skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, June 19, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Israel, Iran trade strikes as Trump weighs U.S. involvement in conflict; Challenge to ND gender-affirming care ban in play, despite SCOTUS ruling; 'Jubilee Day' was honored before Juneteenth in 1800s Indiana; Ohio urged to restore $61M for foster care in final budget talks.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Lawmakers on both sides urge President Trump not to enter the Israel-Iran war. Supreme Court deals the transgender community a major blow by upholding a Tennessee state law.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Hurricane Helene mobilized the North Carolina community of Marshall in unexpected ways, giant data centers powering AI want cheap rural land but can face community pushback, and ceramics made by Cherokee potters honor multiple generations.

Hoosiers Call on Leaders to Support Clean Power Plan

play audio
Play

Friday, August 7, 2015   

INDIANAPOLIS - Doctors and pastors, economists and environmentalists - people all across Indiana - are applauding the first-ever national protections from carbon pollution - and they're calling on the state's elected leaders to get behind the Clean Power Plan.

Dr. Stephen Jay said that during his career as a pulmonologist, there were some days when the air quality in Indianapolis was so poor that his patients with asthma and other breathing issues were forced to stay indoors. While some critics of the plan to limit pollution from existing power plants have claimed it's too costly, Jay, a professor emeritus at Indiana University School of Medicine, argued that it is a necessary investment that ultimately will help save and enhance the lives of thousands of Hoosiers.

"It really is a small step, but it's a critically important step," he said. "We're all going to have to address this together if we're going to stabilize the increasing temperatures on the planet."

As part of the Clean Power Plan, states are responsible for developing their own plans to reduce carbon pollution. However, in June, Gov. Mike Pence sent a letter to President Obama stating that Indiana would not comply with the Clean Power Plan as it was written. If the state fails to develop a plan, a federal plan will be forced upon it.

Mike Oles, organizing director for Hoosier Interfaith Power and Light, said he finds the governor's response disappointing on many levels. Oles maintained that the plan is good for Indiana from an economic, environmental and moral point of view.

"Faith really asks us to care for God's creation, asks us to care for the next generation, and really to do right for the future," he said, "and so the Clean Power Plan is a major step in doing that."

Experts say climate disruption already has cost Indiana billions of dollars in the form of droughts, floods and crop damage. Surveys have shown that the vast majority of people in the state believe the government should limit dangerous greenhouse-gas emissions.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A parklet is an elevated public space, usually converted from a parking space and used to enhance community experience and support local businesses. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Eight Wisconsin cities, including four rural communities, will receive improvements to help make their communities more livable. Eleven grantees …


Social Issues

play sound

A bill prohibiting credit reporting on Oregonians' medical debt has been signed into law by Gov. Tina Kotek. Hailed as a significant victory for …

Environment

play sound

June is World Oceans Month, and advocates are warning that industrial shipping pollution hurts both oceans and port communities. At least 31 …


Flowers and notes are placed outside the Brooklyn Park home of state Rep. Melissa Hortman after the Minnesota lawmaker and her husband were fatally shot in what police say was a politically motivated attack. (Mike Moen/PNS)

Social Issues

play sound

Minnesotans gathered at the state Capitol last night for a candlelight vigil for Rep. Melissa Hortman, D-Brooklyn Park, after she was assassinated …

Social Issues

play sound

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday released an opinion that allows Tennessee to keep in place a ban on gender-affirming care for minors. While seen …

More than 500 Ohio children were reported sleeping in county government offices over a one-year period due to a lack of foster care placements. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Ohio child welfare advocates are urging lawmakers to restore more than $60 million in funding to address the state's ongoing foster care placement cri…

Social Issues

play sound

A Pennsylvania literacy organization is commemorating the Juneteenth holiday by highlighting the history and contributions of Black people in the Unit…

Environment

play sound

Forest fires have broken out in parts of New Mexico that state forecasters had already warned would see an elevated wildfire risk this summer due to h…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021