ENVIRONMENT

Collaborate

Our LWV South Bend Area Environment Committee supports natural resources public policy positions of LWV United States and LWV Indiana, and we work in collaboration with other organizations working to protect the environment

Natural Resources Position of LWV United States | Promote an environment beneficial to life through the protection and wise management of natural resources in the public interest.  Read More  

Environment Position of LWV Indiana | The League of Women Voters of Indiana supports preserving and enhancing the environmental integrity and quality of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Ecosystem. We support the attainment and maintenance of high water quality standards throughout the Great Lakes Basin, with emphasis on water pollution prevention. Water conservation should be a high priority of all governments in the Basin.  Read More

LWV Lake Michigan Region

Hoosier Environmental Council

Friends of the St. Joe River

Educate

Looking back before moving forward
In 2022, several useful environmental bills were passed successfully by the Indiana General Assembly. A quote from Jesse Kharbanda, the outgoing president of the Hoosier Environmental Council, one of our partners in environmental justice: "Victories happened, more often than not, due to the encouraging alignment between public interest and business interests, and voices of diverse ideological backgrounds coming together."

The League of Women Voters of the South Bend Area is one of those voices. Read about those bills that passed, and the ones that will still be on the table in 2023, here.

Coal Ash

Margaret Renkl, NY Times: On an Endangered River, Another Toxic Disaster is Waiting to Happen 

League member supports 2022 safe coal ash disposal legislation

LWV Lake Michigan Region 2022 Climate Change Forum

Matt Meersman, "A Watershed Approach to Pollution in Our Rivers and Streams" 

In Michigan City, Indiana, coal ash is held out of Lake Michigan and Trail Creek by an aging seawall. If the seawall fails, cleanup will be impossible. The coal ash needs to be removed now, before the seawall fails. Coal ash contaminated groundwater is already leaking through the seawall. Narration by Pastor Kimberly Williams, AA,BScOM, MScM, New Disciple Love Fellowship Church, Michigan City.