By Enrique Saenz for Mirror Indy.
Broadcast version by Joe Ulery for Indiana News Service reporting for the Mirror Indy-Free Press Indiana-Public News Service Collaboration.

Earth Month in Indianapolis has gotten off to a wet start. In just a single day, April 2, the city received about half the rainfall it usually gets the entire month.

The rain event was a high point in precipitation that followed two months of below-average rain or snow, according to the National Weather Service. The same happened in January, when snow and rainfall broke a five-month streak of below average precipitation. Before that it was a three month streak. 

The city is also experiencing some of the highest temperature averages ever. This February’s average temperature was 8.7 degrees above average, the fourth-hottest February recorded in Indianapolis. December was the seventh-warmest on record.

IU Indianapolis biogeochemist Gabriel Filippelli and other climate researchers say the precipitation and temperature patterns are evidence that the climate in Indiana is changing.

“We often think of climate change as a big global thing that only happens to polar bears, but we’re actually feeling the impacts of climate change right here in Indiana and in Indianapolis,” Filippelli said.

Filippelli is the executive director of Indiana University’s Environmental Resilience Institute and was part of the Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment, a statewide effort to understand how climate change will impact the state over the next century.

He and the other researchers found that emissions from fossil fuels will heat the world enough to alter the climate, which, in turn, will affect almost every facet of life for Hoosiers, including the weather, health, agriculture, energy use and even tourism.

More rain and higher temperatures over the last 20 years have resulted in 15% more flooding events, Filippelli said, and contributed to a 400% surge in mosquito populations here. 

Climate change is even affecting the daily commute for Indianapolis residents. 

“The weather is so variable now in springtime that (the Department of Public Works) has a really hard time getting the right paving mix to fix potholes,” Filippelli said. “This is, unfortunately, the perfect weather to make potholes on roads. The temperature doesn’t stay stable enough to be able to fix them with a proper kind of pothole mix.”

It’s because of these and other concerns that the Indianapolis Office of Sustainability is holding seven climate-focused workshops — called the Thriving Neighbors Series — at city parks to teach residents about what changes are coming and how to adapt to them.

Filippelli is leading the first workshop, Climate Change 101, on Tuesday, April 9 at the Rhodius Park Family Center on the west side.

“I try to relay the fact that climate change is here and it’s going to continue until we get smarter about reducing carbon emissions,” he said. “We have a lot of ways to mitigate climate change and adapt to it.”

Here is the full list of workshops:

• Climate Change 101 with Gabe Filippelli of the IU Environmental Resilience Institute | 5:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 9 | Rhodius Park Family Center, 1720 W. Wilkins St.

• Eco-Therapy with Hemlock Counseling Services | 1-2 p.m. Saturday, April 13 | Washington Park Family Center, 3130 E. 30th St. | Includes a guided nature walk through the park’s trails.

• Environmental Justice with Kheprw Institute | 11 a.m. to noon Friday, April 26 | Garfield Park Family Center, 2345 Pagoda Drive | AES Indiana will give away tree saplings at this Arbor Day celebration event.

• Water and Rain Barrels with the Marion County Soil and Water Conservation District and the White River Alliance | 10-11 a.m. Wednesday, May 1 | Brookside Park Family Center, 3500 Brookside Parkway South Drive | Includes rain barrels for the first 10 registrants.

• How to Compost with Indy Go Green | 6-7 p.m. Thursday, May 9 | Pride Park Family Center, 1129 Vandeman St.

• Healthy and Sustainable Eating with Black Leaf Vegan | 10-11 a.m. Thursday, May 16 | Frederick Douglass Park Family Center, 1616 E. 25th St. | Includes food samples and a plant-based meal for registrants.

• Home Energy Rebates with the Hoosier Environmental Council | 6-7 p.m. Wednesday, May 22 | Municipal Gardens Family Center, 1831 Lafayette Road.

Dozens of union members rallied Wednesday in Sacramento, calling on lawmakers to pass a set of bills called the California Worker Climate Bill of Rights. The bills are intended to integrate worker's rights into the clean-energy transition.

The Climate Resilient Schools Act would create the first master plan to make sure our schools have clean, cool air, adequate shade and energy-efficient buildings and buses.

Jeff Freitas, president of the California Federation of Teachers, explained the importance of the bill.

"The bill also looks at everything that is needed," Freitas emphasized. "In terms of how it can help the state, how it can help the school environment and how it can help the students creating not only a more welcome space but a healthier space for our students and the workers there."

A second bill would require safety measures for workers at biofuel facilities. A third proposal would create a permanent fund for workforce development training -- with federal climate infrastructure monies coming -- and create labor standards for programs receiving federal dollars.

Amber Parrish, executive director of the Western States Council of the United Food and Commercial Workers union, said if we leave things to big business, the transition will mean unplanned layoffs, the creation of low-wage jobs and the decimation of the public sector.

"If we win strong labor standards in every emerging and shifting energy industry, we can ensure we have high-road jobs with family-sustaining wages and good benefits in green industries," Parrish contended.

The group is also calling for full funding in the new state budget to support workers displaced from the oil and gas industry. And the coalition opposes a measure on the November ballot called the "Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act," which would put any future statewide tax increase on the ballot.

New research from the University of New Hampshire could help dairy farmers increase profits while reducing their effect on the climate.

Scientists said adding a plant-based essential oil blend to cow feed can improve a cow's digestion and reduce the release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Andre Brito, associate professor of dairy cattle nutrition and management at the University of New Hampshire, said the findings are especially true for pasture grazing cows and shows a happy cow makes for a healthier environment.

"If those animals are provided those conditions, they'll be more productive," Brito pointed out. "Then the amount of methane that's being emitted by those animals is diluted because they're producing more product."

Brito reported adding the plant oils led to a more than 6% increase in milk production, which is good news for the majority of New Hampshire dairies, especially small to mid-size operations with smaller profit margins and higher equipment costs.

Still, Brito noted the research findings could translate to larger, industrial-size dairies. The factory farms often hold thousands of cows, generating significant methane emissions through their hearty burps and manure, which is often stored in large, polluting lagoons.

Brito acknowledged although the plant-based oils are readily available for use, farmers must weigh the economic benefits and overall environmental impact.

"Any investment that the farmers would make in a product has to be tied to economics," Brito stressed. "Even though farmers overall, they are conscious about the environment and they want to make sure that there is less carbon, nitrogen footprint out of their farms."

Brito's research was conducted on cows as they transitioned from the winter indoor-feeding schedule to eating their favorite plants in the pasture, a diet change which can increase the cow's emissions.

Brito added he hopes the research can help farmers better understand when to add the oils to the cow feed to potentially reduce the cow's overall climate effect.


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State officials in Maine are highlighting apprenticeships as a way to earn a living wage and contribute to the state's growing green economy.

They'll kick off the first-ever Youth Apprenticeship Week by exposing high school students to the numerous ways they can learn and earn in offshore wind energy development, passive home construction, aquaculture, and more.

Maine Department of Labor Apprenticeship Program Manager Kristine McCallister said about 90% of apprentices choose to stay with their employer after their training is complete.

"Apprentices have a mentor and they're earning wages and they're earning pay increases as they go," said McCallister, "so it's a really great way to attract talent to Maine and to keep talent here."

McCallister said apprentices will earn $300,000 more over their lifetime. The state aims to add 75,000 more workers to the economy over the next five years by growing career training pipelines.

A report by the Maine Labor Climate Council finds the state can create tens of thousands of jobs by building a zero-carbon transportation system.

Workers will be needed to install EV charging stations, electrify school bus fleets, and potentially build a high-speed rail line from Bangor to Boston.

McCallister said new Mainers, like those studying with Portland Adult Education, are using apprenticeships to fill these roles and other clean-energy jobs.

"Those pre-apprentices just graduated and have interviewed with some of our apprenticeship programs," said McCallister, "so we're really hoping they're going to help feed that pipeline as this economy is booming in Maine in terms of the renewable-energy sector."

McCallister said some companies are even offering on-the-spot interviews and job offers this week. All apprenticeship events are listed on the Department of Labor's website.




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