Environmental group warns against revival of crippling policy measure in 2015

Ahead of Indiana’s 2015 legislative session, the Hoosier Environmental Council has raised concern that lawmakers will revive a measure that would prohibit Indiana regulators from implementing stricter environmental standards than allowed under federal guidelines.

Jesse Kharbanda, executive director of Hoosier Environmental Council worries that if the measure is approved, it could tie the hands of agencies like the Indiana Department of Environmental Management from acting in cases that require immediate attention.

The proposal would allow for lawmakers to craft legislation with stricter guidelines in the three to four months that they convene at the beginning of the calendar year.

House Bill 1143 was introduced in the 2014 session as a means to keep the government from overregulating, but failed to pass.

The Hoosier Environmental Council also cited budgeting for the Clean Water Indiana program as a focal point in the General Assembly in the coming session.

Indiana leaders speak out against proposed federal carbon dioxide guidelines

Indiana government leaders are voicing concerns over proposed stricter federal guidelines for greenhouse gas emissions from its power plants.

"The proposed rules are ill-conceived and poorly constructed," Gov. Mike Pence said in a letter accompanying the state's official comments about an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plan that he has said would be devastating to Indiana. "There is too much pain for very little gain."

Under the new guidelines issued by the EPA. Indiana would need to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide generated per unit of electricity by 20 percent before 2030. That number varies by state according to a formula that accounts for feasibility for reducing energy demand, increasing plant efficiencies, and switching to renewable energy sources.

Indiana issues more than 30 pages of comments that criticized the plan for not giving enough time for Indiana to comply. The document questions the legitimacy of the EPA’s projections for efficiency and questions the EPA’s authority to issue the regulation.

Indiana is challenging the rule in a lawsuit filed with 11 other states.

The issue is among the Obama administration’s priorities, intended to reduce nationwide carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by 30 percent before 2030. According to the EPA, that number is the equivalent of taking two-thirds of the nation’s cards and trucks off the road.

Clinton pushed to take coal stance ahead of 2016

Ahead of a run for the White House, Hillary Clinton is confronting push from the clean coal industry to take a stance on the fuel source.

The Democratic front-runner for a 2016 presidential bid had backed President Obama’s climate agenda, specifically supporting his carbon pollution rule on existing power plants.

The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) is urging Clinton to back coal as a source of “reliable, affordable” electricity for the United States.

In Clinton’s 2008 bid for the presidency, she supported coal. During a campaign stop in Indiana, Clinton was also noted as saying “we are going to use coal,” according to footage provide by the industrygroup.  

"There’s no doubt about that. It’s just that we’ve got to figure out how to make it as clean as coal can be," Clinton said.

Laura Sheehan of ACCCE is assessing potential 2016 presidential candidates stance on the issue.

"As candidates throw their hats into the 2016 presidential race, we’ll be taking a close look at their records on energy policy and watching to see whether they choose to follow President Obama’s misguided climate policy or support U.S. jobs," Sheehan said.

Utah elementary school pilots air quality education program

Students at Hillcrest Elementary in Ogden, Utah, have adopted a new program to educate students and the community about air quality. The pilot program, which launched today, serves as a big step in integrating environmental education into the classroom.

Students will check the air quality every morning and then raise a flag on the flagpole in front of the school. The flag color corresponds with the local air quality forecast.  A green flag indicates good air quality. A yellow flag means moderate quality. An orange flag warns of unhealthy air for sensitive groups, including those people with asthma. A red flag indicates the air quality is unhealthy fore everyone.

The flag program was developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and is supported by the Utah Department of Health.

“We would like to encourage as many schools in the valley as possible to take on this program. My own kids go to Hillcrest, so I had a vested interest there. (Principal) Eric Markworth has been very supportive of this program,” Jaqualine Lowry, member of the Cache Clean Air Consortium and a parte of students at Hillcrest said in an interview with The Herald Journal. “We're looking at it as being the pilot school and seeing what works, what doesn't work and how can we improve that through other schools in the valley.”

The Utah Department of Health hopes to expand the flag program to other schools in the state and expand the program to include recess guidelines.