FORGING ALLIANCES IN ‘STEEL DUMPING’ DEBATE

Steel has once again become a big issue in U.S. trade policy. Many steel companies around the Midwest are worried about ‘steel dumping’ and are urging President Bush to support new tariffs and quotas on imported steel. But some steel users say the Bush Administration should back off. How the President handles the issue could affect both jobs and the environment in the region. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:

Transcript

Steel has once again become a big issue in United States trade policy. Many steel companies around the Midwest are worried about steel dumping and are urging President Bush to support new tariffs and quotas on imported steel. But some steel users say the Bush administration should back off. How the president handles the issue could affect both jobs and the environment in the Great Lakes region. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports.


The amount of commonly used types of foreign steel coming into the United States has risen about a third over the last five years, and a federal trade panel ruled recently that much of that imported steel is being sold here at a price lower than what it cost to make it and ship it here. That’s a practice called dumping. The trade panel found that such dumping poses a serious threat to domestic steel makers. So the panel says President Bush should slap tariffs on many product lines of foreign-made steel to raise the prices of the imports. But that’s not such a hot idea to some other industries, which use plenty of foreign steel.


(furnace/factory ambient sound)


Here at the Engel Tool and Forge Company in Milwaukee…this second-generation family business now uses about 600 tons a year of steel imported from countries like Brazil and Sweden. In the warm and grimy forging area, workers use a robot to move five foot long steel bars that have been heated to 2100 degrees Fahrenheit. Owner chuck Engel watches the orange and white-hot bars enter a machine


“That’s a preforming press …a hydraulic press that preforms the metal. It’s removed from there and moved into a finished form that we gain our finished desired shape.” (WHAM noise)


The bars are scrunched into wheel axles that’ll be shipped to heavy equipment makers in the mining or construction industries. Engel says his company is doing all right during the recession. So he’s says he strongly opposed to the president possibly tinkering with that success by slapping higher tariffs on imported steel.


“I am sure there is a certain amount of unfairness on both sides of the fence but I believe that competition should be what sorts this problem out rather than the government.”


Engel contends domestic steel makers got quote- fat and sassy — over the last twenty years…and he says mergers, downsizing and other changes now taking place among domestic manufacturers will help them compete in the world steel market. Engel says if steel tariffs do go up…he’d have to pass along the price hikes. But other players are urging President Bush to approve higher steel tariffs. The United Steelworkers of America hopes the president even goes beyond what the trade panel recommends. Some environmentalists are also quietly supporting the domestic steel industry. That’s even though green groups have a track record of battling steel manufacturers. Cameron Davis of the Chicago-based lake Michigan federation acknowledges big steel has a dirty history in the area.


“Well traditionally, the steel industry especially in northwest Indiana has been responsible for a fair amount of pollution in the Great Lakes…and that’s air-based pollution, water based pollution, land based pollution across the board.”


But lately environmentalists have been trying to forge alliances with unions like the steelworkers. And Davis notes that environmental lawsuits and other changes have gotten domestic steel makers to start cleaning up their act in recent years. He says if nothing is done to slow the rise in steel imports that could make the United States environment worse. Davis cites the aquatic nuisance species that tag along in the ballast water of foreign ships…including presumably, the ships that bring in foreign steel.


“Without some help in protecting the GL steel industry, we’ll see more and more foreign steel coming into the country. And with that foreign steel probably more aquatic nuisance species that will do more damage not only to the Great Lakes but to rest of country.”


United States flagged Great Lakes shipping companies that haul iron ore from Minnesota and northern Michigan are also siding with the domestic steel makers. George Ryan is president of the Lake Carriers Association. He says if the domestic steel industry keeps getting hurt by foreign imports…there might be some local improvements like less air pollution emitted over Gary or Cleveland, but Ryan says, what about the rest of the globe.


“For anyone who has seen photographs from outer space, we have one world that moves the air around to all parts of the world we can’t really say we condone dirty air in Brazil and in China and okay to do it there cause we’re protecting our air in the United States.”


Ryan is a member of the Great Lakes Commission…which is urging the president and congress to boost steel exports and reduce unfair competition from abroad. Commissioners do the bidding of eight Great Lakes governors…most of whom are republicans like George W. Bush. If the president does not do more to protect United States steel makers and jobs that could be an issue in the gubernatorial and congressional elections next November. Mr. Bush has to announce his plans on steel tariffs and quotas by mid-February. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium this is Chuck Quirmbach in Milwaukee.

Mild Weather Poses Danger to Boaters

The Coast Guard says because of the mild winter a lot of people are still kayaking and boating on the water. That’s why it’s warning boaters to remember how cold the water is, even on a warm day. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

Transcript

The Coast Guard says because of the mild winter a lot of people are still kayaking and boating on the water. That’s why it’s warning boaters to remember how cold the water is even on a warm day. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports.


Even if the temperature reaches into the 60’s, the water is colder, cold enough to cause hypothermia in a couple of minutes. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Adam Wine says people fishing or hunting, or those kayaking or even out on jet-skis and the like should dress properly.


“If you’re going to go out on the water this time of year, you should be wearing a personal flotation device that is basically like a suit. It should be similar to either a dry suit or an exposure suit.”


Chief Wine says the personal flotation device suits are about the same price as thermal gear people buy for skiing and snowmobiling, but a lot more safe.


“You know, the thermal gear will drag you right to the bottom, whereas the exposure suit is going to save your life.”


The Coast Guard says if you find yourself in the water the first concern is simple, get out as fast as possible and get help.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Lester Graham.

Canada to Declare Road Salt Toxic?

Canada’s environment minister is recommending that road salt be classified as a toxic substance. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly has details:

Transcript

Canada’s environment minister is recommending that road salt be classified as a toxic substance. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports.


Approximately 5 million tons of road salt are used in Canada each winter.
And much of those salts eventually find their way into bodies of water.
The Canadian government recently completed a 5-year study of the environmental effects of road salts.


The scientists found water near some major highways contained as much salt as ocean water. And they concluded freshwater plants; fish and other organisms are being harmed. Canadian environment minister David Anderson has recommended road salt be added to Canada’s list of toxic substances.


But the government is not proposing a ban on salt. Officials are studying ways to reduce its use and improve snow removal techniques to minimize the amount of salt escaping into waterways. The public has 60 days to comment on the plan. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Karen Kelly.

Universities to Tackle Hazardous Waste

22 colleges and universities around the country, including three in the Great Lakes region, will be sharing $22 million in grants to help address hazardous waste problems. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Jonathan Ahl reports:

Transcript

Twenty-two colleges and universities around the country, including 3 in the Great Lakes region, will be sharing twenty two million dollars in grants to help address hazardous waste problems. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Jonathan Ahl reports:

The U-S EPA is providing the funding for a variety of research projects. Some of the funding will go toward finding better ways to dispose of hazardous waste, both in groundwater and soil. Other projects will focus on ways to find more effective and efficient ways to remove hazardous waste from sediment and at mining sites.


Nearly a third of the total funding will go to outreach programs to help people in low-income communities. The money will be used to help them take an active role in cleaning up waste sites, and to prevent the addition of any more problem areas in their communities.


Purdue University will head up the grant projects in the Midwest. Michigan State University and Central State University in Ohio will also be involved.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Jonathan Ahl.

New Strokes for Personal Watercraft

A quieter, less-polluting personal watercraft is expected to hit show-room floors in February or March. The new machine is the first of several being manufactured in response to criticism of the small, fast boats. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham has more:

Transcript

A quieter, less-polluting personal watercraft is expected to hit show-room floors in February or March. The new machine is the first of several being manufactured in response to criticism of the small, fast boats. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports.


Critics’ say personal watercraft such as Jet Skis, Skidoos and Wave runners are too noisy, pollute too much and they’re involved in the bulk of boating accidents. The industry has been struggling to deal with the criticisms. The latest response changes the kind of motor that powers the craft. Until now, the personal watercrafts were all powered by two-cycle engines. They’re small and powerful, but inefficient. They fail to burn about 25-percent of their fuel, which is instead emitted into the water and air. Late this winter, Yamaha will begin selling -what’s being billed as– the world’s first four-cycle personal watercraft. The manufacturer says it will run about 80 percent cleaner than convention two-cycle engines and about 70-percent quieter. Other manufacturers soon will be offering similar models to meet federal requirements to reduce emissions and noise. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Lester Graham.

Hunt for Slug-Eating Nematodes

A $5,000 reward is being offered to anyone who finds a tiny, parasitic worm in the U.S. that kills leaf-eating slugs. The gray garden slug is notorious for destroying crops and ornamental plants in the Midwest. Researchers at Ohio State University have been looking for the worm that eats the slugs. So far, they’ve examined thousands of slugs sent to them in the mail … but they haven’t been able to find the worm. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Natalie Walston reports:

Transcript

A five thousand dollar reward is being offered to anyone who finds a tiny, parasitic worm in the United States that kills leaf-eating slugs. The gray garden slug is notorious for destroying crops and ornamental plants in the Midwest. Researchers at Ohio State University have been looking for the worm that eats the slugs. So far, they’ve examined thousands of slugs sent to them in the mail, but they haven’t been able to find the worm. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Natalie Walston reports.


(Natural sound of guinea hens)


The Kingwood Center in Mansfield, Ohio is made up of 50 acres of well-tended English gardens. Paved trails lead through rows of perennials and peonies, around fountains and a duck pond. Hundreds of hostas grow beneath shade trees, but the plants leaves have holes chewed through them. John Makely is Kingwood’s head gardener. He says the conventional methods to kill the slugs eating his hostas are out of the question here.


“The problem that we have here with slug bait is that we do have birds roaming around, peacocks and guinea hens that roam around freely. They sort of grouse, browse I should say, the grounds and we would be afraid that they would pick up some of those pellets and poison them.”


Slug bait consists of a poison that can harm more than its intended target. But right now, it’s the only commercial method available to control slugs. So, now there’s a big push by large, commercial nurseries to find a chemical-free way to kill the gray garden slugs that eat ornamental plants. Ohio State University researcher, Pavinder Grewal says there’s a major economic reason to find a good control method.


“Last year we had a lot of rain here when the corn was emerging. And there have been several fields in Ohio that were totally wiped out by the slugs. Basically zero corn production in some fields.”


Grewal has found a natural slug killer. It’s a tiny parasitic worm, known as a nematode. It is native to England and parts of several countries in South America. Farmers and gardeners in those countries buy them in bulk in powder form and sprinkle the worms on their fields. Scientists think the worm will work in this country as well. But if the worm is imported, it must first undergo years of testing to make sure it will not harm native plants and animals.


“We don’t see any problem because some of the tests that we have performed with the nematode…we find it to be pretty safe to non-target organisms. And, we find that this nematode does not infect all slugs.”


To prove this to the federal government could be difficult. Grewal is looking for the worm, in the United States he took out an ad in various publications. He studies more than twenty thousand slugs, but has yet to find the worm he’s looking for. Now he’s sending people off to remote areas of the country to find it. He hopes to be successful because it could take years of testing before the worms can be brought into this country. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Natalie Walston.

Reining in Diesel Exhaust

  • The EPA is planning to regulate smoke from diesel engines in farm and construction equipment. Photo courtesy of NESCAUM.

You see them every time you pass a construction site: big machines belching thick diesel smoke. The smoke isn’t just annoying. It causes major health and environmental problems. Now, after years of dealing with other issues, the EPA is taking on this major source of uncontrolled pollution: emissions from farm and construction equipment. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Julie Halpert looks at the challenges the EPA faces in this far-reaching regulatory effort:

Transcript

You see them every time you pass a construction site. Big machines belching thick diesel smoke. The smoke isn’t just annoying. It causes major health and environmental problems. Now, after years of dealing with other issues, the EPA is taking on this major source of uncontrolled pollution: emissions from farm and construction equipment. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Julie Halpert looks at the challenges EPA faces in this far-reaching regulatory effort.


Emissions from diesel engines create problems for both the environment and people’s health. Diesels release nitrogen oxides, which are a factor in acid rain and smog. They also spew very fine particulates that can lodge deep in the lung when inhaled. And that causes respiratory problems.


Controlling these emissions is no easy task. That’s because most diesel engines still burn fuel containing high amounts of sulfur. The sulfur clogs up existing pollution control devices. And that makes it a lot tougher to come up with ways to reduce emissions. But Christopher Grundler, deputy director of the EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality in Ann Arbor, Michigan, says its an important challenge.


“In the year 2007 we estimate that off road or non-road emissions will make up over 40% of the air pollution from mobile sources or transportation sources, so it’s a big deal.”


In tackling air pollution, EPA’s first job was to clean up gasoline car emissions. Now its moving onto diesels. The agency’s first challenge came when they issued a rule for highway trucks last year. That plan drops sulfur content in diesel fuel from 500 parts per million to 15 parts per million. It also reduces overall diesel emissions by 90% by the year 2007. The EPA now wants to use this rule as a model for farm and construction equipment as well. But the agency is likely to face opposition from refiners, who are fighting the on road rule. Jim Williams is with the American Petroleum Institute.


“We feel that the ability of the refining industry to make sufficient volumes of 15 ppm in the timeframe that EPA wants us to is highly questionable, whether we can do that. We’ve done some studies that show there will be supply shortfalls with the 15-ppm limit.”


Williams is pushing to phase in the requirement over a longer period. He says that would give refiners more time to produce the necessary quantities of low sulfur fuel. Until then, refiners also want to continue providing high sulfur fuel.


But Engine Manufacturers don’t like that idea. They’ve agreed to support tough standards only if the switchover to low sulfur fuel happens quickly. Jed Mandel runs the Engine Manufacturers Association. He’s worried that if cheaper, low sulfur fuel remains abundant; users could continue relying on the dirtier fuel.


“If there are dual fuels available — if there’s cleaner fuel on the marketplace for some time, as well as higher sulfur dirtier fuel, and there’s a price differential in that fuel, there will be a disincentive for users to buy the cleanest engines.”


Mandel says that could cause a delay in purchasing these engines for several years.


Like Mandel, Jason Grumet, executive director of the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management, also wants tight standards. Northeast states, plagued with acid rain and smog caused largely by these diesels, are pushing the EPA to develop the tightest standards possible to meet clean air goals and also to better protect equipment operators.


“The particles from diesel emissions can lodge very deep within the human lung and we know that these particles are carcinogens, so for folks who work with construction equipment every day or on construction sites, for people who farm or plow fields for several hours a day, we think that the emissions of diesel pollutants cause a very substantial and real threat to their health.”


(sound of tractor)


Herb Smith isn’t worried about his health. Smith hops off his tractor and stands on the land that his family has farmed in Ida Township, Michigan since 1865. Despite years of inhaling diesel fumes, Smith said he’s in perfect physical condition. Though he supports regulations to control diesel emissions, he’s worried that the EPA will place undue hardship on farmers.


“I am concerned about fuel costs because our margin in farming is very slim and anything we add to fuel costs, we have to absorb it.”


Smith fears that some of the smaller farmers may not be able to bear higher fuel and engine costs and could go out of business.


Despite the many different viewpoints on the issue, EPA’s Grundler is confident that his agency can develop a rule that will bring tremendous public health benefits at a reasonable cost.


“We’ve shown we can do it for cars and SUVs. We’ve shown it can be done for heavy duty on highway engines. I’m absolutely certain it can be done for these sorts of engines as well.”


The agency expects to issue a technical report outlining emission control options by the end of the year. A proposal is due by the middle of next year. For The Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Julie Halpert.

An International Wildlife Refuge?

An effort to create North America’s first international wildlife refuge is gathering speed. The refuge will be a partnership between Canada and the U.S. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mark Brush has more:

Transcript

An effort to create North America’s first international wildlife refuge is gathering speed. The refuge will be a partnership between Canada and the U-S. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mark Brush has details:


The Detroit River was once home to a thriving set of coastal wetlands and marshes. It was an area teeming with wildlife. But after more than a century of development – most of that habitat has been lost. The proposed international wildlife refuge hopes to turn back the pressures for more development.


The refuge would include the Canadian and U-S sides of the lower Detroit River – lands from the coal-choked Zug Island to the mouth of Lake Erie.


If established, the refuge will be a patchwork federal, state, and privately owned land. And so far, they’ve had some success. Several small islands have been donated or are being bought for inclusion into the refuge.


The first step will be to set up the boundaries of the refuge. Once established, funds may be appropriated for things like buying more land, establishing conservation agreements, and re-creating wildlife habitat.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium I’m Mark Brush.

Whooping Cranes Land in Florida

A flock of endangered whooping cranes has successfully made it to wintering grounds in Florida. The birds were led by an ultralight plane and costumed handlers. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

Transcript

A flock of endangered whooping cranes has successfully made it to wintering grounds in Florida. The birds were led by an ultra-light plane and costumed handlers. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports.


In an effort to help the endangered whooping cranes establish a new migration route, wildlife experts trained the flock to follow an ultra-light plane. The migration started in Wisconsin with a flock of eight young whooping cranes. One refused to stay with the flock and ended up being driven in a van to Florida. One bird hit a power line and was killed. But six whooping cranes made the entire trip. Chuck Underwood with the National Fish and Wildlife Service says unlike previous trips with more cooperative Sandhill cranes, whooping cranes turned out to be extremely independent.


“It was a guess any given day which bird might decide to break off and do his own thing. So, that was a challenge all the way down.”


Wildlife managers say the birds will find their own way back to Wisconsin in the spring. Hopefully it will begin a regular migration pattern, the second of wild whooping cranes in North America.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Lester Graham.

Emissions Trading Goes Online

Trading credits for air pollution reduction just went online. The EPA has set up its emissions trading system on the Internet. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

Transcript

Trading credits for air pollution reduction just went on-line. The EPA has set up its emissions trading system on the Internet. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports.


The EPA’s 20-billion dollar emissions trading market has been around for awhile. It allows companies that reduce pollution below mandated levels to sell the remainder of their allowances to other companies that have not met mandated reductions. But trading has been paperwork intensive. Forms have had to be sent into the EPA for processing, delaying the trade by days. Now the EPA has harnessed the Internet, allowing the more than two thousand companies enrolled to trade online. Brian McLean is the Director of the EPA’s Clean Air Markets Division.


“It speeds up the trading process which therefore saves on the cost of buying and selling and moving these allowances and the more we can take advantage of lower cost emission reductions.”


The EPA says the trading system helps companies meet the goal set by Congress in 1980 to cut overall emissions in half by 2010.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium I’m Lester Graham.