HEADLINES All Stories by Norm Holy A new study of more than 80 refineries raises serious concerns about the wastewater they are pumping into lakes and rivers across the U.S. One of those polluters is BP’s Whiting Refinery in northwest Indiana. A study found that textbooks’ coverage of climate change expanded from 1970 to 2019, but that the increase was …
Read More »Eco Report – January 27, 2023
HEADLINES All Stories by Norm Holy With the legislature in session, there are many bills that will impact the quality of life in Indiana. Will the legislature address real problems, or will special interests dominate again this year? A nationwide comparison of electric utility performance by an Illinois consumer advocacy group found that customers in states that are heavily reliant …
Read More »Eco Report – January 20, 2023
HEADLINES The Indiana Environmental Reporter says our state has taken small steps toward breaking its heavy reliance on coal and natural gas, but some worry a new bill will slow that transition and keep emission-spewing fossil fuels around for much longer. —Norm Holy The Herald-Times recently reported that the Department of Agriculture has approved the first U.S. vaccine to protect …
Read More »Eco Report – December 30, 2022
HEADLINES The lead story in the December 18 Herald-Times is headlined as “Cleaner energy options”. The story is about Salesforce, Roche, and Cummins, all calling for more availability of green energy. Maybe they can exert some sway on the legislature, even though that seems very unlikely. —Norm Holy The Indiana Natural Resources Commission (NRC) has approved the dedication of Sycamore …
Read More »Eco Report – December 16, 2022
HEADLINES All Stories by Norm Holy In recent months, utilities have repeatedly raised rates to cover the skyrocketing costs of the coal and gas needed to run their plants as well as the energy they had to buy from the grid when some of those plants unexpectedly shut down. In a case that could cast a cloud on the Hoosier …
Read More »Eco Report – December 9, 2022
HEADLINES All Stories by Norm Holy The November 29th edition of The Herald-Times has a front-page story entitled “Why did First Presbyterian Church in Bloomington cut trees in Brown County”. The 23-acre property in question is near highway 46 on the way to Nashville and has been owned by the church for decades. In the November 28th edition of The …
Read More »Eco Report – December 2, 2022
HEADLINES All Stories By Norm Holy WFYI reports that the new executive director for the Hoosier Environmental Council hopes to tackle some big issues in his new role. Sam Carpenter said Indiana has several areas of concern when it comes to the environment. Since its accidental introduction near Detroit, Michigan, in the mid-1990s, emerald ash borer (EAB) has rapidly spread …
Read More »Eco Report – November 18, 2022
HEADLINES All stories by Norm Holy The Republic newspaper reports the Bartholomew County Plan Commission in a 5- 2 vote has approved changes submitted by the county commissioners to an ordinance regulating placement of solar fields. Despite strong opposition from the state’s own environmental and natural resource experts, and concerns from the Governor’s Office, lawmakers pushed through a bill last …
Read More »Eco Report – November 11, 2022
HEADLINES All stories by Norm Holy IndyStar has written an extensive piece on coal ash pits – a topic many environmental groups have complained about for years and years. Yet the state legislature does nothing to change the picture. It’s part of the reason Indiana ranks 48th in air/water quality. With the end of net metering, which paid customers the …
Read More »Eco Report – November 4, 2022
HEADLINES All stories by Norm Holy Early Monday evening, the City of Bloomington Utilities issued a statement regarding hydrocarbon odors coming from the sewage flowing to the Dillman Road Wastewater Treatment Plant. A thorough search was conducted and determined the smell resulted from a release of gasoline fuel into the sanitary and storm sewer near a Marathon Gas Station located …
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