In this week’s edition, WFHB News speaks with Bryan Fyalkowski, manager of marketing and development for Bloomington Transit, about BLink Microtransit – a free downtown shuttle service that will launch on Monday, June 2nd. Also, we hear from Debbie Kelley, the “pollinator lady.” Hear about local efforts to restore pollinator habitats in south central Indiana.
Migrating birds are the ultimate endurance athletes. Some migratory songbirds weigh no more than a few ounces but fly nonstop across oceans to find food in the winter and nesting sites in the summer. There are more than 300 bird species – including birds of prey, songbirds, waterfowl and shorebirds – that migrate through the Midwest.
They follow the Mississippi Flyway, a superhighway in the sky that broadly traces the Mississippi River, extending north to Canada and south to Central and South America. The flyway encompasses many important Midwest habitats, including the restored bottomland forests along the lower Wabash River in southwestern Indiana and the prairies of Kankakee Sands.
During migration, birds depend on suitable habitats to rest and refuel, just as we need to rest and fill up on long hikes or road trips. North America has lost nearly 3 billion birds since 1970, much of that due to habitat loss. By helping to protect and restore vital pit stops along the flyway – in the Midwest and throughout the Americas – we are providing birds and other wildlife with a needed lifeline.
The southwest corner *of Indiana,* where the Wabash and Ohio rivers flow together, contains perhaps the widest array of habitats in the entire state. Here you will find cypress swamps, oak barrens and oxbow lakes in the big river floodplains, creating a home for many rare plants and animals, as well as providing critical stopover sites for migratory birds.
From a few critically endangered whooping cranes to hundreds of thousands of ducks and geese, the increasing numbers of birds delight birdwatchers, hunters and those of us who just enjoy hearing a warbler’s song outside our window. These birds, and hundreds of other species, are responding to the many conservation efforts to protect and restore area habitat. They also represent the quality of habitat that remains to be protected in southwest Indiana.
Using cutting edge mapping tools to prioritize potential restoration sites, The Nature Conservancy is transforming altered landscapes back to functioning floodplain habitat. Ultimately, greater numbers of migratory birds will utilize the area during their long journeys.
As a part of the larger Mississippi River basin, the Wabash River and its tributaries are a top conservation priority. The Nature Conservancy is focusing on water quality and quantity concerns and are working to reduce the impacts of intensive land use and address habitat loss.
Chicago, the third-largest city in the United States, now powers its more than 400 city-owned buildings – including firehouses, libraries and two major airports – using renewable energy. The shift is expected to slash the Windy City’s carbon emissions by 290,000 metric tons annually, the equivalent of the pollution from 62,000 cars. “Chicago’s efforst are a model for other state and city officials,” says EDF energy policy specialist Curt Stokes. Most of Chicago’s power comes from a massive solar array in central Illinois. Built over the last two years, the solar project created hundreds of new jobs in the state.
Part of the city’s successful transition to clean energy is owed to the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act of 2021, an Illinois law. The act aims to reduce climate pollution while creatinf a clean-energy workforce. Chicago got serious about transitioning to 100% renewable energy during the first Trump administration, when advocates began calling for local climate action in the absence of federal leadership.
“We have a responsibility to lead through climate action that benefits the people and the planer,” says Angela Tovar, Chicago’s chief sustainability officer. “By moving to renewable energy for city operations, we’re moving closer to our goal of making all energy consumed in Chicago renewable by 2035, and ultimately to a more sustainable future for all.”
A group of young people are suing the Trump Administration for prioritizing the use of fossil fuels — and driving up planet-warming emissions. The suit was filed Thursday morning in a Montana federal court. The plaintiffs are twenty-two young people from across the country – including ten of the youth plaintiffs in Montana’s climate case. The state supreme court ruled in their favor last year.
They are now suing over a suite of President Trump’s policies. That includes directives to promote fossil fuel development, exempt coal plants from having to filter toxic air pollution, stop all wind energy development, and defund scientific research on climate change. Trump says the U.S. needs to boost domestic energy production and limit regulations on the industry.
Livingston student Eva Lighthiser is the lead plaintiff- and one of the sixteen young people that sued the state of Montana. “We as young people are inheriting this future that is very uncertain and it is quite scary for us, and we are doing the best that we can to protect and preserve a safe future for ourselves. And I don’t think that’s too much to ask,” Lighthiser said.
She says the Trump administration’s actions will worsen climate change and the harms her generation faces as a result. She says these changes violate her, and the other plaintiff’s rights to life and liberty under the US Constitution. Julia Olson is one of the lawyers on the case, and the head of the nonprofit law firm Our Children’s Trust that’s brought these youth-led climate cases.
“The pollution from fossil fuels, in and of itself, is a danger, but it is truly threatening the life support system that these plaintiffs need to live and grow healthy,” Olson said. They are asking the court to block the Trump policies, and reinstate climate change information and monitoring across government sites. The case was filed Thursday morning at federal court in Butte.
In this week’s edition, WFHB News speaks with Bryan Fyalkowski, manager of marketing and development for Bloomington Transit, about BLink Microtransit – a free downtown shuttle service that will launch on Monday, June 2nd. Also, we hear from Debbie Kelley, the “pollinator lady.” Hear about local efforts to restore pollinator habitats in south central Indiana.
Credits:
On Air……………………………….Julianna Dailey
On Air……………………………..Frank Marshalek
Headlines……..The Environmental Defense Fund
Headlines………The Nature Conservancy-Indiana
Headlines……………………………Julianna Dailey
Feature Report…………………….. Ella Cummings
Feature Report……………………Chad Carruthers
Feature Report………………………… Kade Young
Script…………………………………Julianna Dailey
Events Calendar…………………….Julianna Dailey
Engineer…………………………..Branden Blewett
Are you looking for a way to make a difference on environmental issues? Eco Report is looking for reporters, engineers, and segment producer to report facts on how we’re all affected by global climate disruption and the ongoing assaults on our air, land and water. We also celebrate ecologists, tree huggers, soil builders and other champions who actively protect and restore our natural world, particularly those who are active in south central Indiana. All levels of experience and all ages are welcome, and we provide the training you’ll need. WFHB also offers internships.
To volunteer for Eco Report, call at (812) 323-1200, or e-mail earth@wfhb.org.