Warmer waters building in the tropical Pacific Ocean are suggesting an El Nino event developing late this year. Forecasts predict an event range from a moderate El Nino, to a so-called Super El Nino event, which could have dramatic effects on weather in Minnesota, the U.S. and the world.

MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner spoke with Andrew Freedman, a Senior Reporter for Climate & Weather at CNN, who has reported on the event.

Burning fossil fuels is one of the primary drivers of climate change, releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, causing changes including increased temperatures and extreme weather events here in the Midwest.

But recent research took advantage of a 40-year ongoing experiment at the University of Minnesota’s Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve to study how this carbon is being stored in retired croplands.

MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner spoke with Eric Seabloom, a professor at the University of Minnesota College of Biological Science who was an author on the research.

Fossil fuels are by far the largest contributor to global climate change, accounting for nearly 90 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions. But there are people here in Minnesota working on solutions for managing those emissions.

MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner spoke with Paul Dauenhauer, a Distinguished McKnight University Professor at the UM College of Science and Engineering, about the start-up company Carba, of which he is a cofounder.

Through Carba, they have developed a proprietary process that converts plant-based waste material into biochar, a stable material that sequesters carbon and can be buried underground for more than 1,000 years