Eco Report

HEADLINES The federal Inflation Reduction Act, according to a story by WFYI, could help Indiana utilities and other businesses to adopt renewable energy like solar — but whether it will encourage Indiana residents to do the same is unclear. —Norm Holy The Indiana Environmental Reporter said in a press release that the EPA and the State of Indiana filed a …

HEADLINES Midwest Energy reports on a solar project that almost developed by accident.  Larry Graham found himself scrambling when a farmer who had been renting a parcel of his land for three decades “kind of bailed out.” Graham figured leasing it for solar panels would be a good fit and started doing research online. —Norm Holy Researchers are combing far …

HEADLINES WFIU reported the northern Indiana utility NIPSCO wants to raise rates to clean up coal ash ponds at its Michigan City coal plant. Other utilities in the state may be following suit. Activists say NIPSCO’s customers shouldn’t have to pay for what they call an “incomplete” cleanup. —Norm Holy Pam Roberts, with MC-IRIS, has identified the Callery Pear as …

HEADLINES The Energy News Network reports Indiana solar installers knew their customers would be worse off when new, reduced rates for surplus solar generation took effect on July 1. —Norm Holy The Black residents of the Grays Ferry section of c are grappling with the aftermath of the shutdown of the 150-year-old Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refinery, which once was the …

HEADLINES The Indiana Department of Health has adopted an emergency rule increasing what it considers elevated levels of the neurotoxin lead in children’s blood and has initiated family education and case management for children with lead in their blood. —Linda Greene WTIU reports that Indiana households have more energy insecurity than all but seven states in the country. That’s according …

HEADLINES Indiana’s state insect is a lightning bug.  In 2018, after years of campaigning by Hoosier elementary students, the Indiana legislature and Gov. Eric Holcomb proclaimed the Say’s firefly as the state’s bug. Not only is this species of firefly native to Indiana, it also is named after a Hoosier who discovered it: Thomas Say. —Norm Holy The Republic in …

HEADLINES According to research by the Environmental Resilience Institute, average temperatures in Indiana will rise by 5-6 degrees Fahrenheit by 2050. The research also concluded that between 2004 and 2018, an average of 702 deaths occurred per year from extreme heat in the U-S. —Linda Greene Ships traversing the Saint Mary’s River at the Ontario, Canada–Michigan border between Lake Superior …

HEADLINES  Members of the Morgan County Soil and Water Conservation District board received an update from chairman Doug Peine about the closure of a Duke Energy coal ash pond in southern Indiana. Peine said the Hoosier Environmental Council filed a lawsuit over the closure of the ash pits at the Gallagher Power Plant in New Albany, along the Ohio River. …

HEADLINES According to the Tribune, Seymore’s newspaper, Community forums are set to learn about the newly published Lake Monroe Watershed Management Plan and how people can help protect and enhance water quality in the lake and its tributaries. —Norm Holy The Coalition Against the Mid-States Corridor, a proposed new-terrain highway in southern Indiana, has joined the Sierra Club, Indiana Forest …

HEADLINES Because of the abundance of ruffed grouse, Grouseland was the name given by William Henry Harrison to his mansion in Vincennes. Even as recently as 1980, there were a good number of grouse. Their numbers dropped and by this century there were few survivors. —Norm Holy Fifty years ago, the U.S. passed the Clean Water Act with the goal …