WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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In this week’s edition of Eco Report EXTRA, Environmental Correspondent Zyro Roze gets an update from the Indiana State House in a conversation with Tim Maloney, Senior Policy Director for the Hoosier Environmental Council (HEC) on bills moving through the Indiana Legislature that relate to the ecological health of our state.
Maloney is the prime emissary of the HEC to the State Legislature and he follows bills and budget considerations as they bounce through the complicated machinations of state government. He voices HEC’s opposition or support for provisions, budget items or entire bills as they make their way through the byzantine process of becoming official policy.
Roze and Maloney discuss which legislation has died in Committee, been watered down or voted down as it travels between the House and Senate or has advanced into law in the Indiana General Session.
They touch upon the constituencies involved, the impact that the quality of life and the environment have on business interests and economic development, the health effects of deregulation and limits on government authority to manage chemical pollution and land use.
They discuss how firefighters and others are being exposed to harmful products like PFAS “forever chemicals”, ways to address lead in the drinking water at day-care centers and preschools as well as the broader community by testing and upgrading infrastructure, legislation impacting wetlands conservation, protecting water tables from coal ash repositories, sewage systems and agricultural run off.
Other issues are explored, like recycling solar and wind technology at the “end of life” of renewable energy equipment, energy audits and efficiency in government operations and buildings as eliminating wasteful government spending, ways to fund initiatives, organizations, programs and agencies.
They discuss the health and scope of the Hoosier Environmental Council and the broader movement to align government, business and society with an ecological ethic, ways to protect the ecosystem and human health, the interests fighting progress in these areas and what it will take to get results and make change.
For further information on the activities of the Hoosier Environmental Council including policy initiatives and Earth Month events, go to www.hecweb.org.
Eco Report EXTRA is a co-production of WFHB News and Public Affairs and Eco Media Center of Monroe County as part of an ongoing community media collaboration.
This episode was hosted by Zyro Roze and edited by Kade Young.
