Commentary – Take Cover!

The Mid-West has had a harsh storm season this summer, with plenty ofweather alerts and downed trees as proof. Recently, thousands were leftwithout electricity after storms made their way through northern Indiana andsouthern Michigan. Technology…such as Doppler radar…helps warnresidents of impending danger, minimizing the loss of lives. But afterheeding several warnings herself, Great Lakes Radio Consortium commentator,Julia King, wonders about the fine line between forewarning and crying wolf:

Earthquake Insurance in the Midwest

Insurance rates for earthquake coverage could be going up dramatically forbusinesses near the fault line of the nation’s most severe earthquake. It’snot in California, but in Missouri. In the winter of 1811 and 1812, aseries of severe earthquakes shook the region. The quakes changed thecourses of the Mississippi river in places. They created Reelfoot Lake inTennessee and shook to the ground the few log structures built by settlersin the southern regions of Illinois and Missouri. The Great Lakes RadioConsortium’s Lester Graham reports those historic earthquakes and newcomputer data have prompted a move to quadruple some business’ earthquakeinsurance rates:

Cities Get Federal Money for Brownfields

As cities across the United States attempt to revitalize their downtowns,the Clinton Administration is providing a boost. Vice President Al Gore hasawarded a new round of grants to help clean up and redevelop contaminated,abandoned properties, known as Brownfields. Aboutfour-million-dollars…28-percent of the grant money…is headed to citiesin the Great Lakes region. Ohio will get the most money…Seven Ohio citieswill each receive two hundred-thousand dollars. The Great Lakes RadioConsortium’s Julie Grant Cooper reports on plans to use the funds.

Organ Donation Transplants Grief

Every year, thousands of families across the country are forced to make adifficult decision. A loved one has died, and their organs could be usedfor transplant. As the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports,an innovative group in Albany, New York is using volunteer donor mothers tohelp families through the process:

Commentary – The Green Coordinator

Wal-Mart, with its sprawling parking lots and its abundance of plastics,often makes an easy target for environmentalists. But does being big haveto mean being bad? Big business can mean big money and a big commitment tothe environment. Great Lakes Radio Consortium commentator Julia Kingrecently saw a glimmer of hope in the vast aisles of a super Wal-Mart. Ordid she?

Deformed Frogs Spell Trouble for Humans

In the years since the first reports about the disappearance of frogsworldwide, many researchers have warned the plight of amphibians may be anearly sign of environmental problems that could affect humans. More recentreports of DEFORMED frogs have added to these concerns. Mary Losure(low-sure) has the final report in our series for the Great Lakes RadioConsortium:

Vanishing Frogs – The Possible Culprit

Frogs and toads are disappearing all over the world…and no one knows allthe reasons why. The destruction of wetlands and other places whereamphibians live is one of the major causes…but frogs and toads have alsobeen dying out in protected sites far from any human disturbance. Worldwideenvironmental problems – airborne contaminants, global climate change, orhigher than normal ultraviolet light from the earth’s thinning ozone layer -have all been linked to frog disappearances, but now there’s hard evidenceof another possible culprit. Mary Losure (low-sure) reports for the GreatLakes Radio Consortium on the worldwide vanishing of frogs. This secondreport in our series begins in the Panamanian rain forest: