Eco Report – April 17, 2025

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In today’s edition, we hear Part 2 from Delaney Barber-Kwon of Indiana Conservation Voters on legislative developments and our state ranking fiftieth in the nation for environmental quality.

And now for your environmental reports:

• What are options for farmers if tariffs limit sales abroad? One option is to burn fuels containing greater amounts of ethanol. We should expect the beating of that drum soon. But there is a problem. The engine has to be designed to burn ethanol. Brazil is the only country routinely using pure ethanol as fuel.
• New York Times reports how tariffs could upend the transition to cleaner energy. The levies are expected to drive up costs for U.S. companies that rely on renewable energy technology from abroad and scramble supply chains worldwide.
• Donald Trump’s executive orders aim to force coal plants to remain open past their scheduled retirement dates by invoking an outdated wartime law that allows the Department of Energy to compel power plants to temporarily remain operational. Donald Trump attempted a similar strategy during his first administration, but failed. Nearly 100 coal plants retired or announced retirements during Trump’s first term.
• An endangered Galápagos Tortoise is a first-time mother at 100 years of age. Mommy, a Western Santa Cruz tortoise, recently welcomed four hatchlings at the Philadelphia Zoo, where she has lived since 1932.

Feature Report:

And now, we turn to Correspondent Zero Roze for his interview in Part 2 with Delaney Barber-Kwon of Indiana Conservation Voters.

And now for some upcoming events:

• A Woodcock Walk is scheduled at Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area on Saturday, April 19th, from 7:30 to 9 pm. This evening excursion will, hopefully, allow you to watch the American Woodcock perform its mating ritual – the sky dance. Register with Ethan Plumier at 812-512-9159 or go to [email protected] to register.
• Take an Earth Week Wildflower Walk at Winslow Woods Park on Saturday, April 19th, from 2 to 3:30 pm. Discover the beauty of this urban forest in springtime. Register at bloomington.IN.gov/parks.
• Learn about Rugged Plants at McCormick’s Creek State Park on Sunday, April 20th, from 4 to 4:45 pm. Meet the Naturalist at the Centennial Shelter to hike on the new Echo Canyon Trail to learn about plants that grow in acidic and rocky soil.
• A Growing Plants from Seed class will take place at Brown County State Park on Saturday, April 26th, from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm in the Nature Center program room. Learn how to propagate native plant seeds.
• A Friendship Bracelet Making class is scheduled for Saturday, April 26th, from 1 to 3 pm at McCormick’s Creek State Park. Meet in the Nature Center to learn how to make friendship bracelets.
  Play credits music. Countdown and cue anchor.

Credits:
This week’s headlines were written by Norm Holy
Today’s news feature was produced by Zero Rose
Julianna Dailey assembled the script which was edited by the EcoReport team and produced the upcoming events.
Kade Young is our engineer.