Company-emitted greenhouse gases decline due to mandatory reporting. Proposal by EPA aims to halt this practice.

Company-emitted greenhouse gases decline due to mandatory reporting. Proposal by EPA aims to halt this practice.

IN LEOPOLD, IND. - A vibrant blue sky, speckled with fluffy clouds, adorns Abbie Brockman's middle school English classroom's ceiling lights in Perry County. Outside, the skies are often far from that pristine image - filled with pollution drifting from nearby coal-fired power plants in southwest Indiana.

Brockman, an English teacher, is determined to shed light on the volatile situation. To that end, she champions her involvement with a neighborhood environmental organization, installing air and water quality monitors throughout her community.

"Industry and government possess immense power. They're more powerful than me, an English teacher," Brockman remarked, "but I want to make a difference."

In some ways, Brockman's monitoring efforts echo reporting regulations former President Obama's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enforced on large polluters over a decade ago. Emissions from southwest Indiana's coal-fired power plants have plummeted 60% since the regulation's implementation in 2010. However, these regulations now face potential elimination under President Trump's EPA administration.

Supporters argue that repealing the regulations would relieve industry of costly and burdensome requirements. Yet, experts warn that rolling back these measures could result in a significant increase in pollutants if companies are no longer held accountable for their emissions. They also argue that eliminating these data points would hamper efforts to combat climate change, especially as the EPA concurrently cuts back on air quality monitoring.

Majors Polluters' Greenhouse Gas Reporting Mandated

The future of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting program, introduced in 2009, hangs in the balance. The program affects large carbon polluters like refineries, power plants, wells, and landfills, compelling them to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions. By 2020, these facilities had reported a 20% reduction in emissions, primarily due to the closure of coal plants.

The registry also includes entities not typically viewed as significant polluters but with substantial greenhouse gas emissions, such as college campuses, breweries, and cereal factories. Notably, Walt Disney World in Florida saw a 62% decline in pollution since 2010, alongside almost 10,600 other registered facilities.

According to Jeremy Symons, a former EPA senior climate advisor with Environmental Protection Network, the end of the registry could embolden certain entities to pollute more. In contrast, experts credit the registry with helping to limit emissions, creating transparency and pressure for improvement.

Regulation's Role in Reducing Emissions

Although the registry's impact on emissions reduction is debatable, experts like Stanford University's Rob Jackson suggest that it adds pressure on companies to monitor and report their emissions. Additionally, other regulations targeting smokestack emissions and the displacement of coal by cleaner, cheaper natural gas play more significant roles in the overall emissions reduction.

Overall, the registry's potential demise comes as air quality experts claim much of the country lacks adequate air monitoring, especially in underprivileged and rural areas. Furthermore, the EPA has proposed to rescind funds earmarked for air monitoring, raising concerns and disputes among environmental groups.

In response to the proposal, Daisha Wall, CleaneAIRE NC's community science program manager, is leading a lawsuit against the EPA, stating, "It's not diversity, equity, and inclusion. It's human rights. We all deserve a right to clean air."

In light of these developments, Brockman and her community in southern Indiana continue their efforts to monitor air and water quality. In a region where industry's growth and job creation often clash with public health concerns, Brockman's commitment to helping her community seek balance remains unwavering.

1. Brockman is an English teacher in Leopold, Indiana.
2. Abbie Brockman's classroom's ceiling lights mimic a vibrant blue sky.
3. Outside Brockman's classroom, the skies are often filled with pollution.
4. Coal-fired power plants in southwest Indiana contribute to the pollution.
5. Brockman champions her involvement with a neighborhood environmental organization.
6. Brockman installs air and water quality monitors throughout her community.
7. Brockman acknowledges that industry and government are more powerful than her.
8. Brockman wants to make a difference despite her perceived powerlessness.
9. Obama's EPA enforced reporting regulations on large polluters over a decade ago.
10. Emissions from southwest Indiana's coal-fired power plants decreased by 60% since 2010 due to these regulations.
11. Trump's EPA administration may eliminate these regulations.
12. Supporters argue that repealing the regulations would relieve industry of costly requirements.
13. Experts warn that rolling back these measures could lead to increased pollutants.
14. Experts also argue that eliminating these data points would hamper efforts to combat climate change.
15. The Greenhouse Gas Reporting program introduced in 2009 is at risk of being eliminated.
16. The program affects large carbon polluters like refineries, power plants, wells, and landfills.
17. By 2020, these facilities had reported a 20% reduction in emissions.
18. The registry includes entities not typically viewed as significant polluters but with substantial greenhouse gas emissions.
19. Disney World in Florida saw a 62% decline in pollution since 2010.
20. The end of the registry could embolden certain entities to pollute more.
21. Experts credit the registry with helping to limit emissions and creating transparency.
22. Stanford University's Rob Jackson suggests that the registry puts pressure on companies to monitor and report their emissions.
23. Other regulations targeting smokestack emissions and the displacement of coal by cleaner, cheaper natural gas play more significant roles in emissions reduction.
24. Experts claim much of the country lacks adequate air monitoring, particularly in underprivileged and rural areas.
25. The EPA has proposed to rescind funds for air monitoring, leading to disputes among environmental groups.
26. Daisha Wall, CleaneAIRE NC's community science program manager, is leading a lawsuit against the EPA.
27. Wall states that everyone deserves a right to clean air, not just diversity, equity, and inclusion.
28. Brockman and her community in southern Indiana continue their efforts to monitor air and water quality.
29. Industry's growth and job creation often clash with public health concerns in this region.
30. Brockman's commitment to helping her community seek balance remains unwavering.
31. Brockman's efforts highlight the importance of personal action in addressing health, environmental, and social issues in various industries such as science, health-and-wellness, fitness-and-exercise, climate-change, renewable-energy, therapies-and-treatments, finance, energy, interior-design, cooking, lifestyle, outdoor-living, food-and-drink, family-dynamics, investing, home-and-garden, home-improvement, business, personal-finance, recipes, global-cuisines, real-estate, data-and-cloud-computing, gardening, sustainable-living, technology, healthy-cooking, relationships, pets, deals-and-discounts, travel, cars, books, migration, shopping, car-maintenance, social-media, movies-and-tv, war-and-conflicts, electric-vehicles, entertainment, celebrities, policy-and-legislation, adventure-travel, politics, cultural-travel, budget-travel, pop-culture, sci-fi-and-fantasy, and general-news.

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