Supporting plug-in vehicles means providing public charging stations, streamlining the process to install home charging stations and providing incentives to reduce the amount of pollution created by charging plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles. ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner told the Tribune, “We need to get the right policies in place, moving forward, soon. And when I say soon, I mean get them in place over the next six months to a year.” ELPC is working with the public and private sectors in Chicago to maximize the environmental benefits of plug-in vehicles.

Read the article here Learn more about plug-in vehicles at elpc.org/plug-ins

In an OpEd published in the Des Moines Register, ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner says, “Iowa can and should be a leader in gaining the jobs of the future by helping build new, cleaner cars that increase our energy independence, reduce pollution and save us money at the pump.” Read the full OpEd.

ELPC Policy Advocate Madeleine Weil, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, ELPC Policy Advocate Sarah Wochos and ELPC Co-Legislative Director Al Grosboll

On August 17, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed into law two bills that will create more than 5,000 new jobs and bring more than 3 million kilowatt hours of solar electricity to Illinois consumers by 2014. ELPC was instrumental in crafting and advocating for these bills, which will increase the number of solar installations around the state.

The Solar Ramp Up bill (HB 6202) sets annual targets for the amount of solar power used in Illinois between 2012 and 2015, these targets give industry a green light to invest in solar power and create new jobs, revenue and clean energy here in Illinois.  The Homeowners’ Solar Rights Act (HB 5429) clarifies the rights of homeowners living in homeowner or condominium associations to put solar panels on the property and outlines a process for that to occur.

Read coverage from the Associated Press

Read More in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader

“Putting economics above public safety and the environment appears to be a pervasive practice” at BP, said ELPC senior attorney Faith Bugel. “If there’s a loophole, the practice appears to be to find their way through it. Our concern is that what happened in the Gulf doesn’t happen here.”

Read the full article in the New York Times

ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner told the New York Times, “The reality is the coal comes from Wyoming, other states get the power, Midwest Generation gets the profit, and Chicago gets the pollution and health costs.”

ELPC has been actively supporting the ordinance and helped pass 2006 regulations that greatly reduced mercury pollution from Illinois coal plants.

Read more in the New York Times

Midwest-focused solutions are critical. Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin account for 20% of the nation’s carbon pollution. The Midwest alone is responsible for more global warming pollution than any country, except China, India, Russia and Japan. That’s because the Midwest has the largest concentration of old, dirty coal plants that produce large amounts of carbon dioxide which cause global warming, and because we are the hub of the U.S. transportation industry.

Much of our work focuses on environmental solutions that can dramatically reduce global warming pollution:

CLEANER ENERGY: 32% of our country’s global warming pollution comes from generating electric power. How we produce that power, and how much we generate, has a profound impact on global warming.

• Creating Markets for Renewable Energy. Renewable energy resources are the fuel of the future and passage of renewable portfolio standards (RPS) in every Midwestern state is a critical step to building a clean energy future.
• Cleaning Up Dirty Coal Plants. The Midwest still depends on coal-fired power plants for more than 75% of its electrical power. Coal plants are among the dirtiest sources of power. ELPC is working to bring these older plants up to modern pollution control standards.
• Promoting Farm Energy. Producing energy from biofuels, biogas, wind power, and solar energy can reduce our demand for foreign oil, create jobs in America’s heartland, and reduce carbon pollution.

TRANSPORTATION: Motor vehicles consume almost 75% of the oil we use and produce about 26% of our global warming pollution.

• Promoting High-Speed Rail. Trains are three times as efficient as cars. By promoting fast, frequent rail service, we can reduce our dependence on cars and planes.
• Advocating Cleaner Cars. Under new federal standards, average fuel economy for passenger cars will increase from 27.5 mpg in 2009 to 37.8 mpg by 2016 – an improvement of nearly 40 percent.
• Opposing Wasteful Highway Spending. ELPC partners with local environmental groups to oppose unnecessary highway projects, such as I-69 in Indiana, which promote sprawl and encourage more fuel consumption.

GREEN BUILDINGS: Heating, cooling, and lighting buildings is a major source of carbon pollution. That’s why ELPC works to promote green buildings that reduce our demand for fossil fuels.

• Implementing Energy Efficient Building Codes. Doing energy efficiency “right” at the new construction and major rehab stage is by far the most cost-effective time to make these pro-environmental and energy cost reduction investments. ELPC was instrumental in getting a commercial energy efficiency building code passed in Illinois in 2004 and a residential energy efficient building code in Illinois in 2009.

Learn more about global warming and how you can make a difference at GlobalWarmingsolutions.org, our comprehensive website focused on climate change in the Midwest.

We publish one of the Midwest’s most important online information hubs on global warming; visit us at GlobalWarmingSolutions.org.

Some argue that coal is the cheapest source of electricity available, but proposed federal regulations on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases could add additional costs to the power from this plant.

ELPC opposed the construction of the plant. As Executive Director Howard Learner told the Tribune, “These cities and towns are captive buyers at the mercy of Peabody and its ever-increasing costs. People are going to pay higher rates for more pollution. That isn’t a winning formula.”

Read the full story in the Chicago Tribune.

Sustainable biomass and biofuel crops could become an important clean energy resource, but farmers want to be sure there’s a market for these crops before they plant them, and power producers want to be sure there’s a supply of these crops before they buy them. BCAP was intended to help break this “chicken and egg” dilemma by offsetting a portion of the costs of growing and harvesting new energy crops and other biomass feedstocks.  Congress passed BCAP in the 2008 Farm Bill, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is just starting to fully implement it.

With this briefing and related activities, ELPC is seeking to persuade USDA to hard-wire strong environmental protections in the BCAP rules and prioritize the right energy crops for development. If grown and harvested correctly, BCAP can boost on-farm income, help rural communities, and improve environmental quality.

Click here to view presentations on BCAP from National Wildlife Federation, Anna Rath, Show Me Energy Cooperative and University of Illinois.

For more information on BCAP and other Farm Bill Energy Title programs, please visit FarmEnergy.org.