Environment

A large coal-burning power plant in Illinois that provides electricity to some areas of Western Kentucky and Indiana is under fire. A non-profit analyzed the costs of the plant and the numbers suggest ratepayers in eight states are paying more than they should.

So much for hopes that rainy weather would keep ozone levels in the Louisville Metro area in the normal range. The Air Pollution Control District is forecasting the air will be unhealthy for sensitive groups (like the elderly, the young, and those with heart and lung conditions) on Thursday.

Ozone levels are expected to be high, and the Air Quality Index is predicted to be 106.

IdeaFestival 2012 will kick off with a day-long conference about water--how we use it, what happens when there's not enough of it and how groups and countries are addressing the global water crisis.

The Obama Administration has announced new fuel economy standards for cars and small trucks that will go into effect in five years.

Starting in 2017, cars and light trucks will have to be more fuel efficient than they are now. By 2025, the average car’s fuel economy will be 54.5 miles per gallon.

The Louisville Metro area is coming off of a string of bad air quality days, in which ozone levels were high enough to be unhealthy for many people. But relief may be on the horizon.

There were four consecutive air quality alerts called last week, but ozone levels were only high enough to exceed the federal standard on three of those days: Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Air Pollution Control District spokesman Tom Nord says the weather could be tricky to predict this week, but it seems likely Louisville’s ozone levels will remain normal for now.