The Fate of Slant Drilling

Far below the bottom of the Great Lakes, valuable pockets of oil and
gas sit waiting to be tapped. But laws prohibit offshore drilling. So
for the last twenty years, oil companies have been using another method
to get to the deposits; it’s called directional or slant-drilling. Up
until this point, there hasn’t been much opposition. But now a number
of bills are pending that could change oil and gas development beneath
the lakes. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson reports:

New Bill Targets Acid Rain

A new federal report says acid rain remains a serious problem in New
York state’s Adirondacks, and is also a growing threat in the southern
Appalachians, the Rocky Mountains and elsewhere. Environmentalists are
hoping the report will strengthen political support for anti-pollution
measures in Congress this year. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Todd
Moe reports:

Female Hormones Found in Waste Water

Millions of American women rely on birth control pills to prevent pregnancy. Millions more depend on replacement hormones to prevent symptoms of menopause like hot flashes and osteoporosis. Both medications contain a synthetic version of the female hormone estrogen. And now, researchers at the University of Mississippi found that some of that estrogen ends up in wastewater. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Steve Frenkel has more on the potential effects:

Low-Flush Toilets Make a Splash

It’s one of the most private, intimate parts of our lives — in fact, most people talk more readily about sex than they do about what goes on in the bathroom. But now, toilet talk is heating up over a federal mandate requiring all new toilets to flush with no more than one-point-six gallons of water. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson has the story:

Drilling the Great Lakes

The Wisconsin Legislature is considering a bill that would ban drilling for oil and natural gas around Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mike Simonson has this report:

Mining Moratorium Law

Environmental groups in Wisconsin are calling on Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson to move quickly to sign tough new mining regulations into law. But the Governor says he wants to talk to industry leaders and local residents before signing it. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Gil Halsted reports:

Energy Efficiency and Utility Deregulation

States around the nation are beginning to embrace electricity deregulation. Last November, the Illinois’ State Legislature passed its own deregulation bill. But environmentalists complained that it did little to promote clean and efficient energy use. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Steve Frenkel reports on a new proposal to improve Illinois’ deregulation law: