Kansas Legislative Update with Zack Pistora, KS Sierra Club Lobbyist

For our show for March 8th, host Richard Mabion speaks with Zack Pistora,  state lobbyist for the Kansas Sierra Club.  March 5^th  was Turnaround: the last day for non-exempt bills in a house of origin.   That means no more new bills, now the legislature’s job is to pass or veto the bills that were brought forward in the session.  And what are those bills?  Zack and Richard will discuss any that affect the environment of Kansas.  It may be too late to introduce new bills but pending bills that protect and benefit our environment need support and those that do not need closure.  Zack will share his insight on the status of Kansas legislation which will impact our environment.

https://kansas.sierraclub.org/advocacy/

We at EcoRadio KC are glad to encourage awareness and protection of our world. We can create a sustainable present for a sustainable future! This will be a great radio hour!

We hope you tune in!

We at EcoRadio KC are glad to encourage awareness and protection of our world. We can create a sustainable present for a sustainable future!

Environmental news for the week of 3/8:

Democracy Now reports:

•  In Chicago, over 100 activists are on hunger strike to protest the relocation of the General Iron metal shredding plant to the Southeast Side of Chicago – an area with mostly Black and Brown residents and which already suffers from poor air quality due to industrial pollution. The scrapyard is being moved from its current location to make way for a multibillion-dollar development.
• A report by the International Energy Agency says global carbon dioxide emissions have not only returned to pre-pandemic levels but have surpassed them. A new study says that emissions must fall by the amount caused by the pandemic  roughly every other year for the next decade     if the world is to avoid the worst effects of global warming by the end of the century.
• The Biden administration has withdrawn an environmental review for a massive copper mine in eastern Arizona, temporarily blocking Resolution Copper from taking over a parcel of land sacred to the San Carlos Apache Nation and other Native communities.

 

Inside Climate News reports:

 

• The Biden administration said it will consider carbon border adjustment taxes to help cut greenhouse gas emissions in global trade.
• House Democrats have introduced a revamped version of the CLEAN Future Act, a major bill intended to get the country to carbon neutrality by 2050. The latest version of the bill would require energy providers to get 100 percent of their electricity from clean sources by 2035.
• The population centers that experience the most heat are the same ones that have become hot spots for coronavirus infection. Higher density housing, less green space and lower average incomes help explain this effect in many urban hubs.
• Industry groups saw a major win when the International Code Council, a consortium that oversees the model building codes for much of the United States, moved to strip local governments of their right to vote on future energy-efficiency codes. This will be one of the most consequential roadblocks to decarbonizing the U.S. economy.
• A giant landfill in Washington state is producing enough natural gas from decaying trash to power 19,000 homes every day.

 E & E News reports:

•  “Forever chemicals” , or PFAs, are present in multiple common pesticides according to testing conducted by an environmental watchdog group.

 Politico reports:

• President Joe Biden restored an Obama-era calculation on the economic cost of greenhouse gases, a step that will make it easier for agencies to approve aggressive actions to confront climate change. But the administration stopped short of boosting the cost figure to higher levels that economists and climate scientists say are justified by new research. The interim figure – $51 for every ton of carbon released into the atmosphere – is well above the $8 cost used under former President Donald Trump. It’s on par with a price based on analyses undertaken between 2010 and 2016 under former President Barack Obama, whose administration was first to calculate the figure known as the social cost of carbon.

 

Calendar of events for the week of 3/8:

 

• The EPA has provided a partial approval/decision of Missouri’s 2020 303(d) list and is proposing to add 40 additional lakes to Missouri’s impaired water body list. The public comment period with EPA has been extended until March 22, 2021. For more info, see https://www.streamteamsunited.org/

 

• Watch the latest films on environmental social justice, waste, recycling, clean energy and food, including Kiss the Ground, at the free virtual One Earth Film Festival from March 5^th – 14^th.  Access info at https://greenabilitymagazine.com/blog/2021/03/get-free-tickets-one-earth-film-fest/
• TUES, March 9th, 7:00 PM, Steamboat Landscape, a presentation by amateur historian and steamboat modeler Eric Reuter who will use hand-made scale models of Missouri River steamboats and other vessels to discuss the linked history of steamboat development and environmental changes in the Missouri basin, drawing on his professional and personal interests in the links between geology, ecology, history, and land management. https://www.bigmuddyspeakers.org/events/event/steamboats_2021/

 

• TUES, March 2^nd, 6:00 PM, You can join with Thomas Hart Benton Sierra Club at their monthly meeting online and learn how you can advocate for active transportation in your community! Registration and access info at https://www.sierraclub.org/missouri/thomas-hart-benton

 

• WED, March 10^th, 6:30 PM, Red Alert! Saving the Planet with Indigenous Knowledge presented by Daniel R. Wildcat. A month after what scientists say is the latest warning about climate change – the deadly winter storm that ravaged Texas – Daniel Wildcat offers an avenue of response. Watch online at YouTube.com/KCLibrary.

 

• WED, March 10^th, 7 PM, Zoom webinar Berta Cáceres in Defense of Water Rights.  March 2, 2021 was the 5th anniversary of  the death of Berta Cáceres.  After winning the Goldman Environmental Prize, she was murdered for successfully organizing opposition to the Agua Zarca Dam in Honduras.  Access info at https://www.missourigreenparty.org/calendar

 

• SAT, March 13^th, you can meet the native plant experts who can help you get your garden started, and find the plants you need at the Native Plants: Ask the Experts Expo. Outdoor event features educational stations with native plant and landscape design experts and a native plant sale. Naturalists at the Burr Oak Woods Conservation Nature Center will show participants how to save time and money while creating wildlife habitat with native plants. Three expo sessions will be available with limited participants to allow for social distancing at Burr Oak Woods Conservation Nature Center, 1401 NW Park Road, Blue Springs, MO. Find more information and pre-register for these one-hour time options: 9 a.m. – 10 a.m., 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. and 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. This event is limited to those who are 18 years and older, and registration is required. The native plant sale is open to registered participants during the expo from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. and to the public from 12 – 2 p.m. Info at mdc.mo.gov

 

• SAT, March 13^th, 3:00 – 5:00 PM, Now that it’s time for spring cleaning, learn how you can detoxify your routine and save money at this virtual KC Farm School workshop on Spring Clean-Go Green. You can make and use safe, environmentally friendly cleaning products from ingredients that most people have in their home. To register for this free workshop, go to https://www.kcfarmschool.org/ A Zoom meeting link will be sent to registrants.

 

Thanks for listening to EcoRadio KC on 90.1 FM, KKFI – Kansas City Community  Radio.

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