WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:00 — 21.1MB)
Features
Today we have a news story about last Friday’s climate strike. The focus of Kalynn Huffman Brower’s story is on two local high schoolers who spoke at the rally in Dunn Meadow.
We also have a feature from Norm Holy. This is part two of his interview with David Konisky , a professor at I.U. Bloomington School of Public and environmental Affairs.
BREAKING NEWS: Children’s Complaint
On September twenty-third, Greta Thunberg, the world-reknowned sixteen-year-old Swedish climate activist, and fifteen other young people filed a first-of-its-kind complaint with the United Nations. The complaint claims that five of the world’s major carbon polluters are violating their rights as children. If the complaint is successsful, the UN will classify the climate crisis as a children’ rights crisis.
Population Growth and Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Human population grows at about the same rate as worldwide carbon dioxide emissions. This trend has been in place since nineteen hundred. The relationship is important in the battle to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius.
The two trends appear to be coupled, but they aren’t. If, for example, the world converted to wind and solar energy, there would be much less rise in carbon dioxide, even as the population expands. The fact is that the two are parallel points to the reality that the people are still relying on the traditional mix of energy sources.
Costs of Climate Disruption
A new report reveals the health and financial costs of climate disruption to Americans in two thousand twelve. The report finds that ten major events linked to climate disruption caused almost a thousand extra deaths, nearly twenty-one thousand hospitalizations, nearly eighteen thousand emergency department visits and ten billion dollars in healthcare costs.
The researchers also found that the most vulnerable people were most affected by climate disruption. Medicare and Medicaid bore two thirds of the costs of illnesses.
Bird population dwindling
The continent has lost nearly three billion birds representing hundreds of species over the past five decades, in an enormous loss that signals an overlooked biodiversity crisis, according to a study from top ornithologists and government agencies.
BREAKING NEWS: Green New Deal for Agriculture
A new national coalition representing ten thousand US farmers and ranchers is urging Congress to support a Green New Deal for agriculture. The coalition of independent farmers, anchored by Regeneration International and the Sunrise Movement, is calling for a massive overhaul of food and farming policy to address the climate and farm crises.
The letter to Congress said, “We stand ready to help achieve all the goals outlined in the Green New Deal, [b]ut we need Congress to work with us to develop food and agriculture policies that support climate-friendly organic and regenerative farming, ranching and land-use practices.”
Climate Strike
The September 20th Climate Strike had an estimated 4 million people on the streets worldwide, and everywhere youth led the way. In Bloomington, the Climate Strike rallied on the IU campus in Dunn Meadow.
Local Events Calendar
Forage For Food on Saturday, September 28th from 1 to 2:30 pm at RCA Community Park.
The Sassafras Audubon Society will have its annual Fall Bird Feeder Cleaning on Saturday, September 28th at Bloomington Hardware.
The popular Lunch With Nature Series resumes on Monday, September 30th at 11 am at the Paynetown State Recreation Area at Monroe Lake.
The First Saturday Invasive Control Work Day is scheduled for Saturday, October 5th from 1 to 4 pm at the RCA Community Park where you will help remove Woody Invasive plants.
Monroe Lake is seeking volunteers for Shoreline Cleanup on Sunday, October 6th
from 1:30 to 5:30 pm. Workers should meet at the Cutright State Recreation Area.
