USGS Wildlife Veterinarian testing an American crow for previous exposure to the West Nile Virus (Photo courtesy of US Geological Survey)
We’re heading into West Nile virus season.
Rebecca Williams reports experts say it’s now a
seasonal epidemic:
Transcript
We’re heading into West Nile virus season.
Rebecca Williams reports experts say it’s now a
seasonal epidemic:
West Nile virus is at its peak between mid-July and mid-September.
You can get infected from a single mosquito bite.
Most people who get infected won’t get a serious case of it. But people
over 50 have a higher risk of getting really sick. The virus can cause
high fever, paralysis and even death.
Dr. Lyle Petersen is with the Centers for Disease Control. He says West
Nile Virus is here to stay. And he says even if your area hasn’t had an
outbreak recently, that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.
“We really can’t predict exactly when and where these outbreaks are
going to occur so everybody needs to take precautions.”
He says you should use insect repellants, repair window screens, and
drain standing water around your house.
There's a movement to stop using pesticides and sprays on your lawn (Photo by Ilja Wanka)
A lot of us have a love-hate relationship
with our lawns. We love them when they’re lush.
We hate them when they’re full of dandelions and
dead patches. It’s easy to have someone come out
and spray pesticides to take care of weeds and bugs.
But some people say it’s not necessary and could
do more harm than good. Rebecca Williams reports:
Transcript
A lot of us have a love-hate relationship
with our lawns. We love them when they’re lush.
We hate them when they’re full of dandelions and
dead patches. It’s easy to have someone come out
and spray pesticides to take care of weeds and bugs.
But some people say it’s not necessary and could
do more harm than good. Rebecca Williams reports:
So, you might be using pesticides on your lawn right now. And of
course, the pesticide industry says that’s okay.
The industry says the chemicals are safe to use on the lawn if you use
them correctly.
Alan James is president of Responsible Industry for a Sound
Environment, or RISE. It’s a trade group for pesticide companies.
“If individuals or professional applicators read the labels and follow
labels, the likelihood of misuse of pesticides is virtually zero because the
labels provide all the information a consumer or professional needs to
apply products both efficiently and safely.”
But the problem is, not everybody reads the label.
Alan James says if you’re hiring someone to spray your lawn you should
make sure they’re certified and insured. You should also take your kids’
and pet’s toys off the lawn before they spray.
But a lot of people say there’s no point in using chemicals just to make
your lawn look good.
Jay Feldman is with the group Beyond Pesticides. He says of the 30
most common lawn pesticides, most of them are suspected by the
Environmental Protection Agency to cause cancer, birth defects or other health problems.
“There’s a range of adverse effects that are indicated as a part of the
pesticide registration program at EPA. EPA knows this information.
Why not remove pesticides from the equation, especially in light of the
fact that they’re not really necessary?”
There’s a movement to stop using pesticides in North America. Both
Ontario and Quebec have banned the sale and cosmetic use of
pesticides. And Home Depot in Canada recently said it will stop selling
traditional pesticides all together by the end of the year.
So if you’re not going to use pesticides, what do you do?
That’s a question Kevin Frank gets a lot. He’s an extension agent at
Michigan State University and an expert on lawns.
“I love to mow my lawn on the weekends because nobody can call me on
the phone or email me with questions.”
He’s been showing me green, healthy test plots of grass and some that
look sad and neglected. The scientists here have been working to find
ways to have good-looking lawns without a lot of chemicals.
Back in his office, Kevin Frank says he tells people they shouldn’t be
afraid to experiment.
“Do you have it in you to let it go for one season and see what happens?
And it could be ugly, so you’ve got to be prepared for that!”
He says a healthy, dense lawn is actually really good at fighting off
weeds and pests all on its own. So, how do you get a healthy, dense lawn
without a lot of chemicals? Frank says it might take a couple years to get
there. And it means going against conventional lawn advice.
“We’ve done a great deal of research here at Michigan State that runs
contrary to what I call ‘turf dogma’. You know: water deeply and
infrequently – and we’ve shown if you do it on a more frequent basis you
end up with a healthier plan overall.”
He recommends watering lightly – just 10 minutes – every day instead
of soaking the lawn once a week. Frank says it’s also good to fertilize
twice a year, use a mulch mower, and mow high instead of giving the
grass a buzz cut.
He says that could make your lawn so healthy, it might mean you won’t
need to spray or hire someone to spray your lawn.
He says the biggest adjustment in reducing pesticide use is managing
your expectations, and deciding how many weeds and bugs you can live
with.
East Pioneers, MT (Photo courtesy of the Campaign for America's Wilderness)
Boulder-White Clouds, ID (Photo courtesy of the Campaign for America's Wilderness)
Tumacacori Highlands, AZ (Photo courtesy of the Campaign for America's Wilderness)
An environmental group is calling on Congress
to better protect some of the last wilderness areas of
the lower 48 states. Lester Graham reports the group
identifies ten wild spots it says are in trouble:
Transcript
An environmental group is calling on Congress
to better protect some of the last wilderness areas of
the lower 48 states. Lester Graham reports the group
identifies ten wild spots it says are in trouble:
The group, Campaign for America’s Wilderness, reports on pristine places that are
facing pressures from development and other actions the group sees as threatening.
Mike Matz heads up the environmental group. He says although there are some
restrictions on how the public lands are used, sometimes they’re not enough.
“The land managers often times need some additional tools to be able to prevent certain
damaging activities, whether it’s logging on national forests or mining on public lands.
And one of the most pervasive threats we see today is from off-road-vehicle
traffic that is rampant and unregulated.”
Off-road-vehicles are allowed on many of the sites, but Matz says the riders don’t
always stay on the trails and end up damaging areas. The group points out that
only 2.5% of the continental U.S. is protected as wilderness.
For The Environment Report, this is Lester Graham.
On the left is a photograph of Muir Glacier taken on August 13, 1941, by glaciologist William O. Field; on the right, a photograph taken from the same vantage on August 31, 2004, by geologist Bruce F. Molnia of the United States Geological Survey. According to Molnia, between 1941 and 2004 the glacier retreated more than seven miles and thinned by more than 800 meters.
(Photo courtesy of the National Snow and Ice Data Center)
Back in 1989, a guy named Bill McKibben wrote
the first book on global warming intended for a general
audience. He was attacked – by conservative talk show
hosts and others. Global warming, climate change – was
crazy talk just 20 years ago. Lester Graham talked with
Bill McKibben about how long it took for climate change
to grab the public’s attention:
Transcript
Back in 1989, a guy named Bill McKibben wrote
the first book on global warming intended for a general
audience. He was attacked – by conservative talk show
hosts and others. Global warming, climate change – was
crazy talk just 20 years ago. Lester Graham talked with
Bill McKibben about how long it took for climate change
to grab the public’s attention:
Lester Graham: “Since you first started writing about climate change, the public
has become much more informed, more aware about the issue. So when will we
get to the point where enough people are willing to take action, or force the
government to take action?”
Bill McKibben: “That’s the question. You know, 18 months or so ago, I just got
despairing that we were ever going to get to that point. And, the first thing I did
was do this slightly cockamamie, but in the end, quite successful, march across
the state of Vermont, where I live. And because it was so successful, last year –
’07, we did this ‘Step It Up’ campaign, and we organized 1400 demonstrations in
all 50 states. Now, we’re trying the same thing on a global level. We’re calling it
‘350.org’, 350 being the number that the scientists are now telling us is the ‘upper
end of where we want to be’ with carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere, measured in
parts per million. We’re beginning to make those political steps. We’ve gotten
more traction in the last 18 months than we got in the 18 years before that, that
I’ve been working on this.”
Graham: “How much of that had to do with Al Gore’s movie?”
McKibben: “I think the two key things were Hurricane Katrina, I think it opens the
door, and I think Al Gore walks through it, you know. We’re now at the point
where 70% of Americans understand that there is a problem. But that doesn’t
mean that change comes automatically. We’ve got, maybe, a little window left –
but not much of one. And we’ve really got to get big change, globally, soon.”
Graham: “When I look at popular culture – priorities placed on having the right
things, living in the right house in the right neighborhood, driving the right car – I
wonder if my concerns about the environment aren’t just a little futile. When do
you find yourself most in doubt about whether we’ll ever arrive at some kind of
proper balance?”
McKibben: (laughs) “Oh, yeah. I find myself in doubt about that a lot. It’s not
that I think that given enough time we wouldn’t get there. Look, we’ve evolved
this incredible collection of emotions, and intellect, and senses, and muscles, and
stuff – it’s got to be for something more than reclining on the couch and flipping
the remote. I think, give us 75 years, and we’ll have grown out of this particular
phase that we’re in. The problem is we don’t have 75 years. So, of course, there
are moments when one despairs, and despairs a lot. On the other hand, one
looks around, and sees that, in this country, local farmers markets are suddenly
the fastest growing part of the food economy. That people everywhere I go are
at least beginning to talk about how much they’d like to put solar panels up on
their roof. It hasn’t yet quite gotten ahead of the Jacuzzi and the list of must-
have items, but I think it’s getting there pretty fast. As I say, I think it’s a race at
this point.”
Graham: “So you think ‘green’ might be becoming trendy?”
McKibben: “Well, ‘green’ is clearly trendy for the moment. But I think it’s more
than it’s becoming trendy. I think it’s that people are beginning to realize that the
kind of changes we want to see in our communities are also the kind of changes
that we need to see to make environmental progress.”
Bill McKibben’s latest book is a collection of his essays about the environment.
It’s called The Bill McKibben Reader, published by Holt.
For The Environment Report, this is Lester Graham.
Grand Canyon National Park (Photo courtesy of the National Park Service)
An environmental group says some of America’s
rivers are endangered by people using too much water.
Lester Graham reports:
Transcript
An environmental group says some of America’s
rivers are endangered by people using too much water.
Lester Graham reports:
Each year the group American Rivers lists ten rivers that are at risk because of
upcoming decisions. Rebecca Wodder is the president of the group. She says several of the rivers face a common problem.
“Of the ten rivers, six of them are threatened by the same issue and that is excessive
water withdrawals.”
Most of the because of expanding populations, one because of agricultural irrigation.
Using too much water from a river endangers fish and water supplies downstream.
The rivers on the list include the Catawba-Wateree in the Carolinas, Rogue River in
Oregon, the Poudre in Colorado, the St. Lawrence River connecting the Great Lakes to
the Atlantic Ocean, the Minnesota River, St. Johns in Florida, the Gila in Arizona and New
Mexico, the Allagash Wilderness Waterway in Maine, the Niobrara in Wyoming, and the
Pearl River in Mississippi and Louisiana.
For The Environment Report, this is Lester Graham.
Two government agencies are agreeing to work together to test chemicals in products we use. But Lester Graham reports… there are still lots of hurdles and years of delays before products already on the shelves can be tested for safety:
Transcript
Two government agencies are agreeing to work together to test chemicals in products we use. But Lester Graham reports… there are still lots of hurdles and years of delays before products already on the shelves can be tested for safety:
Three years ago, a government report showed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could not assess the health risks of 85% of the chemicals in the products you probably have in your bathroom or out in the garage.
The Government Accountability Office found part of the reason then, and now, was because laws protect corporations’ secrets—over public knowledge about health risks.
On top of that other reports found the EPA was years behind in testing chemicals at all.
Now the EPA and the National Institutes of Health are going to be working together to test chemicals faster and without using lab animals.
The agencies will be testing the safety of chemicals ranging from pesticides to household cleaners to see if they harm human health.
The one problem… it will take, quote, “many years” to validate the new testing methods before the testing program can be fully implemented.
For the Environment Report, this is Lester Graham.
The Environmental Protection Agency is tightening rules for dry cleaners that use a chemical suspected of causing cancer and other serious health problems. The GLRC’s Erin Toner reports:
Transcript
The Environmental Protection Agency is tightening rules for dry cleaners that use a
chemical suspected of causing cancer and other serious health problems. The GLRC’s
Erin Toner reports:
Nearly 30 thousand dry cleaners across the country use perchloroethylene, or “perc.” The
government says while the potential for health effects for most dry cleaners is generally
low, some cleaners located in apartment buildings pose a risk. The new rules require a
complete phase out of perc at those dry cleaners by 2020.
Alison Davis is a spokesperson for the EPA:
“We did a very thorough analysis of the risk for people who live in apartment buildings
close to these dry cleaners. And based on that analysis, we understand that a lifetime of
exposure to perc emissions in these buildings is unacceptable.”
Since 1993, dry cleaners have cut perc emissions by 15 thousand tons a year. They’ve
begun using alternative solvents, and replaced old machines.
Wind energy is among the fastest growing sources of new electricity generation. Now, scientists are looking at ways to make
wind turbines safer for birds and bats. The GLRC’s Dustin Dwyer has more:
Transcript
Wind energy is among the fastest growing sources of new electricity generation. Now,
scientists are looking at ways to make wind turbines safer for birds and bats. The
GLRC’s Dustin Dwyer has more:
A study published last year by the Government Accountability Office says wind farms
have had little impact so far on birds and bats, but the study says that could change as
more wind farms go up. The question is how to minimize the risk.
Alex Hoar is with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:
“Not all turbines cause a problem. There are turbines around that had bird
problems. There are lots of turbines that don’t. And we’re trying to learn why.”
Hoar says scientists know a lot about migration patterns for both birds and bats. But they
haven’t tracked the animals’ behavior while they’re in the air. Scientists are now using
thermal imaging and radar to study flight patterns in detail, and Bowling Green State
University in Ohio recently won a one million dollar grant to study the impact of smaller
turbines on wildlife.
A lot of studies have linked air pollution with heart and lung problems. A new study suggests your diet can worsen air pollution’s effects on you. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Michael Leland has more:
Transcript
A lot of studies have linked air pollution with heart and lung
problems. A new study suggests your diet can worsen air pollution’s
effects on you. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Michael Leland
has more:
Every time you inhale, you’re breathing in tiny particles from dust, soot
and smoke. They can increase both the plaque buildup in your arteries,
and the risk of a heart attack or stroke.
Now, a study led by Dr. Lung Chi Chen at New York University’s
School of Medicine says a high fat diet combined with bad air led to a
faster buildup of plaque in the arteries of mice. He says that’s because
air pollution affects lipids – fats – in the blood. It changes their
characteristics, or oxidizes them, which leads to more plaque on artery
walls.
“If the mice are fed with high-fat, then the level of the oxidized
lipid will be higher, because they have more lipid in their blood.”
Dr. Chen says arteries of mice on a high-fat diet and breathing dirty air
were 42-percent blocked. Mice breathing clean air had arteries that were
26-percent blocked.
He hopes the study not only encourages people to eat better, but also
persuades the government to toughen air quality standards.
The Government Accountability Office is urging Congress to give the EPA help in assessing chemical safety. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Government Printing Office)
A government report reveals that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cannot assess the health risks of most of the chemicals in the products we use. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Transcript
A government report reveals that the U.S. Environmental Protection agency cannot assess the health risks of most of the chemicals in the products we use. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
The investigative arm of Congress, the Government Accounability Office, found the EPA didn’t have the authority or the funding to properly review 85% of the chemicals in use today.
Chemicals that have been in use for years have not been properly reviewed because the EPA only has access to limited information. The laws, as they are written now, protect a chemical or other company’s secrets over public knowledge of the health risks.
Independent studies have indicated many of the close to eighty thousand chemicals in use might be threats to human health. The GAO report also indicates the EPA “…lacks sufficient data to ensure that potential health and environmental risks of new chemicals are identified.”
The GAO recommends that Congress give the EPA more authority to improve its ability to assess chemical risks.
USGS Wildlife Veterinarian testing an American crow for previous exposure to the West Nile Virus (Photo courtesy of US Geological Survey)
