HILL: Too much money blown on energy fixes
More than one homeowner has been convinced to cut home energy bills by replacing windows or installing radiant barriers in their attic.
Environment
Articles
Nation’s green-power push has secret, dirty costs
The consequences from the ethanol era are so severe that environmentalists and many scientists have now rejected corn-based ethanol as bad environmental policy. But the Obama administration stands by it, highlighting its economic benefits to the farming industry.
Report: Great Lakes cleanup helpful but needs better way to judge success
Federal officials and advocacy groups believe the project is making significant progress on pollution cleanup and other problems, but they’re short on yardsticks for confirming their impressions.
Indiana coal industry battling EPA plant limits
Members of Indiana's coal industry and business community are heading to Chicago this week to fight against new limits on coal-fired plants they say would cost hundreds of jobs across the state.
Foes say proposed reservoir would have adverse impact
A Muncie group that opposes a proposal to build a new reservoir in central Indiana says the project raises health concerns, including waste from former auto industry plants that might contaminate the reservoir.
Environmentalists targeting ag laws
The Hoosier Environmental Council has targeted food safety, animal rights and the environmental impact the corporate livestock industry has in Indiana.
IDEM chief: Fed rules essentially ban new coal plants
The commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Thomas Easterly, told lawmakers that the pending federal regulations will essentially rule out coal-fired power plants that currently generate much of the state’s electricity.
DowAgrosciences cultivates sales record, but profit withers
Despite a boost in third-quarter revenue due to crop-protection products, profit for the local unit of Dow Chemical tumbled more than 71 percent.
Peregrine falcon coming off endangered list
The peregrine falcon, a critical component of Indianapolis’ battle against pigeons, is coming off Indiana’s endangered species list following a successful two-decade effort to reintroduce the bird to the state.
Board backs site for $2.1B Indiana fertilizer plant
Posey County's Board of Zoning Appeals on Thursday approved a permit for the project on 219 acres of farmland in an industrial area near Mount Vernon.
City officials aim to build on momentum for cycling
Indianapolis has become a more bike-friendly city, and city planners are looking to ensure the progress continues. The Metropolitan Development Commission will vote Oct. 16 on a bicycle master plan that lays out a host of educational and policy initiatives to encourage two-wheeled transportation.
State tourism destinations hope shutdown is short
The shutdown has closed or limited access to Indiana’s federal forests and parkland, including the 13,000-acre Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
Eco-friendly lighting firm gains wattage after recession
Eco Lighting Solutions in Fishers designs and sells induction lighting, which costs less to install than LED and requires less energy than fluorescent. Induction lights work a lot like cheaper fluorescent ones, but don’t burn out as quickly.
Sides speak out in hearing over so-called ag-gag bill
The debate before the Economic Development Study Committee comes five months after House Speaker Brian Bosma killed a bill that would have made it a crime to secretly shoot photos or video on private property with the goal of harming a business.
Obama takes on coal with first-ever carbon limits
New requirements could have a major impact in Indiana, which gets more than 90 percent of its electricity from coal plants and ranks sixth in the nation in coal production.
New vision for Eastgate includes solar farm
A former east-side shopping mall will soon be covered in solar panels, possibly the most transformative of property owner Alex Carroll’s various redevelopment efforts.
Biofuel fraud case shines light on Imperial CEO
Federal prosecutors say Jeffrey Wilson did not initially know about a fraud scheme in Imperial Petroleum’s new subsidiary, E-Biofuels, but allowed the deception to continue once he did, costing investors tens of millions of dollars.
Ruling: Indiana failed to study mine’s water impacts
An environmental law judge has found that Indiana failed to fully assess the impact of coal waste runoff on local waterways when it issued a permit for a southwestern Indiana surface coal mine that’s the largest such mine east of the Mississippi River.
Purdue uncorks web series on Indiana wine industry
Series organizer Natalie van Hoose says “Indiana’s wine industry may be small, but it’s really quite remarkable.”
Indiana corn deteriorating under hot, dry conditions
A Purdue Extension corn specialist says the combination of dry weather and extreme heat during critical weeks for kernel-weight development is causing Indiana's once-thriving corn crop to decline.