In this edition of Eco Report, Part Two of an interview with David Van Gilder, Senior Policy and Legal Director for the Hoosier Environmental Council, about legislation being proposed in the State Capitol.
Indiana Forest Alliance and other leaders in the environmental movement are rejoicing over a bold move by Indiana Governor Mike Braun, who asked the United States Forest Service to withdraw the Buffalo Springs Project, a proposed plan to log and burn nearly 20,000 acres of The Hoosier National Forest, and instead focus on updating the long overdue Hoosier National Forest Management Plan.
Braun’s letter to the USFS comes after years of opposition to this project from not only environmental groups such as IFA, Heartwood and others, but also from local governments such as Orange and Crawford county commissioners and Paoli Town Council which each unanimously passed resolutions opposing the project.
The Center for Biological Diversity reports Trump’s “Extinction Committee” will now be led by an oil industry person eager to plunder public lands. Animals like polar bears, whooping cranes, and lesser prairie chickens could pay a steep price. The anti-nature agenda of the new administration must be blocked, and the Center for Biological Diversity is already in court to do it.
On his first day in office, Trump issued an executive order resurrecting a committee — nicknamed the God Squad — that hasn’t met in decades. Its purpose is to decide which species live or die — so that corporations can drill, mine and log the public lands that sustain the wild legacy belonging to all of us.Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department and a cheerleader for Big Oil, will also chair that committee, which can overrule the Endangered Species Act. It will meet at least four times a year, and we know what to expect from those meetings: illegal workarounds so more oil wells can be built in the homes of rare and vulnerable animals and plants.
Species whose habitat is melting away because of a warming planet, like polar bears, will be further stressed. Far-ranging creatures like whooping cranes — and animals like lesser prairie chickens who depend on areas Trump’s industry buddies want to develop — will have nowhere to hide. The administration is wasting no time pursuing its scorched-earth agenda. It’s hunting for ways to pick apart the Endangered Species Act, the most powerful tool we’ve got to save imperiled wildlife.
Mere minutes after Trump was sworn in, the Center went to court to expose the undemocratic workings of Elon Musk and his workers. We’re now bearing witness to an assault on the laws and policies that have kept people and wildlife safe for over half a century. And that was just the first salvo in our resistance fight. This danger is unlike anything we’ve seen before.
According to the New York Times, Trump Is freezing money for clean energy. Red states have the most to lose. About 80 percent of manufacturing investments spurred by a Biden-era climate law have flowed to Republican districts. Efforts to stop federal payments are already causing pain. In less than three weeks, President Trump has thrown the U.S. clean energy industry into chaos, with much of the economic damage hitting Republican states and districts.
In a quest to eliminate any funding linked to climate change, the Trump administration has frozen federal grants for everything from battery factories to electric school buses and issued executive orders that have halted federal approvals for wind and solar projects. Mr. Trump and Republicans in Congress are also working to repeal the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which is projected to pour hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade into low-carbon energy technologies through tax credits, loans and grants.
So far, Republican-voting communities have benefited the most from that law. In the nearly three years since it was passed, private companies chasing the law’s tax breaks have announced plans to spend $165.8 billion to build factories that make solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles and more, according to new data from Atlas Public Policy, a research firm. Roughly 80 percent of those investments are in Republican congressional districts, where they are creating a once-in-a-generation manufacturing boom.
Do you have trees in your yard? Did you plant one recently? That’s wonderful! Believe it or not, that tree is doing a whole lot of good for you and the environment. Maybe you planted your tree to shade your porch or to put bird feeders outside your window. For whatever reason, that tree is providing profound layers of good for you and everyone. It provides cooling shade that helps lower the city temperatures by as much as 10 degrees.
It gives you cleaner air by filtering airborne pollutants that float through the air. Your tree takes in about 1,000 gallons of rainwater per year, which helps keep your yard from flooding. Your tree also provides food and shelter for wildlife, including birds, pollinators, and small animals. And, best of all, it improves the mental health of your community and it promotes physical activity. There is nothing better than walking among the trees. It just makes you feel good.
The Flint Water Crisis is finally coming to an end. Ten years after their fight to clean drinking water began, the fed-up residents of Flint, Michigan, are optimistic that the end may finally be near. In March, a federal court found the City of Flint in contempt for failing to meet certain milestones in its lead-pipe replacement program. Now, the State of Michigan has finally stepped in and is committed to finishing the remaining work by August of 2025.
Under the settlement reached in 2017 by Flint residents represented by attorneys from the Natural Resouces Defense Council and the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, the city was supposed to finish replacing lead service lines and restoring residents’ properties by January 2020, a deadline that was extended in 2022 because of the pandemic. As of now, there are still about 1,900 homes that require repairs to fix damage caused by lead pipes and the city has still failed to check for lead service in hundreds of homes. The people of Flint, Michigan are staying hopeful and vigilant.
In this week’s feature report, Part Two of an interview with David Van Gilder, Senior Policy and Legal Director for the Hoosier Environmental Council, on bills being considered by the state legislature in the 2025 legislative session. The full interview available online as an Eco Report EXTRA at WFHB.org.
Credits:
On Air………………………………….Julianna Dailey
On Air……………………………………Robert Schull
Headlines…………………………………..Norm Holy
Feature Report……………………………..Zero Roze
Script…………………………………..Julianna Dailey
Events Calendar………………………Julianna Dailey
Engineer……………………………..Branden Blewett
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