Hello and welcome to Eco Report. For WFHB, I’m Julianna Dailey.  And I’m Frank Marshalek. In today's program, we learn more about restoring social sustainability from eco architect and village builder Mark Lakeman of Planet Repair, inspired by his expeditions into indigenous communities to reconnect isolated Americans by implementing neighborhood place making projects. That's coming up in Part Four of his conversation with WFHB Environmental Correspondent Zyro Roze.

And now for your environmental reports:

The Michigan Senate voted to require that all of the state’s energy come from sources that do not emit climate warming gases by 2040.

"This legislation is a major milestone in ongoing efforts to ensure a greener and more environmentally conscious Michigan," said Sen. Sean McCann (D-Kalamazoo), Chair of the Senate Energy and Environment Committee. "These policies will safeguard public health and better protect our environment now and for future generations, and my colleagues and I will continue to work to address the climate crisis and combating the harmful pollution that plagues our farms, air and Great Lakes."

Senate Bill 271 sets targets for a clean energy future. Those targets include establishing a 100% clean energy standard set to be achieved by 2040, and an 80% clean energy standard by 2035. 

---Norm Holy

The main driver of the extinction of plant and wildlife species around the world is habitat loss. In the U.S. alone, approximately 650 species have become extinct or are “missing in action,” according to the National Wildlife Federation. This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) removed 21 species from the Endangered Species Act (ESA)’s list of threatened and endangered species due to extinction. Delisting was based on “the best available science” for each species, a press release from USFWS said.

The newly delisted 21 species emphasize the ESA’s importance in trying to protect species before their declines become irreversible. Human activity is the number one driver of species decline and extinction due to habitat loss, overuse, invasive species and diseases.  "Federal protection came too late to reverse these species’ decline, and it’s a wake-up call on the importance of conserving imperiled species before it’s too late," said USFWS Director Martha Williams in the USFWS press release.

As the world population and temperatures rise, the pace of extinctions will increase. So far, attempts to halt climate change have fallen way short. By 2100, we may be losing 1,000 species per year. E. O. Wilson, the dean of American biologists, predicted the current mass extinction would cause 1 million plants and animals to go extinct.

---Norm Holy

A group of residents in Tippecanoe-Warren-Boone-Clinton and Montgomery Counties in Indiana have banded together regarding a plan by the Indiana Economic Development Committee (IEDC) to push piping up to 100 million gallons of water PER DAY from the Teays Aquifer in Tippecanoe County to their upcoming Limitless Exploration Advanced Pace (LEAP) industrial district in Lebanon, Indiana, with plans to use and forward the water to Indianapolis.  The IEDC is a government-funded private entity.

The plan, which included Governor Holcomb, has not had a single environmental impact study completed.  At a meeting on September 28th, the IEDC’s contracted hydologist presented data from only four days of testing during the wettest part of the year.

Residents reported sulfurous water, gravel in their wells, and problems with their filters.  No study was done regarding the flora and fauna that might be dependent on the aquifer.

The “water grab” will have negative effects on both residents of Indiana and Illinois a...