It’s not an exaggeration to say the Trump administration’s budget cuts to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. National Weather Service will put lives at risk.
WGN Chief Meteorologist Emeritus Tom Skilling talked with ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner about the budget cuts that will impact weather forecasting. System satellites, doppler radars, and scientists are critical to predicting tornados, hurricanes, floods, cold, and heat waves. Without that data, forecasts will be less accurate, leaving communities unprepared and vulnerable to devastating disasters.
ELPC was in federal court this week, representing the Iowa Farmers Union and family farmers defending wetlands protections in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Swampbuster program. "The stakes are huge for farmers, the American public and the environment, but the stakes are nothing for the plaintiff.”
The Ottumwa coal ash landfill has been discharging polluted groundwater into the Des Moines River watershed, unpermitted. This month, ELPC, Iowa Environmental Council, and Sierra Club notified Alliant Energy’s Iowa affiliate of their intent to sue to stop the discharges and hold the plant accountable.
In its latest rate case, the Michigan Public Service Commission accepted Consumers Energy’s new “EJ Resiliency Plan,” which aligns with ELPC and our allies’ recommendations. It directs strategic investments in Environmental Justice communities to improve reliability.
Chicago's CTA, Metra, and Pace agencies are facing a fiscal cliff and need new funding to prevent devastating service cuts that could put thousands of additional cars on the road. We must save the system, but we can do better than that. We deserve safety, accountability, and world-class transit service.
Founded in 1993, the Environmental Law & Policy Center is the Midwest's leading environmental legal advocacy organization. We advocate, innovate, and litigate to protect the Midwest's environment from the Great Lakes to the Great Plains.
