Tuesday, August 24, 2010
With plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles ready to hit the marketplace, an article in the Chicago Tribune looks at whether Chicago is ready to support electric vehicle charging. The Chicago area is the third largest auto market in the nation, and with low-carbon sources of electricity available, it’s ideal location to use an plug-in vehicles to reduce global warming pollution.
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
Monday, August 9, 2010
On a Minnesota wind farm, developers have successfully completed tests of a one megawatt storage battery that can harness excess energy produced by strong winds and send it back into the grid when wind speeds slow down. The 80 ton battery could supply power to 500 homes for 7 hours. Currently, when wind turbines produce more power than the grid needs, they have to be shut down. This type of storage technology “represents a huge leap forward,” said ELPC Policy Advocate Matt McLarty, capturing more of the wind’s energy and offering a more consistent supply of electricity from clean, renewable sources.
Read More in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader
Friday, August 6, 2010
ELPC worked with a coalition of environmental and citizen groups to successfully challenge the air permit for an expansion of BP’s Whiting, Indiana oil refinery that would enable the facility to process more oil from Canadian tar sands, and create huge amounts of new global warming pollution in the process. An article in Greenwire and The New York Times looks at how BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico might affect the planned refinery expansion.
“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
Thursday, July 1, 2010
A feature in the Chicago Tribune looks at the growth of solar power in Illinois. With solar equipment becoming more affordable and supportive policies in place to encourage solar energy in Illinois and other states, solar is beginning to take off in the Midwest. ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner told the Tribune that Illinois’ recent legislation to ramp up solar power development will create at least 5,000 new green jobs in Illinois and that developers are planning more solar power plants around the state, similar to the 10 MW plant completed in Chicago this year.
“Illinois has the opportunity to be a very significant solar energy leader between the two coasts,” Learner said.
Read the full article in the Chicago Tribune
Thursday, July 1, 2010
ELPC Deputy Director Kevin Brubaker responded to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune that raised concerns about safeguarding pedestrian safety as high-speed rail expands in Illinois. Improved signaling and safety measures are an important part of investments to bring high-speed rail to the US. Recent increases in funding for high-speed rail create an opportunity to improve safety while creating more sustainable transportation options.
Read the letter here
Thursday, May 13, 2010
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has asked Indiana to strengthen and clarify the state’s water pollution standards. ELPC, The Hoosier Environmental Council and the Sierra Club asked EPA to intervene on Indiana’s water pollutions rules last December after working for years to encourage the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to write standards that comply with the federal Clean Water Act.
The EPA agreed with ELPC and our coalition that the state’s draft rules are insufficient, stating “we believe several components of the draft rules appear to be inconsistent with applicable federal requirements…” If Indiana doesn’t improve its standards, EPA could take away the state’s authority to issue wastewater permits.
ELPC will continue to push for regulations that protect clean water and public health in Indiana.
Read coverage in the Post-Tribune
Thursday, May 13, 2010
ELPC helped to pass the Mercury Thermostat Collection Act through the Illinois House and Senate this year. As the Illinois Times reports, the Act requires manufacturers to collect and recycle old mercury thermostats, setting collection goals and requiring the manufacturers to cover the costs of collection and recycling.
Without this act, old thermostats would end up in landfills where toxic mercury would be released into soil and groundwater. The legislation works with manufacturers to deal with the end life of their products, reduce waste and protect public health.
As ELPC Policy Advocate Mel Nickerson told the Illinois Times, “This is a common sense approach to keep toxins out of our soil and water. It’s a bill that environmentalists, manufacturers and the entire General Assembly could agree on.”
Read the full article here.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
In an interview for the National Association of Farm Broadcasters, ELPC Senior Policy Advocate Andy Olsen explains how programs that help farmers take advantage of clean energy are good for our economy, our environment and our energy security.
One program that’s made thousands of new clean energy projects possible is the USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). ELPC’s Farm Energy Success Stories report highlights clean energy projects on farms and rural small businesses across the country that are saving money, creating new income and reducing pollution. ELPC is advocating to expand REAP and other farm energy programs. Listen to the interview here.
Friday, April 23, 2010
The Washington Post looks at high-speed rail development across the U.S. and its benefits to travelers, the economy and the environment. The article highlights the excitement and broad support generated by the recent historic investments in high-speed rail.
ELPC Deputy Director Kevin Brubaker explains that “High-speed trains consume less fuel, produce less carbon dioxide, and promote urban redevelopment, which has broader environmental benefits…We see high-speed rail as a way to improve mobility while improving the environment.”
Read the full article in the Washington Post
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
“Cultivating Clean Water,” ELPC’s newest report written in collaboration with the Mississippi River Collaborative, was highlighted today in the Des Moines Register. The article discusses how regulations and voluntary programs can be effective tools to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, one of the most serious and pervasive threats facing our waterways today – states have the responsibility to put these rules in place. As ELPC Senior Attorney Albert Ettinger put it, “States may hold the key power to fighting one of the nation’s largest remaining water issues.”
read the full article here.
