Climate Cast

Minnesota Public Radio

MPR News meteorologist Paul Huttner with the latest research on our changing climate.

  • 4 minutes 39 seconds
    CNN chief climate correspondent on finding hope in a world of climate change

    “I’m sorry we broke the sea and sky and shortened the wings of the nightingale. I’m sorry that the Great Barrier Reef is no longer great, that we value Amazon much more than the Amazon.”


    Those are the words of CNN’s chief climate correspondent Bill Weir from his new book called “Life as We Know It (Can Be).” He wrote it as a letter to his 4-year-old son River to read in the future.


    It’s a future where he hopes we’ve fixed our broken climate.


    Bill Weir, who began his career in Austin, shared more about the book on this week’s Climate Cast.

    26 April 2024, 7:05 pm
  • 4 minutes 45 seconds
    As hurricanes get more powerful, some scientists suggest a new category six

    Hurricanes are getting so strong that some scientists say we should add a Category 6 to the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale.


    That’s out of a recent study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences looking at the link between stronger hurricanes and climate change.


    Senior Climate Reporter Andrew Freedman wrote about it for Axios.

    18 April 2024, 8:31 pm
  • 5 minutes 3 seconds
    Climate denialism mapped to geography and political affiliation

    A recent study shows nearly 15 percent of Americans “do not believe in climate change.”


    So, what drives climate denialism in the U.S.?


    Joshua Newell is a professor and co-director of the Center for Sustainable Systems. He was one of the authors of this research and broke down his findings.

    11 April 2024, 8:31 pm
  • 4 minutes 28 seconds
    Red and blue pitches for electric vehicles?

    Electric vehicle dealers right here in Minnesota are using different strategies to convince prospective buyers from different political affiliations.

    4 April 2024, 9:31 pm
  • 4 minutes 45 seconds
    New study shows climate change is already affecting food prices

    A new paper shows increasing global average temperatures and more intense and frequent heat waves are already driving up the prices of food and other goods.


    To talk more about climate change and inflation is the lead author of that research, Maximilian Kotz with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany.

    28 March 2024, 6:31 pm
  • 4 minutes 47 seconds
    Record-breaking ocean temperatures

    Earth’s oceans have been reaching record-warm temperatures. Every day for the last 12 months.


    What is happening? How much is climate change driving the temperature spike? And how concerned are climate scientists?


    University of St. Thomas Professor John Abraham, one of the world’s leading ocean temperature researchers, talks about it.

    21 March 2024, 8:31 pm
  • 4 minutes 39 seconds
    The green energy gridlock at the Capitol

    More than 25 percent of Minnesota’s electricity now comes from renewable sources like wind and solar.


    Despite the progress and growth of green energy, there’s still a backlog of projects waiting approval is slowing the growth of clean energy in Minnesota. A new proposed bill being considered by the state would streamline the permitting process.


    Reporter Kristoffer Tigue wrote about this topic for Inside Climate News.


    To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

    15 March 2024, 7:38 pm
  • 4 minutes 38 seconds
    Forecasting a record-breaking winter

    Minnesota’s warmest winter on record was literally off the charts in several metrics.


    Just how unique was this winter? And how is our shifting climate impacting our daily weather forecasts?


    Pete Boulay is with the Minnesota State Climatologist Office. He keeps track of weather and climate records around Minnesota.

    7 March 2024, 9:31 pm
  • 4 minutes 55 seconds
    What an unseasonably warm winter will mean for farmers this year

    The warmest winter on record has also brought some of the lowest snow cover on record to much of Minnesota.


    What does the lack of snow mean for Minnesota’s soils and farmers this year?


    Jeff Strock is a professor with the University of Minnesota Southwest Research and Outreach Center.

    29 February 2024, 10:31 pm
  • 4 minutes 26 seconds
    Climate scientist Michael Mann wins defamation lawsuit against conservative bloggers

    Well-known climate scientist Michael Mann recently won a million-dollar lawsuit against conservative bloggers.


    Mann alleged that he was defamed by the bloggers who said the climatologist “molested and tortured data.”


    So what precedent could this case set?


    Leigh Currie, the Director of Strategic Litigation with the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, breaks down what his win could mean for climate science.

    22 February 2024, 11:31 pm
  • 4 minutes 52 seconds
    Super current El Niño and climate change hit the Galapagos Islands

    Locals in the Galapagos say climate change and the current Super El Niño could be affecting the marine life and climate there.


    The Galapagos Islands sit on the Equator in the eastern Pacific Ocean, just west of Ecuador at the confluence of three major ocean currents.


    MPR meteorologist Sven Sundgaard just returned from the islands on a trip where he got a first-hand look at what’s happening.

    16 February 2024, 10:31 pm
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