Eco Report

HEADLINES The Indiana Environmental Reporter says solar energy has the potential to comprise up to 40% of the nation’s energy supply by 2035, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, but pushback from utilities and lawmakers could limit how much Hoosiers can contribute to the solarization effort. —Norm Holy The environmental news from Montana isn’t good: last month, the state’s …

HEADLINES A proposed settlement agreement negotiated between utility companies, local governments and advocacy groups could finalize that one of the most carbon-emitting power plants in the state will close before the end of the decade. —Norm Holy The New York Times is skeptical of the fervor about black vultures attacking calves. The accounts described of Indiana farmlands and elsewhere seem …

HEADLINES The Observer, the student newspaper at Notre Dame, reports the university has pledged to become a carbon-neutral campus by 2050, University President Friar John Jenkins announced last Friday. —Norm Holy IndyStar reports that an Indiana University scientist will lead an ambitious effort to determine the effect toxic chemicals have on an indigenous community in Alaska — research that might …

HEADLINES The Indiana Environmental Reporter says a pair of Purdue University professors have been appointed to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s newly reconstituted Scientific Advisory Board. —Norm Holy In a story originated by WFYI, city officials from Bloomington, Carmel, and West Lafayette — and other Indiana lawmakers — sent a letter to Duke Energy urging the utility to make a …

HEADLINES Two environmental groups are putting real-time air monitoring data in the hands of citizens and giving those community members the power to make informed decisions about their health each day. —Norm Holy After losing an Indiana Court of Appeals decision, opponents of the proposed Lone Oak solar farm are asking the Indiana Supreme Court to review their case against …

HEADLINES While intense heat waves and wildfires scorch the Western U.S. and freak rainstorms spawn massive floods in Europe and China, the weather in central Indiana has been fairly tame so far this year. —Norm Holy As the country decides how hard it wants to fight climate change, Midwestern states have become battlegrounds for the nation’s energy future, according to …

The opposition was strong. Over 110 organizations and individuals signed and delivered a letter to the Governor’s office requesting a veto. The signers represented all parts of Indiana and multiple forms of environmental organizations. However, despite the unprecedented amount of opposition, on April 29th, Governor Eric Holcomb signed Senate Bill 389, which reduces the amount of wetlands in the state …

Early this summer, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency moved to declassify three PCB contamination Superfund sites in the surrounding Bloomington area. The decommission of these clean up sites from the National Priority List draws a decades long local environmental movement to a close. For those who were there to witness the contamination and resulting fights for public health and environmental …

HEADLINES As the effects of the climate crisis ravage the West with severe drought and persistent wildfires, Indiana will become accustomed to more frequent bouts of severe weather. —Norm Holy The Indiana Department of Natural Resources is investigating reports of sick and dying songbirds in five Indiana counties. The agency said several species of songbirds in Monroe, Clark, Jefferson, LaGrange …

Experts weigh in on the transition to solar energy in light of Duke Energy’s solar investment. Betty Lynch starts her day like anyone else: she flips on the lights, makes coffee and breakfast, and watches the news. Some days she cuts the grass, or hops in her car to drive to work. But Lynch doesn’t have to stop at the gas station on her way, or worry about her energy bill later. Her routine is powered by the solar panels on the roof of her home in Lawrence, Indiana. Experts say conditions are right for a transition to solar and renewable energy in Indiana. A subsidiary of the Duke Energy Corporation, Duke Energy Renewables, has announced plans for the $180 million “Hoosier Jack” solar farm in Vigo and Sullivan counties. Sophia Hall reporting for WFHB EcoReport