Trump signs $3B-a-year plan to boost conservation, parks
Supporters say the Great American Outdoors Act is the most significant conservation legislation enacted in nearly half a century.
Energy & Environment
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Indiana regulators cut Duke Energy’s proposed rate hike by 60%
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission ruled Monday that Duke Energy, the state’s largest electricity provider, could collect an additional $146 million a year from customers. That’s down sharply from Duke Energy’s original request.
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IBJ PODCAST: Quiet not-for-profit powers big innovations in energy, transportation
Energy Systems Network prefers to work in the background while pushing forward initiatives like IndyGo’s bus rapid transit program, the Blue Indy electric car-sharing service and autonomous IndyCar-style racing.
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2020 Innovation Issue: Catalyst firm breaks ground with transportation-technology projects
Most people have never heard of Energy Systems Network. But they probably either know of or have been affected by one or more of the not-for-profit’s forward-thinking projects.
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Proposed study commission on climate change advances to full City-County Council
The proposal was penned by Democrats in early January and has been opposed by council Republicans who believe creating a commission to study climate change is a redundant effort.
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Articles
Q&A: Water alliance leader seeks sustainability
“We’re all connected—our drinking-water utilities, our industries, people who want to use water for recreation—it’s all the same water,” says Jill Hoffmann. “So we have to manage it together.”
Work-from-home trend makes lumber a winner, paper a loser
While the demand for printing papers had been in slow decline before the pandemic, the magnitude of the drop during COVID-19 has been a surprise.
Trump looks to scale back environmental reviews for projects
The controversial changes to the National Environmental Policy Act are expected to make it easier to build highways, pipelines, chemical plants and other projects.
EPA rejects tougher air quality standards, says 2015 limits are sufficient
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler said national average ozone concentrations have dropped 25% in recent decades, mainly due to reductions in pollutants that contribute to the formation of smog.
Indiana regulators rule utilities can’t charge consumers for lost revenue during pandemic
Monday’s ruling followed a huge uproar from ratepayers and elected officials, who widely criticized utilities for their request to charge customers for electricity they didn’t use when demand slowed down during health crisis lockdowns.
Utilities face major pushback over pandemic-relief request
More than 2,300 people have complained by email to the Indiana Utility Consumer Counselor, which is on track to become the largest number of complaints for any single case in at least a decade.
Some Indiana environmental groups suffering during pandemic
Without spring events that usually attract members and donors, some of Indiana’s environmental organizations are struggling to stay afloat.
Vectren seeking to pay customers less for excess solar power
A utility that serves about 145,000 customers in Indiana wants approval to significantly reduce financial credits given to people who send excess solar-generated electricity into the power grid.
Lawsuit claims IDEM official ‘maliciously targeted’ environmental company, gas stations
Claiming an IDEM official gave “disparate treatment out of sheer vindictiveness” and “orchestrated a campaign of official harassment,” environmental consultants and business owners have filed a lawsuit against the Indiana Department of Environment Management and a deputy assistant commissioner.
Lawsuit claims U.S. plan for Indiana forest could taint water supply
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court, alleges that the Forest Service violated several environmental acts when it decided to proceed with the project in the Lake Monroe watershed, which serves all of Monroe County.
Indiana coal company with ties to Trump administration gets $10M rescue loan
The federal rescue measure was designed for companies with fewer than 500 workers, but Small Business Administration guidelines allow some bituminous coal mining firms with up to 1,500 employees to qualify for the loans.
Oil prices see record plunge, falling below $11 per barrel
Despite OPEC’s unprecedented output deal agreed a week ago, the oil market remains massively oversupplied as the lockdowns to fight the spread of the coronavirus reduce global crude demand by about a third.
1,400-acre solar farm proposed in northwestern Indiana
The Lake County Council voted 6-1 to support a zoning change that would allow construction of the estimated $200 million project in a rural area, about 20 miles south of Gary.
OPEC, oil nations agree to nearly 10M barrel cut amid virus
OPEC, Russia and other oil-producing nations on Sunday finalized an unprecedented production cut in hopes of boosting crashing prices amid the coronavirus pandemic and a price war, officials said.
Federal spending makes more energy assistance available
But an administrator of energy-assistance programs says the funding “only scratches the surface” of what’s needed.
Global pact to contain oil price crash takes shape
The deal paves the way for cuts that experts estimate could reach 15 million barrels a day. Such a move would be unprecedented both in its size and the number of participating countries, many of whom have long been bitter rivals in the energy industry.
Trump administration rolls back future mileage standards for vehicles
The Trump administration says the looser mileage standards will allow consumers to keep buying the less fuel-efficient but safer-to-drive SUVs that U.S. drivers have favored for years.
Companies are seeking to reduce their environmental impacts and increase sustainability
Increasingly, as the planet warms, pressure is building from environmentalists, investors, consumers and the general public for corporate America to do something about it.
Tom Easterday: Subaru’s zero-landfill effort is example of what’s possible
In addition to helping eliminate risks to your operations, being a good environmental steward has many other benefits to businesses large and small. Having a successful environmental stewardship program can boost employee morale, enhance a company’s brand image, promote creativity and innovation among employees, increase community awareness of environmental stewardship and generate cost savings.