'Conservative Republican' Paul Douglas to speak at enviro forum in Ind.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- One of Indiana's largest environmental groups has tapped a conservative Republican environmentalist to deliver the keynote address at its annual legislative forum.

Meteorologist Paul Douglas accepted the Hoosier Environmental Council's invitation to speak at its Dec. 1 "Greening the Statehouse" forum at the University of Indianapolis. Douglas, who's an evangelical Christian Republican, will discuss the perils of climate change in his keynote speech.

Douglas is television meteorologist from Minneapolis who recently founded a new cable weather network called WeatherNation TV.

Republicans won the Indiana's governor's office and a GOP supermajority in the Statehouse earlier this month.

Hoosier Environmental Council executive director Jesse Kharbanda tells The Indianapolis Star (http://indy.st/TVELsl ) he hopes Douglas' credentials as a Republican and an evangelical "might resonate with a broader audience."

------

Information from: The Indianapolis Star, http://www.indystar.com