MAHOMET — The Champaign County ballot includes another tax referendum this November. If voters approve, it will mean more money for the county’s system of forest preserves, just as they are experiencing an increase in visitors. Lake of the Woods is one of those forest preserves. Located on the Sangamon River, the site includes almost…
CHAMPAIGN – Texas-based company Vistra Energy announced it would close its remaining coal-fired power plants in Illinois within the next decade, taking a step toward clean energy. The plants scheduled to be shut down include Joppa Steam, Kincaid, Baldwin and Newton. The latest closures follow previous coal plant shutdowns in Illinois in recent years—including in…
CARBONDALE — Drop, Cover and Hold On. Those are the directions for everyone taking part in the annual Great Shakeout Earthquake Drill next Thursday. Harvey Henson is a professor of geology and seismology at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, in a part of the state where three seismic zones overlap — the New Madrid, Wabash…
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced this week that it will begin testing all community water supplies in the state for polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS—harmful chemicals found in firefighting foam, food packaging and household products that can leak into drinking water. This is the Illinois EPA’s first widespread sampling effort to monitor PFAS in…
URBANA — University of Illinois researchers have proposed investing in a micronuclear reactor to help fight carbon emissions—and reach a goal of making the Urbana-Champaign campus carbon neutral by 2050. The proposed micronuclear reactor would contribute about 13% of campus energy and help reduce the university’s carbon footprint. The proposal is being submitted to the…
PATOKA – This summer, a district court ruled the Dakota Access Pipeline had to be shut down until a more thorough environmental review was done. That ruling was recently overturned, with the pipeline allowed to operate indefinitely. But multiple court battles continue. Reporter Lecia Bushak traveled to south-central Illinois to look into one of the…
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois EPA (IEPA) testified last week in defense of proposed coal ash rules before the Illinois Pollution Control Board and the public. The rules would specify how the agency cleans up sites under the Coal Ash Pollution Prevention Act passed last year. That includes the cleanup and closure of coal combustion residual…
The University of Illinois has begun construction on its second solar farm, as part of its long-term plan to expand renewable energy and become carbon-neutral by 2050. The new solar farm will provide 20,000 megawatt hours per year to the U of I campus—the equivalent to powering around 2,000 average homes. The project follows the…
CHICAGO – Clean energy advocates want to improve access to electric vehicles in low-income communities in Illinois. A new analysis from the Citizens Utilities Board — a consumer advocacy organization based in Chicago — argues that creating policies that promote the use of electric vehicles could lower consumer costs and air pollution in communities most…
DECATUR – Workers cut down a large tree at Rock Springs Conservation Area in southwest Decatur. They’re clearing invasive tree species to make way for re-seeding something that is now rare in Illinois—native tallgrass prairie. Less than one-tenth of 1% of Illinois’ native prairie still exists. According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois…
CHAMPAIGN – Severe thunderstorms in Illinois caused tornadoes and other hazards on Wednesday afternoon. Meterorologist Andrew Pritchard captured a picture of a large tornado around 5:20 p.m. in Divernon, a small community 16 miles south of Springfield in Sangamon County. “This was a large tornado that developed very quickly,” said Pritchard. “There was a little…
Researchers at the Nature Conservancy have developed a map identifying the best places in Illinois to install renewable wind energy. They say it is a tool to help speed up the move away from fossil fuels. The central United States has the potential to generate a total of 1,000 gigawatts of renewable wind energy, according…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge ruled Monday that the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) must be shut down by August 5 until a more extensive environmental review is conducted. The more than 1,100-mile pipeline stretches from North Dakota to south-central Illinois, where it ends at an oil tank farm in Patoka. The pipeline was the…
CHAMPAIGN – Nitrate levels in Illinois drinking water continue to be an environmental health issue and in some areas are increasing, according to a new report from the Environmental Working Group (EWG). The analysis gathered data on 10 largely agricultural states—including Illinois, Kansas and California—and found that many small, rural water systems have potentially unsafe…
DePUE – This year’s spring brought high precipitation levels across the state, and each year flooding remains a concern along the state’s rivers. Environmental advocates argue that increased flooding is just one of the results of climate change that tend to impact people of color and low-income communities more severely. One example of that is…