This is the WFHB Local News for Wednesday, September 8th, 2021.

Later in the program, we have an excerpt from Tuesday's Interchange, "Authority and U: On the Anti-Democratic Campus,” with guest Steve Volan, a scholar of human geography and a city council member in Bloomington, Indiana since 2004. More coming up in today’s feature report.

Also coming up in the next half hour, Classic Scams on Better Beware, our weekly consumer-watchdog segment on WFHB. More coming up following today’s feature report.

But first, your environmental news brief:

The path of hurricane Ida has left destruction to many pipelines and cables in the Gulf of Mexico. For example, a substantial oil spill has been found off of Louisiana’s coast in which three pipelines are leaking. Talos Energy has been diving in the area of the pipeline in order to stop the leaking but does not take responsibility for the spill. Luckily, the rate of oil reaching the surface has slowed down over the weekend. The Coast Guard has begun monitoring the situation and assessing the environmental impacts of the spill.

A recent study through the Indy Star has sought to understand how much of the U.S. carbon emissions are coming from Indiana. According to the research, 290 million metric tons of energy-related carbon dioxide was released into the atmosphere in Indiana in 2018 which places the state as the 8th most polluting state in the country. Indiana is also more reliant on coal than other areas of the country. In both 2019 and 2020, more coal was consumed in Indiana than all but two other states. At the current moment there is no movement at the state level to move away from fossil fuels. The study emphasizes reducing fossil fuel consumption as being the main solution to the pollution. The recent United Nations climate report indicates that a degree of urgency is needed to address carbon emissions.

Opposition has been growing against a proposed pipeline connecting Kentucky to new gas-fired electric generators in Posey County, Indiana. Environmental organizations have cited the environmental impacts to parts of Indiana and Kentucky that could be greatly affected by the pollution and construction of the pipeline. Similarly, the increase in emissions from the electrical generators could further harm air quality in the state. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources has warned that the pipeline would hurt many animal and plant species, including those on the endangered species list. CenterPoint Energy, the company behind the project, is still waiting approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to begin construction.

Indiana to House 10,000 Afghan Refugees in the Coming Weeks

The first group of Afghan refugees arrived at the Indianapolis International Airport on Thursday of last week.

Refugees will be taken to Camp Atterbury - a military base in Southern Indiana that was selected as a temporary site for refugees.

According to a report by the Associated Press, refugees include American citizens, Afghan allies who helped in the military effort and, “those deemed as venerable Afghans by the US government.”

About 5,000 refugees will arrive at Camp Atterbury in the coming weeks. Governor Eric Holcomb said Camp Atterbury will temporarily house evacuees until they are placed in permanent housing.

Indiana Adjutant General, Brigadier General R. Dale Lyles described why Camp Atterbury was chosen and the process behind vetting refugees.

Officials say that Camp Atterbury has the capacity to temporarily house 10,000 people if it becomes necessary to house more refugees.

General Lyles says that over the course of the next ten weeks, non-governmental agencies will work to resettle the evacuees.