WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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HEADLINES
The Indiana Environmental Reporter says a pair of Purdue University professors have been appointed to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s newly reconstituted Scientific Advisory Board.
—Norm Holy
In a story originated by WFYI, city officials from Bloomington, Carmel, and West Lafayette — and other Indiana lawmakers — sent a letter to Duke Energy urging the utility to make a faster transition to renewable energy. Some cities worry Duke will keep them from reaching their goals to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
—Norm Holy
In a last-ditch effort to prevent Enbridge’s Line Three tar sands pipeline from going online, about 2000 Indigenous water protectors and their environmentalist allies rallied at the Minnesota State Capitol August 25th, and hundreds spent the night camping out on the statehouse grounds as police officers surrounded the building’s perimeter, around which a chain-link fence had been installed because of the demonstration.
—Linda Greene
There’s an update on the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. The Biden administration is moving to restore full environmental protections, reversing an attempt by former President Donald J. Trump to introduce logging and mining in pristine sections of one of the world’s largest intact temperate rainforests.
—Norm Holy
A federal court in Alaska vacated the approval of a large oil-and-gas project known as the Willow Master Development Plan in Alaska’s western Arctic. The Trump administration had approved the project, and the Biden administration was defending it in court despite the administration’s climate action pledges and temporary suspension of fossil fuel leasing on public lands.
—Linda Greene
The high temperatures in the northwest have contributed to distress in its trout fisheries. Trout need water temperatures below 70 degrees Fahrenheit to survive. Water temperatures at 75 degrees Fahrenheit will kill trout. In this drought year, a confluence of extreme conditions now threatens the state’s legendary waters.
—Norm Holy
Coal is one of the world’s worst sources of climate-destroying pollution. The Obama administration recognized this fact and implemented a moratorium on new federal coal leases, but the Trump administration undid the moratorium to protect polluter profits. Now, the Biden administration has announced it’s taking another look at federal coal policies.
—Linda Greene
Insect populations are in decline worldwide. The loss is often rightfully linked to pesticide use, habitat loss and the climate crisis – but there are other factors like artificial light at night, otherwise known as light pollution.
—Norm Holy
EPA’s new announcement that it was ceasing to allow the insecticide chlorpyrifos on food is a victory. Chlorpyrifos is a neurotoxic, carcinogen and endocrine disruptor. Its damage to children’s brains is undisputed. The victory is undercut by the fact that EPA is continuing to allow non-food uses of chlorpyrifos.
—Linda Greene
In its waning days, the Trump administration approved a proposal to bulldoze a four-lane highway through Red Cliffs National Conservation Area in southwestern Utah, granting a right of way permit and record of decision for the highway. Environmentalists are urging Biden’s Bureau of Land Management to rescind them.
—Linda Greene
According to the Department of Energy, solar could supply more than 40% of the nation’s electricity by 2035 – up from 3% today – if Congress adopts policies like tax credits for renewable energy projects and component factories, according to a memo published by the department.
—Norm Holy
There’s more evidence that bottom trawling for fish brought cod populations in the North Atlantic so low that they have not recovered. A simple fish stock assessment model applied to over 500 years of catch data demonstrated that if Canadian authorities had allowed for the rebuilding of the stock of Northern Atlantic cod off Newfoundland and Labrador in the 1980s, annual catches of about 240,000 tons could have been sustained.
—Norm Holy
Nearly 140 countries are backing a global plastics treaty; the United states isn’t one of them. President Biden hasn’t issued an endorsement, and the treaty discussions will start on September 1st at the U-N Environmental Assembly’s Ministerial Conference on Marine Litter and Plastic Pollution.
—Linda Greene
When performing autopsies on stranded and bycaught sea turtles of different species, researchers found a huge number of plastic pieces in the reptiles’ stomachs, especially in baby turtles.
—Linda Greene
CALENDAR
| Celebrate Indiana Archeology Month at Spring Mill State Park on Saturday, September 4th, from 10 am to 2 pm. Participate in an archeological dig at a dig site from 10 to 11 am. Other programs will include Relics from the Past; Pottery from the Past; and Piecing Together History. |
| The ever popular Flora Field Day is scheduled at the Cutright State Recreation Area at Monroe Lake on Tuesday, September 7th, from 9:30 to 11:30 am. Work on your flora identification skills with a naturalist using an application of an ID Key, which opens the door to identifying thousands of species. Bring a copy of Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide, if you have one, insect repellent and water. Sign up by September 4th at http://bit.ly/florafield-sep2021. |
| The Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department is offering a Navigation: The Art of Finding Yourself program on Saturday, September 11th, from 3:30 to 5 pm at the Wapehani Mountain Bike Park. Learn tools of navigation, from basic to advanced using the sun, moon, stars, trees, plants, erosion and animals to determine direction and time and to find resources like food and water. Register by September 7th at Bloomington.IN.gov/parks. |
| Take a challenge and plan to participate in the “Then and Now” Challenge at the Paynetown Recreation Area at Monroe Lake on Sunday, September 12th, from 10 to 11:30 am. Drop by the Campground Playground to see if you can match up historic images of locations at Monroe Lake with recent photos of those same sites. See what has changed and what has stayed the same. |
