Tag Archives: renewable energy

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 …

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  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 On February 9th Sunrise Bloomington, along with IU Student Government, Students for a Green World and other student groups, met with IU president Pamela Whitten, Vice President of Capital Planning and Facilities Tom Morrison and IU Foundation President J. T. Forbes to discuss divestment from fossil fuels among other action steps to decrease the university’s role in exacerbating the …

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 …

Minnesota recently became the first state in the union to ban TCE, short for trichloroethylene, a volatile organic compound that’s used to manufacture refrigerant chemicals and is also used as a solvent for degreasing and as a spot cleaner in dry cleaning. It’s also in several common household products. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is an important federal consumer watchdog …

May fifteenth is National Endangered Species Day. It is celebrated to remind us of the importance of protecting endangered species and their habitats.  Legislation on endangered species was passed during the Nixon presidency. The Trump administration has weakened many parts of the act.  Suppressing the census count of frontline communities directly affected by climate disaster would further inequity, especially when …

Last year marked the fourth year in a row that the Atlantic hurricane season saw above-average activity, and it doesn’t look like this year will provide any relief. Using the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse, the EPA has issued what amounts to a license to pollute. Polluting industries claim that the disease has caused staff absences that make it difficult …

The world’s tropical forests are rapidly losing their ability to absorb carbon from the atmosphere. A study published in the journal Nature found that in fifteen years the Amazon could turn from a carbon absorber into a carbon emitter, due to wildfires, deforestation and the excess greenhouse gases pumped into the atmosphere.  At a time when we need to be …

Former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has been hired as an energy lobbyist, in Indiana. Pruitt resigned from the EPA in July, 2018, amid reported ethical violations and mismanagement of funds. Pruitt registered last week as a lobbyist, in Indiana. He was hired by Denver-based Hallador Energy Company which maintains substantial coal mining interests throughout Indiana. Hallador owns Sunrise …