Ruling Bans Mountaintop Blasting

  • A mountaintop removal coal mine encroaching on a small community in West Virginia. (Photo by Vivian Stockman / ohvec.org, flyover thanks to SouthWings)

Environmentalists are praising a court ruling that makes blasting the tops off mountains to extract coal illegal in most cases. Fred Kight reports:

Transcript

Environmentalists are praising a court ruling that makes blasting the
tops off mountains to extract coal illegal in most cases. Fred Kight reports:


Mountaintop removal coal mining is less expensive and safer than
underground mining, so coal companies have been using it more often.
But environmental groups oppose mountaintop removal because it damages
mountains and surrounding valleys, and Joe Lovett with the Appalachian
Center for the Economy and the Environment says in most cases, it’s
against federal law:


“I’m saying that it will be much less common because Congress intended
mountaintop removal mines to be the exception rather than the rule.”


Recently, a judge agreed, at least with cases involving four mines in
West Virginia. The judge ruled the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated
federal law by failing to adequately determine whether the environment
would be harmed. Lovett anticipates an appeal of the ruling.


For the Environment Report, I’m Fred Kight.

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Power Plants Put Co2 Underground

One of the nation’s largest electric utilities is planning to reduce
carbon dioxide pollution at two of its coal-fired plants using a new
technology. Fred Kight reports:

Transcript

One of the nation’s largest electric utilities is planning to reduce
carbon dioxide pollution at two of its coal-fired plants using a new
technology. Fred Kight reports:


American Electric Power will install what it calls “carbon capture,”
first at a plant in West Virginia and then at one in Oklahoma. AEP
says it’s the first company to use this technology on a commercial
scale.


Carbon dioxide will be removed from smokestack emissions and injected
9,000 feet into the ground. With the possibility of federal
legislation on greenhouse gases looming, AEP says it’s the right time
for carbon capture.


AEP’s Pat Hemlepp says this kind of thing is already being done by
companies storing natural gas underground:


“What we’re going to be doing with the CO2 is storing it even deeper in
saline aquafers under high pressure… so we’re not concerned.”


For the Environment Report, I’m Fred Kight.

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Reusing Spent Nuclear Fuel

  • According to the government, GNEP is an evolving U.S. global nuclear strategy aimed at reducing global dependence on fossil fuels; providing reliable, abundant energy necessary for economic growth, prosperity and health; utilizing international expertise to advance technologies and safeguards; and reducing the risk of nuclear proliferation. (Photo courtesy Idaho National Laboratory)

A U.S. Department of Energy initiative to reprocess spent nuclear
reactor fuel is trying to find a home for a facility. Fred Kight
reports the Bush administration says the plan is a means to safely
expand nuclear energy. Critics of the initiative say it’s unsafe and
unwise:

Transcript

A U.S. Department of Energy initiative to reprocess spent nuclear
reactor fuel is trying to find a home for a facility. Fred Kight
reports the Bush administration says the plan is a means to safely
expand nuclear energy. Critics of the initiative say it’s unsafe and
unwise:


The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, or GNEP, would collect spent
nuclear rods from reactors and process them for re-use in the U.S. and
other countries.


Supporters, such as Henry Spitz of the University of Cincinnati, say the
program will allow more reliance on nuclear energy while reducing the
amount of waste generated by power plants:


“GNEP is an essential program if the U.S. is to become less dependent upon
foreign sources of energy.”


But opponents, such as Linda Buskin Jergens, say a facility to reprocess
spent nuclear fuel could make it easier to obtain plutonium for nuclear
weapons:


“Are we creating here a target for terrorism?”


The Department of Energy is studying 11 sites across the nation for the
reprocessing plant.


For the Environment Report, I’m Fred Kight.

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Slowing Gypsy Moth Spread

The government concedes it can’t get rid of a pest that’s been killing
trees. But it has a program that’s slowing its spread. Fred Kight
reports federal and state officials are using a pesticide on the tree-
killing gypsy moth in 10 states:

Transcript

The government concedes it can’t get rid of a pest that’s been killing
trees. But it has a program that’s slowing its spread. Fred Kight
reports federal and state officials are using a pesticide on the tree-
killing gypsy moth in 10 states:


The Slow the Spread Project is run by the US Forest Service and Donna
Leonard is the program manager. She says they focus on hindering the
gypsy moth’s advance into new territory:


“…And for the past five or six years, we’ve been holding spread at
about two to three miles per year, compared to 13 miles per year, which
is the rate it was spreading before we started.”


The tactic employed against the gypsy moth in the spring is aerial
spraying of pesticide, and for the most part they use a naturally
occurring soil bacteria commonly referred to as BTK.


A Sierra Club activist says BTK is far preferable to synthetic
pesticides but it can be a problem because it can kill other bugs, too.


For the Environment Report, I’m Fred Kight.

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Gardeners Bats for Guano

A dealer in plant fertilizers is getting top dollar for product that he gathers close to home. Fred Kight reports some gardeners are just bats for the nutrient:

Transcript

A dealer in plant fertilizers is getting top dollar for product that he gathers close to home. Fred
Kight reports some gardeners are just bats for the nutrient:


What sells for 14 dollars a pound, comes from church steeples and is a fantastic plant fertilizer?
It’s bat poop. Or, more properly, bat guano.


Matt Peters says he already was selling worm dung as a plant food.


When nearby church leaders called him about their bat dropping problems, he added the guano to
the fertilizer inventory of his Ohio business. Peters says some customers are attracted by the
novelty… while others just want healthy plants:


“Definitely in my own personal trials I’ve been amazed at the power of bat guano. I never knew
green could be so green.”


Peters says the original manufacturers, so to speak, of his guano eat mosquitoes.


Since mosquitoes are nitrogen-rich, so is the bat guano… and plants love nitrogen.


For the Environment Report, I’m Fred Kight.

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Fertilizer Makers Cut Back on Phosphorus

Two major manufacturers of fertilizer are cutting the amount of phosphorus in their products by half. Fred Kight reports the move should help reduce water pollution:

Transcript

Two major manufacturers of fertilizer are cutting the amount of phosphorus in their products by half. Fred Kight reports the move should help reduce water pollution:


Phosphorus is a major source of water pollution in many parts of the country. It can create algae blooms. When these blooms die off they rob the water of oxygen, often killing underwater plants and animals.


Scotts Miracle Gro is one of the companies cutting back on phosphorus. Rich Martinez is the chief environmental officer for Scotts. He says the problem occurs when the product doesn’t go where it’s intended:


“We did it as our part of contribution to a reduction in phosphorus losses – material moving off target that might end up in the water.”


Officials from Lebanon Seaboard say they’ll also reduce the amount of phosphorus in their fertilizers. Martinez says gardeners will probably see the new, lower phosphorus products on shelves by next spring.


For the Environment Report, I’m Fred Kight.

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Lax Mercury Regulation Revealed

A chlorine manufacturing plant is discharging mercury at the highest rate of any industrial plant in the nation. A state agency is trying to get the plant to reduce the pollution. The GLRC’s Fred Kight has the story:

Transcript

A chlorine manufacturing plant is discharging mercury at the highest rate of any
industrial plant in the nation. A state agency is trying to get the plant to reduce the
pollution. The GLRC’s Fred Kight has the story:


The PPG Industries plant has dumped as much as 32 pounds of mercury a year into the
Ohio River. Mercury is a toxic chemical that causes nerve damage in humans. West
Virginia’s Environmental Quality Board found that state regulators had allowed PPG to
dump mercury in amounts many times the legal limit.


Margaret Janes is with the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment.
She praised the decision against the plant:


“They’re using a technology that is from the 1800s. There are other cleaner technologies available.”


The plant reportedly is one of only nine in the country that makes chlorine by pumping
saltwater through vats of pure mercury. PPG Industries says it will appeal the West
Virginia ruling.


For the GLRC, I’m Fred Kight.

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Protecting Trees From Lawnmowers

It’s that time of year when the sound of lawnmowers and weed whackers fills the air. A tree expert says trees that are bumped by mowers or scraped by string trimmers can be seriously damaged or killed. The GLRC’s Fred Kight has the story:

Transcript

It’s that time of year when the sound of lawnmowers and weed whackers fills the air. A
tree expert says trees that are bumped by mowers or scraped by string trimmers can be
seriously damaged or killed. The GLRC’s Fred Kight has the story:


If your trees could talk, they might be saying “keep that lawnmower away from me!”
Trees that are wounded by lawn equipment become vulnerable to disease, decay and
insects. Urban Forester Ann Bonner says often just one swipe with the trimmer can slice
into a young tree’s thin bark, killing it in no time:


“Some easy ways to protect your trees would be plant shrubbery, or ground covers,
flowers around the base of your trees, or simply mulch them. Planting mulch around
your trees not only will keep the grass away, but it will also help moderate the moisture
and climate extremes that are pretty common.”


Another way to protect trees from lawnmowers and string trimmers is to place plastic
tubing around the base. For the GLRC, I’m Fred Kight.

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College Rivals Face Off Over Recyclables

More than 90 colleges across the country are locked in a competition. Only this competition isn’t played with a ball it’s played with trash. The GLRC’s Fred Kight explains:

Transcript

More than 90 colleges across the country are locked in a competition.
Only this competition isn’t played with a ball it’s played with trash. The
GLRC’s Fred Kight explains:


The competition is known as Recycle-mania and it started five years ago
when officials at two rival schools in Ohio decided they needed to do
something about the amount of trash being generated on their campuses.
Over a period of several weeks, the two competed to see who could
recycle the most.


The next year, more colleges signed up… and now the number
participating is up to 93. They’ve joined in to reduce waste and save
money but Ohio University organizer Ed Newman says there’s more to it
than that…


“We’re cranking out citizens from this place… and if they could take
some of these better habits and expand on them… transfer these ideas to
the community… I think that’s part of our role as an educational
institution.”


The winning school will be crowned after the competition ends on April
8th.


For the GLRC, I’m Fred Kight.

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Dupont Agrees to Gradually Eliminate C-8

DuPont has agreed to take part in a new E-P-A program aimed at eliminating the use of a potentially toxic chemical. The chemical is known as C-8. And it’s used to make Teflon and other nonstick and stain-resistant products. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Fred Kight has the story:

Transcript

DuPont has agreed to take part in a new program aimed at eliminating
the use of a potentially toxic chemical. The chemical is known as C-8,
and it’s used to make Teflon and other nonstick and stain-resistant
products. The voluntary program was proposed by the EPA. The Great
Lakes Radio Consortium’s Fred Kight has the story:


The EPA wants DuPont and seven other chemical companies to
completely eliminate C-8 in the next nine years.


The effort is drawing praise from environmentalists. Timothy Kropp is a
senior scientist with the Environmental Working Group. He says finding
a substitute for C-8 can decrease pollution and damage to human health…


“This chemical is ubiquitous in people’s blood, and it’s persistent and
everywhere throughout the environment. It is such a wide ranging
chemical with so many concerns that it’s high time that someone took
care of this.”


One EPA official says this is a great opportunity for the industry to get
ahead of the curve and demonstrate leadership in protecting the
environment.


For the GLRC, I’m Fred Kight.

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