Gm and Dow Launch Fuel Cell Testing Site

General Motors and Dow Chemical have opened a test facility designed to make fuel cells more viable. Fuel cells use hydrogen to create electricity, with the only waste products being water and heat. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Bill Poorman reports:

Transcript

General Motors and Dow Chemical have opened a test facility designed to make fuel cells more
viable. Fuel cells use hydrogen to create electricity, with the only waste products being water and
heat. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Bill Poorman reports:


The test site is located at Dow Chemical’s facility in Freeport, Texas. The fuel cell station will
use hydrogen that’s a by-product from the plant’s processes. The electricity that’s generated will,
in turn, be used by the plant. Julie Beamer heads GM’s efforts to make fuel cells commercially
viable. She says, over time, the facility will generate a megawatt of electricity.


“To put that into perspective, a megawatt is really the equivalent of powering about 700 average
size U.S. homes.”


Beamer says GM will learn valuable lessons from the site that will help it create fuel cell cars by
the next decade. The technology is seen as a way to cut greenhouse gas emissions. But a recent
report out last week from the National Academy of Sciences says it will take decades before fuel
cells are widespread in automobiles.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Bill Poorman.

Multi-State Effort Targets Mercury Pollution

A group of state legislators from the region are pushing for new laws aimed at limiting mercury pollution. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Sarah Hulett reports:

Transcript

A group of state legislators from the region are pushing for new laws aimed at limiting mercury
pollution. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Sarah Hulett reports.

The multi-state effort targets coal-fired power plants, and products that contain mercury – including
thermometers.

Wisconsin and Ohio are looking to enact stricter pollution controls on power plants than what’s
being proposed in Washington. Other states, including Michigan, are calling for a phase-out of
products that contain mercury. They also want mercury parts and switches to be removed from
cars and appliances before they’re scrapped.

Former Maryland lawmaker Leon Billings is with the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators:

“You’ve got to go at it from all perspectives. Power plants represent 30 to 40 percent of the
ambient mercury. But these other sources are significant, especially if they’re not controlled
properly.”

Mercury is a toxin that can affect the nervous system. It can be especially harmful to developing
children.

For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Sarah Hulett.

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Raw Milk Advocates Petition Small Farmers

For decades, a small number of people have believed milk is more nutritious if it’s not pasteurized. Modern science doesn’t support that claim. And the idea of milk going right from the cow to the breakfast bowl is unthinkable for most doctors and food safety experts. But advocates are finding a new audience for their message: Small farmers trying to compete against large dairy companies. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Peter Payette reports:

Transcript

For decades a small number of people have believed milk is more nutritious if it’s
not pasteurized. Modern science doesn’t support that claim. And the idea of milk
going right from the cow to the breakfast bowl is unthinkable for most doctors and
food safety experts. But advocates are finding a new audience for their message:
Small farmers trying to compete against large dairy companies. The Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Peter Payette reports:


A thick white blanket of fresh snow covers Chris Halpin’s small farm in northern
Michigan. All his goats are in the barn this morning munching on hay.


“These girls in here are all in here with a billy goat and they’re all milking
right now and they’re waiting to get bred. That’s the billy there.”


Halpin hasn’t sold much milk, even though he’s been raising goats for a number of
years. He says small farmers must cut out the middleman to make a living and
he’s exploring options to sell milk products without going through a big dairy
company.


Pasteurization equipment is too expensive for his small farm. So, for the last two
years he’s sold un-pasteurized milk to a small number of people.


“The demand for raw milk is huge. Pasteurized milk is a dead product. It’s
dead. It’s heated up to temperatures that kills not only any the bacteria that
could be in the milk but it kills all the enzymes in the milk and so there’s nothing
in there that could promote the body to digest the milk.”


It’s not legal to sell the raw milk in Michigan. A few other Midwest states and
Canada also ban such sales. Health officials say that raw milk can carry food-
borne illnesses. But Halpin says his animals are clean and healthy and he has no
concerns about the safety of the milk.


“That’s not my concern at all. We have five children and my wife makes yogurt
and cheese and we drink raw milk and I have no concerns at all and I don’t have
no concerns for my own family. If I guy has concerns it seems like it’d be for his
own family.”


Food regulators say the dangers of raw milk are well documented. In 2001, for
example, an outbreak of a bacterial infection in Wisconsin sickened 19 people.
The state says 17 of them reported drinking raw milk.


And raw milk advocates have not been able to convince regulators that raw milk
has any nutritional benefit over pasteurized milk, as is often claimed.


The legislative liaison for the Michigan Department of Agriculture, Brad Deacon,
says opponents of the pasteurization requirement weren’t persuasive when his state
updated its dairy laws in 2001.


“There haven’t been any credible studies that we’ve been able to find. Our minds
are not closed on the matter. But we’ve been yet to be given any credible studies
that pasteurized milk has fewer nutrients than unpasteurized milk.”


Raw milk advocates point to older studies, mostly done in the first half of the
twentieth century. Those studies did suggest health benefits from drinking raw
milk.


And they have anecdotal stories of people overcoming health problems by
switching to a diet that includes raw dairy.


They say the scientific community’s view is entrenched and influenced by the
interests of big agribusiness and big dairies.


But with modern science against them, raw milk activists are taking their message
directly to farmers.


And they’re finding receptive and occasionally large audiences.


The President of the Weston A. Price Foundation — the national group leading the
campaign for raw milk — was recently the keynote speaker at a small farm
conference in the Midwest that attracted 600 people.


Sally Fallon told the farmers they’re up against corporations that want squeeze the
little guy out.


“For this to happen, she says the big companies must make sure all food goes
through the corporations on its way from the farm to the table.”


“The farmer who adds value by farming organically by making cheese or butter
or by simply selling directly to the consumer, he is the enemy to this system and a
whole battery of laws, health laws, licensing laws, even environmental laws, is
used against us. We need to get rid of some of these laws.”


Fallon says raw dairy products are good for the consumer and the bottom line of
the farm.


For instance, she says raw butter made from cows free roaming on fertile pasture
is “the number one health food in America.”


The farmer making this butter should get at least five dollars a pound for this
product. In Washington D.C., we’re getting ten dollars a pound for the beautiful
Amish butter. Now that kind of income will pay for lots of improvements on the
farm.”


But the plight of small farmers doesn’t change the facts, says Dr. Stephen Barrett,
a retired psychiatrist and journalist who operates the website quackwatch.org.
Barrett says small businesses are having trouble everywhere.


“One have to ask rather cynically, if a company isn’t viable in the marketplace,
they either better do something or they’re going to perish, and if doing something
means putting the public at risk, that’s not good.”


Good or not, activists will continue to push for what they see as a fundamental
right to drink and sell milk without interference from the government.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Peter Payette.

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Musicians Rock the Environment

  • Cloud Cult is a rock band that combines songs about love and loss with messages about consumerism and the natural world. From left: drummer Dan Greenwood, cellist Sarah Young, and lead singer and band founder Craig Minowa. (Photo by Casey Mosher)

The rock band Cloud Cult is on a mission to turn music lovers into environmental activists. And they’re determined to do it without what they say is the usual message of environmental doom and gloom. Cloud Cult has fun. That’s more effective, according to the band – and its fans throughout the region seem to agree. As the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mary Stucky reports, Cloud Cult is taking environmental activism to new forms… from the way they package their cds, to the flyers they distribute at concerts:

Transcript

The rock band Cloud Cult is on a mission to turn music lovers into
environmental activists. And they’re determined to do it without what
they say is the usual message of environmental doom and gloom. Cloud Cult
has fun. That’s more effective, according to the band and its fans
throughout the region seem to agree. As Mary Stucky reports, Cloud Cult is taking
environmental activism to new forms, from the way they
package their cds, to the flyers they distribute at concerts.


(music of Cloud Cult – “you’re so pretty…”)


Cloud Cult sings about love and loss.


(music of Cloud Cult)


And Cloud Cult sings about over-consumption and the beauty of the natural
world. Band leader Craig Minowa is an environmentalist disguised as a rocker.


(music fades out)


“I’ve tried so many ways of getting the message across and if you’re singing , ‘I gotta go out and
recycle today everybody is just gonna,’ (laugh). Our hope is that you bring people out, they
realize this movement isn’t something that is dark that you have to feel bad about but it’s
something exciting and we can have a good time doing this.”


Minowa founded the band and runs what he calls Earthology Studios about an
hour north of St Paul, Minnesota. This is a business that replicates CDs
for other bands. Minowa says he’s doing the only environmentally-friendly
CD replicating in the country. He takes used plastic jewel cases, cleans them up and recycles
them for new CDs .


“I mean they’re polyvinyl chloride so if you don’t recycle them, if
you send them off for incineration it creates dioxin which is one of the
most toxic pollutants.”


Liner notes are made with recycled paper and non toxic ink. The shrink
wrap around the CD – that’s made from corn-based cellulose.


But it’s not how the CDs are made, it’s the music that’s important to this
crowd at a Cloud Cult gig in Duluth Minnesota. Cloud Cult just released
a new CD, “Aurora Borealis.” Their previous disc, “They Live on the
Sun,” was a hit on college radio.


(sound of music)


Even though he’s here to play music, Craig Minowa can’t let an environmental
opportunity pass by. At the back of the bar – tables with information and sign-up sheets.


“Organic Consumers Association, Great Lakes United and the Environmental Association for
Great Lakes Education.”


“I work for the organization that is putting on the Living Green Conference.


“Is it the first time you’ve been at a bar to promote your organization?”


“Yeah I think so.”


“It’s really a noble cause, I’d like to be involved and sign up. For the last couple weeks I’ve
really been excited and I looked forward to this concert.”


Minowa thinks this is the future of the environmental movement.


“The winning equation is making people feel. Make them feel through the music. Hopefully
then as they’re walking out looking at the organizations they’re more receptive to the statistics on
the table. And that’s when real action is going to take place.”


Craig Minowa donates all profits after overhead to environmental
Causes and says giving money comes naturally.


“You’re not really gonna be able to get somebody to pull 20 bucks out of their wallet and invest
that in protecting the creek down the way unless that same person is able to go over there and feel
in their heart, that is a really beautiful flower and I want to protect that because I have love, I have
compassion, I feel.”


(sound of music)


Cloud Cult tours this winter throughout the Great Lakes region.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Mary Stucky.

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Prime Minister Renews Support for Kyoto

Environmentalists are praising Canada’s new prime minister for his promise to meet the goals laid out by the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports:

Transcript

Environmentalists are praising Canada’s new prime minister for his promise to meet the goals laid
out by the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly
reports:


In his first week in office, Canadian prime minister Paul Martin promised that Canada would meet
its Kyoto target. The country has pledged to reduce greenhouse gases by 30-percent in the next 8
years. Martin’s plan includes new spending on environmental innovations that will conserve energy.


John Bennett of the Climate Change Action Network says it’s a commitment that will reap large
rewards.


“If we now were to turn our investment dollars into conservation and efficiency, we could not only
make a profit, but we could reach the Kyoto targets at the same time.”


The Kyoto treaty will not become legally binding unless Russia signs on as well. Russian officials
have yet to make a decision. But both Canada and the EU have pledged to meet the Kyoto targets
regardless.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Karen Kelly in Ottawa.

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Report Analyzes Economic Benefits of Wetlands

70 billion dollars – that’s how much the world’s wetlands are worth in annual goods and services, according to a report from the World Wildlife Fund. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Rebecca Williams has more:

Transcript

Seventy-billion dollars – that’s how much the world’s wetlands are worth in
annual goods and services, according to a report from the World Wildlife
Fund. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Rebecca Williams has more:


The report says wetlands provide goods and services such as water filtration,
habitat, flood control and food production. The authors analyzed all the
studies that have been done on the economic value of wetlands.


They say billions of dollars are spent each year to drain wetlands for
immediate economic benefits.


Chris Williams is a conservation manager with the World Wildlife Fund. He
says decision-makers don’t always understand the long-term benefits of
wetlands.


“And if you’re, say, an official in a local jurisdiction, you’re thinking,
what is the immediate return of developing this area? There might be tax
revenues, there might be employment benefits, there might be increased
housing. Now those are important, and those should be thrown into the mix.
What we are mainly saying is, fine, but when you’re balancing those short-term returns, balance
them with the long-term value of the resource that
you’re developing.”


Williams says governments might try to restore wetlands when an area has
been paved over. But he says it’s much more expensive to build a wetland
from scratch than to take steps to preserve it.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Rebecca Williams.

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Epa Punishes Fewer Polluters

The Environmental Protection Agency under President Bush is punishing fewer polluters than under previous administrations. That’s according to analysis done by the Knight Ridder news service. More from the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mark Brush:

Transcript

The Environmental Protection Agency under President Bush is punishing fewer
polluters than under previous administrations. That’s according to analysis
done by the Knight Ridder news service. More from the Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Mark Brush:


Investigators looked at environmental enforcement records dating back to
1989. They found that under the current Bush administration – enforcement
has dropped significantly when compared to the Clinton and the first Bush
administration. The EPA averaged close to 200 citations a month under Bush
Senior. And now, that average has dropped to 77 citations a month under
George W. Bush.


Joel Mintz is the author of a book on the history of EPA enforcement. He
says enforcement is crucial to the agency.


“I think it’s critical really. It’s at the heart of what any regulatory
agency does. Without enforcement, environmental laws would have no teeth.
They just would not be taken seriously.”


EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt says the numbers are lower because they’re
practicing what he calls “smart enforcement.” He says they’re working with
businesses – developing incentives for companies not to pollute – instead of
focusing on punishment.


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

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Farm to Wetlands Program to Be Scaled Back?

A popular federal program that pays farmers to restore wetlands on their property is underfunded in President Bush’s budget proposal. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s David Sommerstein has more:

Transcript

A popular federal program that pays farmers to restore wetlands on their property is underfunded
in President Bush’s budget proposal. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s David Sommerstein
has more:


The 2002 Farm Bill called for turning 250,000 acres a year of marginal farmland into wetlands.
Wetlands on farms help control pesticide run-off, replenish aquifers, and provide wildlife habitat.
And the effort gives farmers some extra cash in lean times. The Bush Administration wants to
downsize the program by 50,000 acres a year. But critics say it’s too popular to reduce.


“For every acre that gets enrolled, there are five acres waiting to get enrolled.”


Julie Sibbing is the wetlands policy specialist for the National Wildlife Federation. She says millions
of acres of wetlands nationwide are under threat from development. And farm conservation
programs are a crucial way to preserve them.


“There’s been a lot of talk about how the farm programs have expanded under the Bush
Administration. It’s really not been the great expansion that we would have liked to have seen.”


Last year, the program helped convert 213,000 acres of unused farmland into wetlands, short of the
250,000 acre goal.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m David Sommerstein.

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Budget Calls for Cleaner School Buses

The Bush administration has proposed a funding increase for a nationwide program to reduce pollution from diesel school buses. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Erika Johnson reports:

Transcript

The Bush administration has proposed a funding increase for a nationwide
program to reduce pollution from diesel school buses. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Erika Johnson reports:


The Environmental Protection Agency launched a program last year to cut
emissions from diesel school buses. Five million dollars was divided among
a handful of school districts nationwide. The money was used to replace or
retrofit diesel school buses with pollution control devices and to provide
cleaner burning diesel fuels. Now, the Bush administration has proposed
that an additional 65-million dollars be added to the program next year.


Tom Skinner is EPA’s Region 5 Administrator.


“The reason for the big jump is that we’ve seen the kind of success, the
kind of results that can be created by the program, and what we’ve found is
it’s tremendously effective. We started with a relatively small pilot
program with limited funding, and now is really when we’re going to kick it off, and
expand it dramatically and really reach across the country.”


Skinner says EPA hopes to replace or retrofit all diesel school bus engines
by 2010.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Erika Johnson.

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State Tries to Stem Flow of Trash

Two Great Lakes states – Pennsylvania and Michigan – top the list of destinations in North America for solid waste disposal. In Michigan, that designation is spurring action to slow the pace of trash being shipped to its landfills. We have more from the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Rick Pluta:

Transcript

Two Great Lakes states – Pennsylvania and Michigan – top the list of destinations in North
America for solid waste disposal. In Michigan, that designation is spurring action to slow the
pace of trash being shipped to its landfills. We have more from the Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Rick Pluta:


A new report says one-quarter of the trash going to Michigan’s landfills comes from out-of-state.
Some of it is from neighboring Midwest states such as Illinois and Indiana, some it from as far
away as the east coast. Most of Michigan’s out-of-state waste comes from Canada.


Landfill space is abundant in Michigan and dumping costs are low. But there’s a movement afoot
to try and slow the pace of trash headed to Michigan landfills.


Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm.


“We have sited so many landfills over the past decade or so that we have literally become the
dumping ground of North America.”


Legislation is pending to limit the types of waste that can be dumped in the state’s landfills, and
to make dumping more expensive.


Those efforts have been dealt a setback. A court has ruled transporting trash is a form of
interstate commerce that can only be regulated by the U.S. government.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Rick Pluta.

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