By Nick Pedone/Broadcast version by Mary Schuermann Kuhlman

Reporting for the Kent State-Ohio News Connection Collaboration

To help protect the environment, three Ohio communities have passed bans on single-use plastic bags, but now state legislators are trying to keep the bans from going into effect.

Orange Village, an eastern suburb of Cleveland with a population of about 3,300, was the first community to pass legislation successfully banning plastic bags, like the ones found in grocery stores, in 2018.

“There were a lot of us on council, starting with Council President Brandon Duber, that wanted to do something to something to help the environment and set an example to our peers,” said Orange Village Councilman Scott Bilsky, who personally reached out to smaller businesses in the community to make sure they supported the ban. Just last month Cuyahoga County and Bexley, a Columbus suburb, passed similar bans.

However, some state lawmakers feel as if these bag bans have a negative impact on small businesses. They argue that plastic bag bans force merchants to spend more money on paper bags, which are more expensive than the customary plastic.

Ohio lawmakers have introduced House Bill 242, a corresponding bill that would prevent local bans or taxes on plastic bags.

The bill states that the proposed legislation will “authorize the use of an auxiliary container for any purpose, to prohibit the imposition to a tax or fee on those containers, and to apply existing antilittering law to those containers.”

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, only three states have completely outlawed plastic bags: California, New York and Hawaii. More states have enacted legislation preventing local governments from doing the same. They are Arizona, Idaho, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Mississippi, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan and Florida.

Since being elected in 2011, Cuyahoga County Councilwoman Sunny Simon has strongly advocated against the use of plastic bags in order to help protect Lake Erie.

Particles from water bottles, straws and plastic bags litter the lake. The pieces of plastic that litter Erie’s shoreline are also harmful to humans, according to a study by Sherri Mason, a professor at the State University of New York at Fredonia, Lake Erie is polluted with about 46,000 pieces of plastic per square kilometer.

When plastic ends up in Lake Erie, animals eat these pieces of plastics, and the pollutants slowly work up the food chain to humans. In total, over 100 million pieces of plastic pollute Lake Erie, according to Mason’s study.

Last month, Cuyahoga County followed Orange Village, banning plastic bags from grocery stores, retailers and markets throughout the entire county. The ban is set to take effect January 1, 2020.

The proposed bans will not affect plastic bags used for pet waste, newspapers, dry cleaning, restaurant orders or prescriptions.

Alongside the legislation, Simon plans to roll out an educational campaign, giving Ohio’s second-largest county information about the hazards and perils of plastic pollution, how harmful plastics end up in Erie and why this ban makes sense for the county.

“I think with that education, that people really buy in and understand that we need to do something about it,” Simon said.

Just two hours after Cuyahoga County Council members voted to eliminate plastic bags, the city of Bexley, about 145 miles away, followed suit. Bexley’s city council voted 6-1 to approve the legislation.

House Bill 242 was introduced on May 13, just two weeks before the ban was passed in Cuyahoga County and Bexley. Now it remains unclear if the ban will ever take effect in Ohio.

Some of the state representatives strongly oppose individual communities passing these bans.

The sponsors of House Bill 242 did not return repeated calls to comment on their legislation for this story.

Simon says local governments are forced to pass their own environmental-protection laws because it is unlikely that the state of Ohio will do it.

When Bexley’s city council voted 6-1 in favor of banning plastic bags last month, Councilman Richard Sharp, a self-declared conservative, was the only dissenting vote.

“We should encourage people to be responsible and make the decision on their own,” Sharp said in last month’s meeting.

Sharp’s ideas for environmentalism partially coincide with the newly proposed House Bill 242.

“We need to educate our children, make them woke, that it is their responsibility to take care of the issue, not the government to tell people what to do,” Sharp said.

Simon said that the conservative makeup of Ohio’s government has been one of Cuyahoga County’s greatest challenges in preserving Lake Erie. House Bill 242 is another barricade that stands in the way of the movement for which Simon worked so diligently.

This collaboration is produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by The George Gund Foundation.


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New Mexico conservation advocates say the state's budget awaiting the governor's signature would make great strides in addressing climate change and protecting public health.

Justin Garoutte, advocate, climate and energy with the group Conservation Voters New Mexico, highlighted 21 bills awaiting the governor's signature that will protect air, land, water and wildlife resources. He said Senate Bill 48, known as the Community Benefit Fund, would be a groundbreaking investment in adapting to climate change through locally driven projects that strengthen communities and create jobs, including jobs for those employed in the extraction industry.

"So, helping workers in the oil and gas industry or other industries transition to more clean jobs - there's 17-million that's going to the workforce solutions department for clean-energy worker training," he explained.

SB 48, which passed by a vote of 39 to 26, would provide grants for infrastructure and clean energy projects that reduce pollution, improve resiliency against extreme weather, and enhance grid reliability in cities and towns across the state. The governor has until April 11th to approve spending for fiscal year 2026, which begins on July 1st and ends on June 30th next year.

Garoutte said with state guidance, individual communities could implement projects unique to their region, prioritizing rural and underserved communities.

"The end goal is ensuring that we as a state continue advancing to protect our communities from the impacts of climate change that we're feeling now, right? We have to adapt, we have to do mitigation efforts, and we just want to keep moving forward as a state when we don't see that at the federal level," he continued.

Legislation included in the next budget includes two transportation provisions. $60 million for electric vehicle charging infrastructure for school districts and improved pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure are part of the spending plan.


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Large, energy-intense buildings used in Bitcoin mining, cloud computing and artificial intelligence data processing industries could become more common in West Virginia under legislation being considered by lawmakers.

Advocacy groups said high-impact data centers pose environmental and public health risks for communities.

Morgan King, climate and energy program manager for the West Virginia Citizen Action Group, pointed out Mingo, Mason and Tucker counties have already seen data center growth, along with an increased strain on natural resources. She added under House Bill 2014, such facilities would not be required to follow local zoning, land use or noise ordinances.

"These centers can take up anywhere from three to four square miles of land that will be repurposed for construction of these buildings for data centers," King explained. "Even more, they require an intense water use and energy use."

The bill would allow companies to develop independent energy grids using coal and gas. Supporters of the legislation, including West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey, argued the bill would bring significant investment to the state.

The bill places no limits on how much of the water supply these facilities can draw upon. King noted in neighboring Virginia, some data centers are using nearly a million gallons of water a day.

"It doesn't put any restrictions on the facility, which could have an impact on local water resources," King emphasized. "It also requires that the power generation of coal throughout the state be remaining at a 69% base load."

She added there is increased exposure to light and sound pollution for residents and disruption of wildlife habitats.

"One of these centers is posed for Tucker County, right outside of Davis, that's in one of the most beautiful natural areas of the state," King observed. "If we put a data center in there, it's going to create a lot of noise and light pollution that will impact local ecosystems."

Energy experts are concerned data centers could lead to higher electricity bills for Mountain State households, and worsen communities' climate change resilience.


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As Congress debates cuts to offset tax-cut extensions, the future of the Clean Fuels Production Tax Credit remains uncertain, with potential impacts on Michigan's growing clean-fuel industry. The Clean Fuels Production Tax credit was established under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. It offers 20 cents per gallon for nonaviation fuels and 35 cents for aviation fuels which cut emissions by 50% compared with petroleum. Michigan has six key clean-fuel and alternative-energy initiatives, including Sustainable Aviation Fuel.

Alex Muresianu, senior policy analyst for Tax Foundation, estimates that repealing the credit could net about $12.8 billion over a decade based on Treasury projections, although he questions the math.

"That was based on some estimates from Treasury. It doesn't make sense to take a revenue cost estimate from Treasury and assume it will one-for-one translate into revenue raised from reversing a policy," she said.

Critics call credit initiative costly, favoring big companies while possibly raising fuel prices and distorting the market. It started on January 1st and is slated to run through 2027 unless extended.

Congress is divided on the future of these tax credits. While some want to eliminate them altogether to offset tax cuts, others warn that doing so could harm energy investments and job growth.

Nan Swift, a resident fellow of the Governance Program at R Street Institute, believes that right now, Congress is likely far from debating the finer details, and the tax credit is just one of those specifics.

"Certainly, it's on a a wish list for a lot of members, but we don't even know yet if the House and Senate can find agreement between their two-bill or one-bill plans," she explained.

Shortly after the Clean Fuels Production Tax Credit was enacted, debates arose about its cost, effectiveness and fairness over the broader economy.


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