The City of Bloomington conducted an air quality study in collaboration with CAPA Strategies to measure the distribution of particulate matter across the City. The study was conducted during the heat mapping campaign that took place on August 4, 2024. Volunteers placed particulate matter sensors on their cars and drove along five predetermined routes throughout the city at 6 a.m., 3 p.m., and 7p.m. The particulate matter sensors were then placed at stationary locations across the city for 21 days.  

Particulate matter (PM) particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, known as PM 2.5 , can be especially harmful to human health when breathed in elevated concentrations. When PM2.5 measurements reach a 24-hour average between 12-35 μg/m3 (micrograms per cubic meter), there may be some risk to people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution. During the study, all sensors located across the city had at least one day with a daily average over 12 μg/m3 with one sensor having six days. At these levels, unusually sensitive people such as children, older adults, people with pre-existing heart or lung diseases (like asthma or COPD), pregnant women, individuals with diabetes, and those who exercise heavily outdoors should consider making outdoor activities shorter and less intense or wearing an N-95 HEPA filter air mask while outdoors. Residents are encouraged to monitor Bloomington’s real-time air quality by visiting the website AirNow.

The results from the air quality study are available on the City of Bloomington’s Sustainable Bloomington website. Residents are invited to read CAPA Strategies’ summary report, which provides key highlights from the study and details the methodologies used to create the distribution maps. 

CAPA Strategies also completed a  Climate Projections Extreme Heat Report for the City of Bloomington and a story map that compiles residents' work for the City of Bloomington including the HeatWatch Campaign, Air Quality Study, and Climate Projections.

Stay informed about the city's ongoing climate and energy efforts by visiting the City of Bloomington’s Sustainable Bloomington website and subscribing to the ESD Instagram account, @bloomington.esd!

A $250,000 grant from the City of Bloomington Office of Economic and Sustainable Development is supporting Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County in building 30 solar-powered homes in Bloomington. Homes built through Whirlpool's Build Better solar initiative, including those built by HoH here in Bloomington, have energy savings of ~45% and GHG emission reductions of ~15%. The first of these solar homes is nearly completed, and a local family will be moving in soon!

Read more in this article from the Herald Times: Article

Jeff Jackson of Go Bloomington was recently featured on WFHB Community Radio's Activate! series, featuring people in and around Bloomington working towards positive change. His feature was broadcasted on WFHB this Monday, December 9th, and is now available to listen to as a podcast. Jeff spoke about the city's e-bike voucher program, for which more information can be found on the Bloomington Sustainability website.

The link to listen to Go Bloomington's episode of Activate! can be accessed here.

Bloomington has been named the state’s latest Clean Community by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM).

Bloomington Stormwater Education Specialist Kriste Lindberg represented the City of Bloomington and accepted Clean Community Program signs and a commemorative flag from IDEM during the 2024 Clean Community Program Annual Meeting in October.

“We are thrilled to welcome Bloomington to the Clean Community Program,” said IDEM Commissioner Brian Rockensuess. “Being a ‘Clean Community’ sends a message to residents and visitors that their city values environmental stewardship. I congratulate Bloomington on their work in earning this recognition.”

Municipalities in the Clean Community Program can progress through three levels: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. All municipalities start as Bronze-level communities. The City of Bloomington is creating a Clean Team of local stakeholders and is working on developing sustainability projects that will allow it to progress to the Silver level.

Bloomington Sustainability recently hosted its final community Climate Action Workshop of 2024; these workshops, free to the public and held at Switchyard Park or via Zoom, provide resources and information about climate action opportunities that can be taken by members of the Bloomington community. The topic for this final workshop was saving money and mitigating climate change impacts using incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act.

The recording is publicly available and can be viewed here: Link

During the summer of 2024, the City of Bloomington conducted a community survey to understand residents' perceptions surrounding extreme heat, its impacts, and potential solutions. The results have been examined by the Economic and Sustainable Development team and will be used to inform the development of future City policies and initiative focused on combatting extreme heat and its impacts in Bloomington.

The City of Bloomington, IN is excited to officially launch its Climate Action Dashboard in collaboration with ClimateNav, a startup focused on helping local governments decarbonize and build more sustainable communities.

The Climate Action Dashboard will serve as a central place for the City to showcase progress on achieving its emissions reduction goals from its Climate Action Plan, up-to-date metrics about sustainability, and information about the various programs the City is helping fund and manage.

Additionally, the Dashboard includes useful information for residents of Bloomington about how they can reduce their personal carbon footprint, get involved in local sustainability initiatives, and learn more about local climate action.