Environment
Read more about the article Central Illinois already seeing effects of climate changeAbigail Bobrow/For the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting
Julie Pryde, administrator of the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, speaks at “Climate Change in Illinois: A community conversation”, sponsored by the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting, on Tuesday, November 29, at the Champaign Public Library.

Central Illinois already seeing effects of climate change

“We’re actually at the warmest part for the historical record for Illinois,” said State Climatologist Jim Angel, speaking to a crowd of about 60 at the Champaign Public Library on Tuesday. “This is a different climate for what our parents, grandparents or great grandparents would’ve experienced in Illinois.”

Continue ReadingCentral Illinois already seeing effects of climate change
Read more about the article A new coal mine in town: environmental, economic questions still lingerphoto by Darrell Hoemann/CU-Citizen Access.org
Jonathan Ashbrook, left, on his property with Sue and Tom Smith near the proposed site of the Sunrise coal mine outside Homer, Ill. The three are members of a grassroots organization, Stand Up To Coal, opposing the mine. Ashbrook's family has owned land near the seasonal creek known as The Olive Branch for the past 140 years. The original mine permit stated it would use local field drainage tiles for mine discharge, which empties in the Olive Branch about a mile from the mine site.

A new coal mine in town: environmental, economic questions still linger

Keith Rohl remembers the day he was asked to lease the coal rights to his farmland in Homer, Illinois. It was 2009, a wet year for the crops, when he was lined up at the grain elevator with his neighbors hearing about the proposed Bulldog Mine for the first time. “The neighbors were all talking about, ‘You sell your coal rights, and you get to farm your land on top. You’re going to have all kinds of money and everything.’ And I thought ‘Boy, that sounds great to me, and I was ready to sign up,’ ” he said.

Continue ReadingA new coal mine in town: environmental, economic questions still linger
Read more about the article Land conservation efforts endangered in Champaign County and beyondDarrell Hoemann
Illinois Farm Bill biologist Jason Bleich talks with Georgetown farmer Travis Vice about how the type of soils on his farm help determine the subsidy at the USDA office in Danville on Thursday, February 12, 2015.

Land conservation efforts endangered in Champaign County and beyond

As a result of the Farm Bill passed by Congress a year ago, efforts to increase wildlife habitats and natural areas that filter fertilizer run-off will receive less funding and result in fewer acres of conserved land. As of December, there were 9,770 acres set aside in Champaign County for a program in which the federal government rents land from farmers for conservation purposes.

Continue ReadingLand conservation efforts endangered in Champaign County and beyond
Read more about the article Central Illinois farmers rally against proposed water ruleClaire Everett/CU-CitizenAccess.org
Champaign County farmer Lin Warfel points to a drainage area on his property on Nov. 5, 2014. Warfel is among the many farmers who oppose the Waters of the U.S. proposed rule.

Central Illinois farmers rally against proposed water rule

By Robert Holly/CU-CitizenAccess.org — Thousands of agriculture groups and independent farmers – including many from Champaign and other central-Illinois counties – are using a…

Continue ReadingCentral Illinois farmers rally against proposed water rule
Read more about the article Champaign takes step toward sustainable cityAlice Welch/USDAgov
A tractor tills the soil among wind turbines in Oklahoma on August 13, 2009. The California Ridge Wind Farm is currently being built in both Champaign and Vermilion Counties and will add to the reduction of carbon dioxide in Illinois. It is part of the city of Champaign's sustainability effort.

Champaign takes step toward sustainable city

By Maisie Sackett / For CU-CitizenAccess.org -- The city of Champaign has set a goal to be “a model for environmental sustainability.” But it…

Continue ReadingChampaign takes step toward sustainable city