U.S.

Green Resources

WVPE is your gateway to green and sustainable resources in Michiana. Sustainability is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This is accomplished by finding a balance between businesses, the environment, and our society (people, planet, and profit).State, National and International resources on sustainability include:The Environmental Protection AgencyThe Natural StepSustainability Dictionary45 Sustainability Resources You Need to Know Explore ways to support sustainability in the Michiana area through the Green Links Directory.Sept. 17, 2019 from 2-3:30pm"Global Warming: A Hot Topic"Sept. 17, 19, 24, and 26All sessions are from 2-3:30pmGreencroft Goshen Community Center in the Jennings Auditorium1820 Greencroft Blvd.Goshen, IN 46526The event will look at possible solutions and suffering as well as consequences beyond warmer weather. The event will examine what other civilizations have or haven’t done when faced with environmental problems. Plus there will be an exploration of the biggest unknown in the climate system: What will the humans do? Paul Meyer Reimer teaches physics, math and climate change at Goshen College. The events are presented by the Lifelong Learning Institute. The Institute can be reached at: (574) 536-8244lifelonglearning@live.comhttp://life-learn.org/

Unpaid Water Bills In Flint Could Hinder Repairs

Michigan Public | By Steve Carmody

Published February 4, 2016 at 5:11 AM EST

The city of Flint, Mich., may not have enough money in the future to pay for repairing broken water mains and replacing sewer lines.

High levels of lead in their drinking water have Flint, Mich., residents relying on cases of bottled water for just about everything. So it may come as no surprise that thousands of them have stopped paying their water bills.

Lynna Kaucheck of the not-for-profit group Food and Water Watch delivered 21,000 signatures to the Flint mayor's office last week calling for a moratorium on drinking water bills.

"All of this is a lot for people to handle, and enough is enough," she said. "Flint residents need relief."

Gov. Rick Snyder, R-Mich., delivers his State of the State address last month, in which he apologized for the state's response to the Flint water crisis.

More than a quarter of Flint water customers stopped paying their water bills last fall after it was confirmed that their drinking water was contaminated with lead.

That's cost the city millions of dollars. As a result, the city may not have enough money in the future to pay for repairing broken water mains and replacing sewer lines.

Gov. Rick Snyder, R-Mich., who has come under withering criticism for the state's role in the crisis, agrees that Flint residents shouldn't have to pay for tainted drinking water. He is asking the state Legislature to give $30 million to Flint to cover the cost of water. But he says residents should still pay the part of their bill that supports the water and sewer system.

The governor's plan would provide credit for water bills dating back to April 2014, when the city's tap water source was switched to the Flint River. It was the failure to properly treat the river water that damaged the city's pipes, which continue to leach lead into the drinking water.

Snyder says he and city officials still have to figure out exactly how to credit Flint water customers for the tainted water they already paid for.

A federal class-action lawsuit on behalf of Flint water customers is seeking $150 million in refunds and damages.

Attorney Billy Murphy says the lawsuit he filed this week will compensate Flint residents for paying for water that he calls "incredibly dangerous."

"The city, the state, the local government officials, the governor, all know that this was catastrophically wrong," Murphy said. "The citizens should not be made to add insult to injury by having to pay for dangerous, dirty, non-drinkable, non-usable water."

Flint residents still receive a monthly bill for water they can't drink, at rates about eight times the national average.