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Paul Huttner

The year of the superstorm, a 'net zero' home and how to pick a green car

Powerful winds and rains from Hurricane Maria.
Powerful winds and rains from Hurricane Maria.
Cedrik-Islam Calvados | AFP | Getty Images file

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This week on Climate Cast, MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner discusses 2017's record number of extreme weather events with an expert climate analyst, and we hear about what it's like to create a "net zero" home and how to choose a climate-friendly car. Here's some more on the show:

• Was 2017 the year of the superstorm? Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria didn't just break weather records, they broke bank accounts. Combined damage estimates for the storms are more than $200 billion, and we're still assessing the economic and human costs of this extreme weather year. Kevin Trenberth, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, joins us to explain this year's drastic weather and what's yet to come.

• The Hanson's 'net zero' home: Kate and Mark Hanson's Roseville, Minn., home isn't like any other in town. It's a certified "net zero" house, which means it produces as much energy as it uses.

• How do you pick a climate-friendly vehicle? Our cars' tailpipes are now the single biggest source of carbon going into our atmosphere. Last year — for the first time since 1979 — America's cars, trucks and airplanes pumped out more carbon than power plants. So, we ask Fresh Energy's science policy director J. Drake Hamilton what makes a car friendly to the climate. Read more here.

Use the audio player above to hear the full show.