March 04, 2025

Howard A. Learner

Advancing Our Core Environmental Values in these Challenging Times

ELPC advocates, litigates, and innovates to protect the Midwest’s environment from the Great Plains to the Great Lakes. ELPC works effectively to protect healthier clean air for people to breathe, safe clean drinking water for people to drink, and the rights of people to live in communities without toxic threats.

The Trump administration is attempting to dismantle our nation’s environmental protection system and undermine the public agencies responsible for safeguarding healthy clean air and safe clean water for all Americans. Pres. Trump is seeking to open our public lands to more oil and gas drilling, mining and fossil fuel generation. Pres. Trump and his unaccountable adjunct Elon Musk are firing staff at our iconic National Parks and at technical service agencies like NOAA that the public depends on for weather forecasting and scientific analysis to better protect our Great Lakes and oceans.

Pres. Trump is halting all climate solution actions that he can reach – including policies, funding, research and monitoring, and global cooperation agreements and programs. Sound science and common sense make clear that mitigation and adaptation actions are necessary now to stem the demonstrable climate change realities reflected in increasingly more extreme weather. Record-high temperatures are baking our planet, wildfires devastated wide swaths of Los Angeles, destructive hurricanes and flooding swept across Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Georgia and North Carolina, and damaging derechos and tornadoes hit the Midwest and Great Plains. That’s just not historic “weather as usual,” but it will be the new norm absent savvy action steps.

ELPC is stepping up and standing up to protect the Midwest’s environment, people and communities. ELPC’s focused five-point post-election strategic plan is fully underway. We are defending against misguided federal rollbacks of core environmental safeguards, and we are going on the offense in our home Midwest states to advance environmental progress.

Healthy Clean Air to Breathe and Safe Clean Water to Drink

These are core environmental values shared and overwhelmingly supported by the American public. President Trump is ignoring his campaign promises of pure, clean air and clean water. His misguided executive orders and regulatory plans already create instability and, if allowed by the courts and Congress to be implemented, would drag America backwards. They would unduly constrain EPA’s ability to fully and fairly enforce the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.

ELPC public interest attorneys are now in federal courts litigating to implement important methane pollution reduction regulations. We are in courthouses across the nation defending the public’s interest as the Trump administration seeks to stall and reverse the federal government’s prior positions in pending litigation involving clean car and clean truck standards and other clean air, clean water and greenhouse gas pollution reduction standards.

ELPC public interest attorneys are in federal and state courts litigating and in the Midwest state legislatures working to protect wetlands in Iowa and Illinois, and groundwater in Wisconsin and Michigan. Let’s not go backwards when it comes to reducing pollution and protecting safe clean water for all.

Protecting the Great Lakes

The Great Lakes system is a global gem that is the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem. The Great Lakes supply safe drinking water for more than 40 million people, provide vital ecological resources, and support our region’s economy and enhance peoples’ quality of life. All of us love the Great Lakes. It’s where we live, work and play. ELPC and our partners are building upon the bipartisan support in Congress to protect and restore the Great Lakes.

ELPC and our attorneys are co-plaintiffs with the City of Toledo and the Lucas County Board of Commissioners litigating to clean up Lake Erie, which suffers from recurring severe toxic algae outbreaks caused by excessive fertilizers from large agricultural operations and manure from CAFOs. That pollution flows into the Maumee River basin and then enters the Lake. It’s time to reduce this pollution and clean up Lake Erie.

Climate Change Solutions to Deal with Climate Change Realities

Pres. Trump is weakening America’s security and increasing costs for everyday Americans by exposing us to more of the devastating impacts of climate change. Withdrawing our nation from cooperative global treaties and arrangements on climate solutions will not somehow make America great. Censoring and hiding scientific data, and firing the government’s expert scientists does not change the facts that climate change is already fueling widespread wildfires, floods and droughts, hurricanes and more intense storms. Climate disasters already cost Americans $100 billion per year.

Likewise, by blocking Congress’ appropriated clean energy and transportation funding, including grants for new clean electric school buses in diverse communities and incentives supporting more energy efficient operations on farms, ranches, and rural small businesses, the Trump administration is attempting to evade Congress’ power of the purse as well as defying common sense on sound policies that aren’t partisan in any meaningful way.

Renewable energy and technological innovation are driving electricity market changes and economic growth. The horse is out of the barn, and it isn’t going back. ELPC attorneys and policy experts are engaged before seven Midwest state public utilities commissions to ensure energy decisions reflect economic reality and that benefits are equitably provided. Renewable energy and energy efficiency are more cost effective than coal plant generation, saving businesses and residential ratepayers money on their utility bills, while creating jobs, and avoiding pollution that harms peoples’ health.

ELPC is working to transform retired coal plant sites in Michigan into lakefront and riverfront parklands for public use and enjoyment while, at the same time, developing solar energy generation and battery energy storage on these sites that are already hardwired into the power grid. Power Plants to Parklands + Renewable Energy (P2P+RE) is a leading-edge, innovative ELPC initiative that can be potentially replicated at hundreds of retired coal plant sites across the Midwest and nationally.

We’re All in This Together

ELPC attorneys represent two Chicago community groups in federal court litigation to stop the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ proposed new 25-feet high toxic dredged waste landfill along the Lake Michigan shoreline. This location will be battered by heavy waves due to high winds and more intense storms resulting from climate change, in the Southeast Side community that is already overburdened by toxics. Think about this – why should anyone site a new toxic waste dump on the lakefront? The lakefront is for people and parks, not for toxic waste dumps.

Mobility matters for everyone. ELPC is advancing clean transportation solutions in Illinois so that public transit works by providing affordable, safe, and accessible mobility options for people in all communities.

ELPC is stepping up to the moment in these extraordinary times. Every day, we roll up our sleeves to protect the Midwest’s environment, people and our communities, and the Great Lakes and the Midwest’s vital natural resources. ELPC will continue protecting the rights of people to have healthy clean air to breathe, safe clean drinking water to drink, and live in communities without toxic threats. These are environmental rights, civil rights, and basic human rights.

Please take another look at ELPC’s 2024 annual report, which summarized our wins and significant progress as well as the challenges ahead. These are extraordinary times. But ELPC can’t – and we don’t try – to do it alone.

Thank you for all that you are doing and will continue to do to help ELPC succeed in advancing our mission of environmental progress and economic development together. Let’s keep working together to get good things done for people and our planet!