Region must balance nature with industry for future generations

The Lake Michigan shoreline is one of our greatest natural assets in Northwest Indiana and a defining characteristic of the region. The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and State Park attract three million visitors each year and offer opportunities to swim, hike, bird-watch and study the region’s unique ecosystem. Northwest Indiana has a busy industrial district, home to major steel mills and the largest oil refinery in the Midwest, which continues to play a significant role in our economy, as well as the region’s environmental health. Therefore, it is imperative that we, as engaged citizens of Northwest Indiana, achieve a cleaner, safer, richer environment and a sustainable balance between nature and industry.

To focus energies and continue to improve quality of life in our area, One Region publishes a quadrennial Quality of Life Indicators report. The 2012 report analyzes 10 key markers of the quality of life in Lake, Porter and LaPorte Counties. An update of indicators from 2000, 2004 and 2008, this report presents and analyzes vital trends indicating the health and vitality of Northwest Indiana.

One Region aspires for Northwest Indiana to be a region that supports stewardship of our unique natural environment to ensure the health and well-being of current and future generations. The 2012 Quality of Life Indicators report concludes that the current environmental outlook for Northwest Indiana is stable. This is good news.

Collectively, we have made great strides since the initial 2000 report to restore, maintain and improve environmental quality, equity and compliance and to prevent further degradation.

However, we recognize that there is still much work to do as we recover from decades of industrial production and real estate development that increased both pollution levels and population density, affecting the quality of the region’s air, water and land. For example, between 2000 and 2010, an average of eight months per year were considered “good” air quality days, nearly four months were “moderate” and about two weeks were “unhealthy” according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. More recently, the American Lung Association’s annual “State of the Air” report gave Lake County, Porter County and LaPorte County failing grades for high ozone days between 2010-2012. LaPorte County, however, received an A for short-term particle pollution, which shows some promise for the region’s environmental health. We must aim for higher air quality throughout our region.

Since 2010, Northwest Indiana has taken positive steps to improve the region’s water quality. In 2012 Lake Michigan beaches in Indiana ranked 25th out of 30 states, and the number of beach action days decreased from 28 percent in 2010 to 13 percent in 2012. Approximately 10 percent of the water quality tests conducted in the region showed bacterial levels that were higher than federal safety standards, a 3 percent decrease since 2010. Lake County continues to have the highest rates of tests exceeding the federal standard in the region. While water quality is still a concern in Northwest Indiana, particularly in Lake County, we are making progress.

As the region grows, increasing population density continues to exacerbate pollution levels. The 2010 United States Census shows that Northwest Indiana grew from 489 people per square mile in 2000 to 509 in 2010. Housing unit density grew as well, from 186 per square mile in 2000 to 213 in 2010.

This growth contributed in part to a 27 percent increase in the amount of solid waste produced, from 1.3 million tons in 2000 to 1.6 million tons in 2008. On average, the region produced 2.2 tons of solid waste per person in 2010, up from 1.8 tons in 2000. Northwest Indiana accounted for 12 percent of Indiana’s solid waste in 2000 and 14 percent in 2008. Increased attention to recycling can offset some of the effects of population density in our region.

There is hope for the future. We now see an increasing number of once-contaminated industrial sites redeveloped for other uses. The total number of Northwest Indiana sites being remediated through state environmental programs rose 21 percent, from 1,413 cases in 2005 to 1,743 cases in 2010. Additionally, ecological restoration efforts aim to restore natural ecosystems, wildlife and water flows. According to a 2006 report, “The Restoration Revolution in Northwest Indiana,” the region initiated 166 ecological restoration and natural conservation projects. Since then, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative secured more than $4.7 million in grant funding to restore natural ecosystems in the greater Calumet region.

For the region to continue this forward momentum and be more careful stewards of our environment, we ought to further pursue the use of alternative energy resources. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, Indiana is the third-fastest growing state in wind energy capacity, ranking 11th in the nation, and increased its wind capacity tenfold from 2009 to 2010. In addition, Indiana’s Solar Thermal Grant program has helped fund more than a dozen solar projects throughout the state.

At Valparaiso University, our undergraduate students and faculty are part of the region’s alternative energy transformation. Our university now conducts cutting-edge solar research at the James S. Markiewicz Solar Energy Research Facility, which houses one of five solar furnaces at United States research facilities and the only one at an undergraduate institution. Last year Valpo secured $2.3 million in funding from the Department of Energy along with a $300,000 National Science Foundation grant to research renewable energy possibilities in energy-intensive manufacturing.

Leaders in the private and public sectors as well as concerned citizens have certainly made improvements in the past decade, but there is more work ahead of us. Governments, universities, nonprofits, community members, and businesses must come together to gain a mutual understanding of our environmental responsibilities and set an agenda for action. As we seek to ensure the health and well-being of current and future generations, we must educate citizens on what each of us can do to improve air and water quality and reduce our carbon footprint. A collective vision for a more sustainable Northwest Indiana and a shared plan for individual and community action will enable us to properly steward the region’s extraordinary environmental resources and preserve them for our children and grandchildren.