City Greenhouse Emissions Fall 13%

Bloomington, Ind. - The latest emissions inventory indicates that the Bloomington community lowered its greenhouse emissions by 13% between 2006 and 2016.

"The Bloomington community has repeatedly made commitments to reducing our negative environmental impacts, and this is proof that we're moving in the right direction. This is great news and proves we can make a real difference by acting locally," said Mayor John Hamilton.

The decrease can be attributed to several factors, including Indiana’s gradual reduction of coal use in electricity generation, decreased energy use in many Bloomington sectors, and the installation of a methane capturing system at Sycamore Ridge Landfill, which accepts most of Bloomington's trash.

"The City will continue working with our partners across the community to build on the success of the Monroe County Energy Challenge, Solarize Bloomington, and other programs," said Hamilton. "There are more opportunities out there for us to have an even bigger impact on our carbon footprint. We should look at this as an early victory and keep working on reducing our energy usage and protecting the environment."

The new inventory builds on the previous report completed by the Bloomington Environmental Commission in 2009.

The Department of Economic & Sustainable Development’s full 2016 Community Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory report is available online.

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