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/

Wildfires Burn Thousands Of Acres In Northern And Southern California

By Laurel Wamsley

Published October 24, 2019 at 5:36 PM EDT

A home burns at a vineyard during the Kincade fire near Geyserville, Calif., on Thursday.

Updated at 10:28 p.m. ET

Northern California is grappling with a new threat: the Kincade Fire. It has already burned through more than 16,000 acres in Sonoma County.

The blaze beganWednesday night.

Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. has told regulators that part of a transmission tower broke near the Kincaid fire at about the time the blaze started. The utility had shut down power to its distribution lines in the area because of fire danger if those lines were knocked down. PG&E says weather predictions didn't reach the level that would have triggered a shutdown of the transmission lines.

The town of Geyserville has been evacuatedas the fire moves west.

"That fire got extremely big really quickly, and was very visible from a significant part of Sonoma County," said Paul Lowenthal, assistant fire marshal in Santa Rosa, as KQED's Raquel Maria Dillon reports. "Departments like Santa Rosa were flooded with 911 calls even though the fire was nowhere near the city limits."

In Los Angeles County, the Tick Fire near Agua Dulce has burned 5,000 acres, moving quickly and threatening homes.

Cal Fire issued its highest alert, a Red Flag Warning, for most of northern California and parts of southern California until late Thursday or early Friday, due to high winds and dry conditions.

PG&E, the electric company, shut off power in a number of locations in the state; the outage affected about 28,000 customers in Sonoma County.

The fire could imperil a number of wineries, including the Francis Ford Coppola Winery, which tweeted on Wednesday that it was closed: "The winery is not currently in danger, but we're without power and Geyserville is under evacuation orders."

The new normal.

The new California sunrise.

Vineyards.

Smoke.

Ash.

No electricity.#KincadeFire pic.twitter.com/qivUPxi5sb
— Matthias Gafni (@mgafni) October 24, 2019

Strong winds are forecast to die down in the coming hours, but may pick up again this weekend.

The utility is struggling through a bankruptcy reorganization as it faces billions in liability for back to back, historically deadly fire seasons including the Camp Fire, the state's deadliest blaze.