what our company is doing about climate change and so on. We can be part of a larger democratic conversation as a society that really brings climate change to front and center but also all the benefits climate solutions bring to us too.Click play on the audio player above to listen, or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast to hear the whole thing — Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS.

Some might scoff at the idea that climate change affects all of us, but doctors say it does. It turns out warmer temperatures, wildfire smoke and bad air quality affect our health … right down to our cells!MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Dr. Rick Woychik and Dr. Gwen Collman from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences on their research into this for Climate Cast.

Last year was a banner year for clean energy with booms in solar and wind energy as well as the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act, the biggest climate legislation ever. What might be in store for 2023?Dan Gearino of Inside Climate News joined Climate Cast to share his predictions on potential challenges and breakthroughs ahead. Click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast to hear more.

New tax incentives on electric vehicles kicked in on January 1st, 2023. If you’re in the market for an EV, how can you cash in?Automotive and energy writer Sean Tucker wrote about it for Kelly Blue Book. Click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast to hear more.

A look back at some of the most memorable climate news, science, and solutions from 2022.

There were ample climate challenges this year. There were also major developments in climate solutions. MPR News reporters Kirsti Marohn, Dan Kraker, and Dan Gunderson share their top stories from across the state in 2022.

What are Minnesota’s biggest climate highlights of this year? And where are we headed next?

‘Pink snow’ and ‘glacier blood’? What is it and how does it affect our water supply with climate change?

Birds are sentinel species when it come to our changing climate. And even subtle climate shifts can have outsized impacts.

The Mississippi River reached record lows in the southern U.S. this fall causing major problems for the 60% of U.S. grain harvest that’s typically shipped down America’s largest river.

The University of Minnesota’s Forever Green Initiative is developing special crops that can improve crop productivity and fight climate change. One of which is a hybrid hazelnut grown regeneratively that’s packed with flavor and good for the environment.

There are now 12.7 million jobs worldwide in renewable energy including 700,000 new jobs in the past year alone. The growth of renewable jobs has been impressive but how long can this boom last?

Forestry and climate experts say Minnesota’s extreme whiplash between soggy years and extreme drought recently is killing our trees.

Hydrogen may be a lesser-known climate-friendly fuel solution — but it’s gaining traction quickly.

Carbon dioxide gets most of the climate change headlines but methane has 82 times more warming potential than carbon dioxide over a 20-year timespan.

The summer of 2022 was marked by floods, droughts, and hurricanes. How did climate change supercharge these events?

How are small towns building clean energy futures? L. Michelle Moore, author of “Rural Renaissance: Revitalizing America’s Hometowns through Clean Power,” shares examples of how rural towns are taking on the biggest ideas to transform our energy systems.

Minnesota farmers weren’t just eyeing the latest tractors on display at the state fair this year. Many made their way over to the Eco Building to ask how they can rent their land out to solar developers.

Curious about the Ford F150 Lightning or Mustang Mach-E? Head to the Minnesota State Fair to learn more.

A new study suggests that even small temperature changes can have a big effect on our boreal forests.

Climate change is worsening more than half of all known human pathogenic diseases -- including those spread by mosquitoes and ticks in Minnesota.

Why did renewables do so well in April? And how did Minnesota do? Gregg Mast, executive director of Clean Energy Economy MN joined Climate Cast this week to talk about it.

Climate scientist and author Michael Mann tells Climate Cast, that while it stops short of the 50 percent emissions drop we need, the climate deal now poised to pass the Senate will be “the most progress we will have made in addressing the climate crisis — ever — from the standpoint of Congressional action.”

The experimental pavement mixes incorporate recycled bottles, fiber and other materials to reduce the proportion of concrete needed. The agency is also looking at whether it can sequester carbon in its pavement.

From 80-foot wells, to a secret passageway leading to a state-of-the-art geothermal system, to a stone statue signifying the people most at risk from climate change, former WCCO news anchor and climate advocate Don Shelby has built a home meant to inspire others to act.

North Shore photographer Bryan Hansel says climate change can make for more dramatic photos — but also risk and changing scenery.

Carmakers produced more electric vehicles in 2021, while the share of new gasoline and diesel cars dipped 9 percent.

A recent study found local incomes rise by around 5 percent and home values by 2.6 percent in areas near large wind projects.

According to the resolution, the company is not doing enough to address climate change, while also paying out settlements associated with it.