Month: June 2003

From Counting Frogs to Rescuing Them

  • Members of the Amphibian Conservation Club show the frogs being transferred to their protected habitat from a pond that will become a parking lot later this summer.

Every summer, thousands of people wander through swamps and ditches in search of frogs. They’re frogwatchers— volunteers across North America, who help scientists track the health and movement of amphibians. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly caught up with one group and found they’re no longer just watching frogs, but rescuing them:

Transcript

Every summer, thousands of people wander through swamps and ditches in search of frogs.
they’re frogwatchers – volunteers across North America, who help
scientists track the health and movement of amphibians. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Karen Kelly caught up with one group and found they’re no longer just watching frogs, but
rescuing them:


(sound of frog, “I think this one’s talking now…”)


11-year-old Tyler Degroot shows off two bullfrogs in the plastic
terrarium he’s carrying. He struggles to keep the lid on as they try to escape.


He’s spent all morning combing for frogs in this swampy ditch on
Petrie Island. Not far from Ottawa, Canada’s capital.


It’s pouring rain. But he and his friends have no time for jackets or umbrellas. They run from log
to log dipping their nets in the water.


(“Holy smokes! Look at them all!”)


It might sound like fun, but they’re here on serious business.


The bulldozers in the distance are a constant reminder. Soon, this ditch – the frogs’ home – will be
turned into a parking lot.


11-year-old Ingrid Weinhold says they’re here to save as many
frogs as they can.


“We want to make sure the frogs stay on Petrie Island
and we want to make sure that people can see frogs later and so
that they don’t all die when the ditch gets filled with sand.”


Weinhold is a member of the Amphibian Conservation Club. It’s a group of homeschoolers who
meet once a month to study and discuss amphibians. They started visiting Petrie Island last year
to conduct frog watches.


It’s part of an annual census of frogs led by Environment Canada,
a government agency. The students count the number and species of frogs to find out how
many are in a given area. And that’s when they discovered that some of the resident
amphibians were in danger.


(“I just saw a whole bunch of frogs over here, okay? They went in all different directions.”)


11-year-old Gabrielle Felio is the club’s founder.
She hesitates to leave the ditch until every frog has been picked
up.


As she talks about them, her eyes look worried behind her
rain-splattered glasses.


“It’s just that they help the environment a lot. That’s
probably why we like them a lot and we want to help them. Because
it’s going to help the area and it’s going to help a lot of other
animals if we help the frogs.”


(walking)


With their terrariums full, the frogwatchers hike through the woods to a pond that they’ve
adopted. They’ve saved more than 30 frogs today. There are green frogs, bull frogs and leopard
frogs.


When they reach the pond, the rescuers open their terrariums.


(“There they go!”)


Some reach in and pull the frogs out one by one. Others just tip the terrariums upside down.


(“Woo! He’s a slippery one. I’ll get him. You did a cannonball!”)


Tyler DeGroot watches his bullfrog kick away from the shore.


He looks satisfied.


“I feel good…I think the frogs feel good, too, cause
they’ll probably have a nice little happy pond that’s not polluted
so they can just swim around and have fun.”


Each student carries a notebook to keep track of how many frogs
they moved from the ditch to the pond. Then, at the end of the summer, the group will compile
all their observations. They’ll send them to Environment Canada’s Frogwatch.


Elizabeth Kilvert is the director of the program. She says the reports from these amateur
scientists are invaluable.


“When we have people out there observing in their backyards
at different locations, we’re getting really good geographical
coverage that Environment Canada could never provide by going and
working out in the fields.”


Kilvert says it’s important to track frogs. That’s because they’re sensitive to changes in the
environment. And researchers see them as an early warning system.


Frogwatcher Ingrid Weinhold says she’s happy to help.


“I feel pretty good cause then they can figure out stuff with
the information… like if there’s too much pollution in one spot
and if the frogs have too many legs or something they can figure
out if there’s something wrong with the water.”


Before long, the frogwatchers are catching frogs again – in the
same pond where they just released them.


(“Let me see him!”)


This time, it’s just for fun.


Soon, they’ll head back to a classroom to compare notes… and make plans for their next rescue
effort – before the bulldozers move in.


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

Related Links

Irradiated Beef Passes School Lunch Program

Public health groups are criticizing a decision by the USDA to allow school districts to purchase irradiated meat. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Natalie Walston reports:

Transcript

Public health groups are criticizing a decision by the USDA to allow
school districts to purchase irradiated meat. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Natalie Walston reports:


Recently the U.S. Department of Agriculture lifted its ban on irradiated
ground beef in the national school lunch program. The Public Citizens’
Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program says the USDA is
putting
children’s health at risk.


It worries possible health risks to humans
from eating irradiated meat such as ground beef are not known. The
U.S.
Food and Drug Adminstration approved irradiation of raw meat and
poultry in 1997.


It concludes it’s a safe way to reduce disease-causing
microbes. But health groups say irradiation is a way to cover up the
meat industry’s sanitation failures. The government says districts
won’t be forced to serve such meat… districts will be allowed to
choose between irradiated and non-irradiated beef… and the
government suggests districts notify parents of that decision. schools
will be allowed to purchase the meat starting in January of next year.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Natalie Walston.

Report Highlights Environmental Threats

A two-year study from the World Wildlife Fund has found Canada is facing a myriad of serious environmental problems. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly has more:

Transcript

A two year study from the World Wildlife Fund has found Canada is
facing a myriad of serious environmental problems. The Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly has more:


The report says much of Canada’s vast forestland has yet to be
protected.


Animals are threatened by the loss of tallgrass prairies.


And invasive species are wreaking havoc in the Great Lakes.


Kevin Cavanaugh is the director of biodiversity conservation for
World Wildlife Fund Canada.


He says the wide diversity of problems presents a significant
obstacle.


“One of the big challenges is that what is needed in one part
of the country is often quite different than another so this was
our attempt to try and help prioritize the kind of activities that
would need to take place in order to conserve nature.”


The provinces are the primary protectors of the environment in
Canada.


The reports says they must cooperate with the federal government
and industries to address Canada’s environmental problems.


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

Ocean Health Jeopardized by Midwest Pollution?

Two separate commissions are suggesting farm chemicals and pollution in rivers are the biggest threats to ocean health. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Jonathan Ahl reports:

Transcript

Two separate commissions are suggesting farm chemicals and
pollution in rivers are the biggest threat to ocean health. The
Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Jonathan Ahl reports:

The privately funded Pew Oceans Commission and the U.S.
Government’s Commission on Ocean Policy are coming to the same
conclusion. They say issues such as agriculture runoff into
streams, rivers, and lakes are at the top of the list of threat
to ocean plant and animal life. Tom Kitsos is the director of
the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. He says the first step is to
change people’s approach to watershed management:


“I think this is a question of education
and public awareness of the watershed managers and watershed
councils that are prevalent in the Midwest, the farm associations
and individual farmers becoming aware that what they do on their
land affects our coasts and affects our oceans.”


The Commissions are recommending the government do more to stop
the kind of chemical usage that contributes to the problems in
oceans. Both reports will be sent to Congress for consideration.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Jonathan Ahl.

Erosion in the Gulf Blamed on Midwest

Scientists say part of the problem with erosion along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico begins in the Midwest. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tom Weber reports:

Transcript

Scientists say part of the problem with erosion along the coast of the
Gulf
of Mexico begins in the Midwest. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Tom Weber reports:


In a recent report… the U.S. Geological Survey says Louisiana’s
coastline
is disappearing faster than first thought. By the year 2050… one-third
of the state’s current coastline could be gone.


Restoration depends a lot on sediments. As they flow south… they’re
diverted to build new land along the coast. But the USGS’ Jimmy
Johnston
says the locks and dams along the Missouri… upper Mississippi… and
Ohio
Rivers trap much of that sediment…


“They have had numbers as high as 67% of the sediments that come
down the
river are being diverted or meeting these locks and dams. If you have
less
sediments there’ll be less sediments to build land.”


Johnston adds more study is needed to know just how much locks and
dams in
the Midwest affect Louisiana’s coast. For the Great Lakes Radio
Consortium, I’m Tom Weber.

Officials Begin to Kill Problem Wolves

The population of the grey wolf continues to grow in parts of the Upper Midwest. So much so, that for the first time, wildlife officials in Wisconsin are starting to kill problem wolves. To date, officials have destroyed four animals. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:

Transcript

The population of the grey wolf continues to grow in
parts of the Upper Midwest. So much so, that for the first time,
wildlife officials in Wisconsin are starting to kill problem wolves.
The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:


The federal government recently reclassified the grey
wolf from an endangered species, to a less protected
threatened one. In northern Wisconsin, wildlife officials used to
relocate wolves
that were killing livestock. But a new survey shows the wolf
population in Wisconsin is up to at least 335 adults, and officials are
using the federal downlisting to euthanize problem wolves.


At least four wolves have been killed in the last few weeks. Wisconsin
will
soon start the process of removing the wolf from the state’s
threatened species list. Adrian Wydeven is a wolf expert with the
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. He says under tight
restrictions, some landowners could kill wolves, too.


“We could issue permits…or if a wolf came on somebody’s land
and attacked pets or livestock they’d be able to shoot a wolf in self
defense.. which under endangered and threatened species law we
can’t allow that.”


Federal officials are working to remove the grey wolf from the
nation’s threatened species list within the next few years. For the
Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Chuck Quirmbach reporting.

Soundscape: Sentinel Over the Water

  • Volunteer lighthouse keepers at Big Sable Point appreciate the allure of these historical buildings.

Lighthouses used to guide ships to safe waters. These days they mainly beckon to tourists. The Great Lakes are a popular destination for lighthouse buffs because of the lighthouses lining the shores. All summer long at Ludington State Park in Michigan, visitors walk two miles from their cars and campers to visit Big Sable Point Lighthouse. When they get there, the tourists are greeted by volunteer lighthouse keepers. The keepers have been through a lengthy application process for the privilege of living at the lighthouse for two weeks. During that time they clean the port-a-potty’s, sweep the sand off the stairs, and show visitors around. But each volunteer lightkeeper is also getting a sense for why lighthouses are such an attraction. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tamar Charney prepared this audio postcard:

Transcript

Lighthouses used to guide ships to safe waters, these days they
mainly beckon to tourists. The Great Lakes are a popular destination
for
lighthouse buffs because of the lighthouses lining the shores. All
summer long at Ludington State Park in Michigan visitors to the park
walk
2 miles from their cars and campers to visit Big Sable Point
Lighthouse. When they get there, the tourists are greeted by six
volunteer lighthouse keepers. The keepers have been through a lengthy
application process for the privilege of living at the lighthouse for two
weeks. During that time they clean the port-a-potty’s, sweep the sand
off
the lighthouse stairs, and show visitors around. But each volunteer
lightkeeper is also getting a chance to try to figure out for themselves
why lighthouses are such an attraction. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Tamar Charney prepared this audio postcard:

(sounds of waves)

Harold Triezenberg: “We’d like to welcome you to the Big Sable Point
Lighthouse. Does anyone know why its called big sable? No. No. No.
What
does sable mean? Sable means sand.”

(sounds of waves)

Shirley Mitchell: “It’s a beautiful area lighthouses are in with
the water and that always attracts people. They think of the loneliness
and in a lot of books it’s the source of a lot of adventure. You’re out
here by yourself and have to do for yourself with what you’ve got.
There’s
the thrill of maybe rescuing someone off of a ship. Being the one that’s
responsible for keeping the light going to make sure the ships won’t
crash
into the rocks or into the shore. People are trying to capture a lot of
that We’re not in control. It’s mother nature that is in control.”

(waves fade out)

(sounds of steps being climbed)

Harold Triezenberg: “There’s 130 steps from the bottom to the very
top.”

(steps)

“I think lighthouses are a very important part of our American heritage.
What they stand for. What they’ve done. What they mean. Even though
they
are not necessarily used to guide ships because of global positioning, I
think
a lighthouse is a symbol of mankind. A symbol of us as citizens to be
also
lighthouses to be guides to people to those around us.”

(walking outside & wind)

“When you look out here you’re looking at the same very same scenery,
the
people who built this tower seen. They seen the very same thing the
same
water, beach same probably the sand dunes and the same forest in the
background.”

“Those are little markers that tell us the distance to cities around here
Chicago 160 and as we walk around we see other markers, Ludington 7
miles,
Grand Rapids, 85, Lansing, 130, and as we keep going around we see
more
stickers that tell us the direction and how far the cities are… (wind)
It is very remote.”

(sound of waves)

(wood steps)

Phyllis Triezenberg: “This is one of the bedrooms it happens to be the
bedroom I’m staying in. Very nicely furnished. Lots of closets in this
place and we assume it’s because they had to have lots of supplies for
a
long period of time.
The keepers quarters were built the same time as the
lighthouse, 1867. Their main job was to tend the light back before
electricity they had to keep the lamp burning.”

“I’m very nostalgic. I like history things that people did a long time ago. I
like to see things where other people have been just to think that now I’m
experiencing what they’ve experienced.”

(waves)

Julie Koviak: “It would have been a very hard life – especially the nights
the
fog horn was running cause it would run sometimes for 4 days at a time
and they couldn’t talk. They’d have to time their conversation to speak in
between the blasts of the fog horn.”

“I think I got totally interested in them when I saw this one walking out
here. Just because of the beauty it was almost a religious experience
seeing
that sentinel stand over the water. You know, ‘I am the light, I’ll show you
the way. Know what I mean?”

(Waves)

TAG: Shirley Mitchell, Harold and Phyllis Triezenberg, and
Julie Koviak are volunteer lighthouse keepers at Big Sable
Point Lighthouse near Ludington, Michigan.

Governments Grapple With Regional Transport

Many large cities throughout the Midwest have been struggling with issues such as urban sprawl. Getting workers from one area to the jobs in another has become a transportation challenge. Building multi-lane highways only seems to encourage more sprawl, so many cities have worked with surrounding suburbs to build mass transit systems for the entire metropolitan region. For one major city, political leaders are just now getting around to making that happen and as the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Jerome Vaughn reports… even now it’s not going to be easy:

Transcript

Many large cities throughout the Midwest have been struggling with
issues such as urban sprawl. Getting workers from one area to the jobs
in another has become a transportation challenge. Building multi-lane
highways only seems to encourage more sprawl. So many cities have worked
with surrounding suburbs to build mass transit systems for the entire
metropolitan region. For one major city, political leaders are just now
getting around to making that happen. And as the Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Jerome Vaughn reports… even now it’s not
going to be easy:


Detroit is the 10th largest city in the country…and it’s had more than
its share of struggles over issues such as chronic unemployment, poverty,
and pollution.


Finding solutions to those intractable problems has long been a goal of
government leaders in the area. But over the past three decades…they’ve lacked
one tool… used by most other metropolitan areas
around the country…that can make a difference. A regional transportation
system.


But that’s about to change.


Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm has joined Detroit Mayor Kwame
Kilpatrick…and the heads of the three largest counties in Metro
Detroit…to announce the formation of the Detroit Area Regional
Transportation Authority…otherwise known as DARTA.


The new regional transportation authority is backed by local governments,
business interests ..and mass transit proponents. The government leaders have
signed an agreement to work towards the regional transportation
system. Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick says the new deal will benefit the
city AND suburbs.


“This is a real people thing today. It’s also an economic thing…and it’s
rare when these two things come together. This will drive the economic
engine of the state. To move people to jobs…leads to economic
independence.”


The agreement is the first step towards ending decades of debate over how
best to get workers from their homes to their jobs. With many Detroiters
living below the poverty level…owning a car is impossible. But that can
mean taking several buses over a span of three hours just to get to work
each day.


That type of commute is what DARTA proponents, like such as Attorney Richard
Bernstein hope to end. As a blind man…he’s unable to drive to get
where he needs to go. He says Detroit’s lack of coordinated mass
transportation pushed him to become a transit activist a couple of years
ago.


“As a disabled person who can’t drive…I struggle for my independence and I
struggle for my freedom. And DARTA is the only hope that someone like me
has in order to lead a quality of life here in Southeast Michigan.”


Bernstein says he’d like to have that extra measure of independence. But he
says…right now…it’s impossible for him to get around town on his
own…given the current state of mass transit in Metro Detroit.


“For me right now …it isn’t that regional transit is difficult to
use…it’s that it’s non existent …that is the issue. Ultimately, if I want
to get from my house …or my apartment to my office. There is no bus I can
take. There is no bus I can take from my office to court.”


But Bernstein’s passion for regional transportation isn’t uniformly shared.
The original measure creating DARTA was vetoed by former Governor John
Engler last year as one of his final acts in office. The state legislature
tried to resurrect the bill in January…but it has subsequently
stalled…pushing the new governor, Jennifer Granholm and Detroit Mayor Kwame
Kilpatrick and others to find alternate ways routes to create a working agreement.


The opponents say the regional transportation system is not fair. State
Representative Leon Drolet opposes DARTA because he says his more rural
constituents shouldn’t be taxed for a bus system they’ll never use. He wants a
provision that would let communities “opt-out” of the DARTA if they choose. The
Republican legislator says he also concerned because there’s no plan to pay for
DARTA yet. And he says no one’s convinced him that such a system is really
needed in Metro Detroit…home of the Big Three automakers..


“Macomb, Oakland suburban Wayne communities…those are built around the
car. Everywhere there’s a parking lot. Boston, Washington DC, New
York…those communities…mass transit is very viable in the inner areas
because it costs 30 bucks a day or 50 bucks a day to park your car. And
that’s what drives people to mass transit…the inconvenience of driving
your car.”


But automakers say they want the regional mass transit system. The
Southeastern Michigan Council of Government’s Transportation
Expert…Carmine Palombo…says many of the region’s businesses are having a
hard time getting workers from their homes to their jobs. And that includes
the Big Three automakers…who have come out in favor of DARTA.


“The auto company themselves employ people who need to have good transit in
order to get to their jobs…and so they’re feeling the pinch…just like
every other employer is who wants to get…make sure they get to the jobs
they have to offer in a stable environment. So the car companies aren’t the
problem.”


(sound up – bus)


While the Detroit Area Regional Transportation Authority agreement has been
signed….the work is just beginning for transit activists in
Metro-Detroit. The current agreement only provides for planning a
regional transportation system. There’s currently no money for
implementation of ANY plan.


And DARTA opponents such as Leon Drolet are still on the job, too. He’s
charging that the chairman of his county…had no authority to sign
the DARTA agreement…and is asking the State’s Attorney
General to investigate.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Jerome Vaughn.

School Connects Kids to Healthy Eating

  • Lynn Beard prepares free fruit dishes for hungry high school students. It's part of a government program to bring nutrition to schools. Photo by Rebecca Williams.

American kids are overweight. Nutritionists say one major reason is that kids are eating too much junk food, and not enough fresh produce. A government pilot program is trying to get kids to eat more locally-grown fruits and vegetables in school by giving them out for free. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Rebecca Williams visited a school where the experiment is underway:

Transcript

American kids are overweight. Nutritionists say one major reason
is that kids are eating too much junk food, and not enough fresh
produce. A government pilot program is trying to get kids
to eat more locally-grown fruits and vegetables in school by giving them out
for free. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Rebecca Williams
visited a school where the experiment is underway:


It’s 9 am and the halls are quiet at Everett High School, in Lansing,
Michigan. Parent volunteers are setting out bowls of bright
pink grapefruit segments on stands in the hallway.
They’re working quickly, getting ready for 1500 hungry teenagers.


(bell rings, noisy chatter swells, sneakers squeaking)


Kids slow down when they pass the fruit stand. A few kids take a bowl…
but not that many.


“Ain’t nobody want no grapefruit?”


(kids chatting)


“They’re hesitant to try it because it’s new, they’ve never tasted grapefruit
before.”


(final bell ringing under)


Lynn Beard is energetic. When she’s not handing out
fruit, she’s teaching nutrition here at the school.
As much as she talks to kids about their choices, even she can’t predict
what they’ll eat.


The hall empties. Lynn Beard sees a few stragglers.


“Sir, have you ever had grapefruit, honey, before at home? Yes,
okay.”


She pulls Brandon Washington over to the fruit stand…


“He was going to try it, and he put it back down because someone said it
was sour.” B.W. :”I was going to try it.”
“Honest reaction?”
“Honest reaction? Tastes like it needs some sugar in it.”


Even though he’s not a grapefruit fan, Washington says he likes having
the fruit and veggies here.


“Now that they got them at school, I eat it more. And that’s good,
too, because nutrition values, good for your soul, you live longer, right?”


Washington says, before he could get free fruit and vegetables during the day,
he felt hungry between meals. Many of his classmates skipped breakfast.


Lynn Beard worries about her students’ eating habits.


“English, math, social studies, aren’t changing the obesity rate. Early
onset osteoporosis, we’re seeing a huge jump in. Type two diabetes in children.
What are we doing to educate our kids on how to change? Isn’t that an effective
place to use taxpayers’ dollars?”


That’s one of the questions behind the Fruit and Vegetable Pilot.
It’s a year-long experiment, funded by 6 million dollars from the 2002 Farm
Bill.


107 schools in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa and New Mexico were
chosen. It’s a mix of schools: large and small, rural and urban.
The hope is that kids will learn to like fruits and veggies… and be
cultivated into new consumers.


Agriculture promoters hope one of the spin-offs will be a new market for
local farmers. With few exceptions, the pilot program requires that
schools buy only American produce, and local produce if
they can. Fourteen of the pilot schools buy directly from farmers.


Everett High School gave kids some locally grown produce. But Lynn Beard
says the kids still don’t know much about the food that grows where they live.


“Kids don’t understand seasonal fruits, they were so upset we weren’t
getting watermelon in January. ”


And Beard says just getting local produce at all was difficult.
Schools such as Everett High School buy from national food service
companies. The companies often sell these Michigan schools
Washington apples.


Marion Kalb directs the National Farm to School Program. It’s
part of a non-profit group that works to connect farms
and schools. Kalb says food service companies don’t make a
special effort to buy from local farms.
But she thinks schools can influence their suppliers.


“If there’s instruction on the school side to say, you know we’d like
to know seasonally what’s available locally, then that gives incentive
to the distributor to try and make buying from regional or local farmers a
priority.”


And it makes sense to most people to sell apples nearby rather than shipping
them miles away.


(birds twittering in open air market, people talking about flowers)


In a farmer’s market full of flowers, Dwight Carpenter is one
of the few farmers selling produce this early in the year. That’s because
he grows vegetables in a greenhouse.


He sells at two farmer’s markets and a store on his land. He says it’s enough to survive,
but he’d like to expand to places such as local schools.


“It’s kind of a difficult way to make a living, and if better markets were
established, such as schools and hospitals, and that kind of thing,
grocery stores, and if that were turned around, that would help the farmer too,
to be able to hang onto whatever he’s got, rather than to have to sell it off to subdivisions
or whatever.”


(birds out)


(sound up: cafeteria, “Let me know how you like the spicy chicken sandwich.
It’s new.” cash register beeping)


Although the kids at Everett High School are getting used to eating more
produce from the free program, you won’t find many fruits and vegetables
for sale at the cafeteria. That’s because the cafeteria competes with nearby fast food
restaurants.


You also won’t find many nutritious snacks in the vending machines. The school needs
the revenue it gets from the candy bars and chips.


Kids are still lining up at the soda machine today. But some students
think the fruit and veggie program is slowly changing their eating
habits. Wynton Harris is a sophomore.


“Last year everyone was eating junk and this year they cut down a lot. I
can tell, because I’m seeing less people at the machines, and more
people taking fruit. And I said, wow.”


And Everett High School’s nutrition teacher, Lynn Beard, has a vision: vending
machines that offer fresh produce instead of potato chips.


“If there’s nothing free, I think we’d have a number of kids who, instead of buying
a dollar pop, would buy a dollar pear.”


The free fruit and vegetable program ends with the school year. But some 70 schools
in the U-S buy from their local farmers even without special federal funding.
Even so, Lynn Beard doubts her school could afford to keep this program going
without federal money.


“I think next year I’m not going to want to be around here without this
grant, cause there’s going to be so many complaints. Where’s our fruit? Why
can’t we get some fruit? I’m dreading next year. I’m just going to have to keep a smile on
my face and say, “Talk to your government.”


But government support for the program is uncertain.


Congress will debate the future of the fruit and vegetable program. And whether
government should be marketing fruits and vegetables in the schools… and further
subsiding the farmers who grow them.


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

States Work to Plug Abandoned Wells

When abandoned wells aren’t sealed properly, they can pollute the water below. A number of states across the region are working to solve the problem. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Erika Johnson has more:

Transcript

When abandoned wells aren’t sealed properly, they can pollute the water below. And in some of
these wells, children and animals have gotten trapped. A number of states across the region are
working to solve the problem. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Erika Johnson has more:


All states across the region have certain regulations for plugging abandoned wells. But not all
states have specialized programs to address the problem.


Programs to cap abandoned wells have existed in Minnesota and Wisconsin for decades. Now,
other states are developing their own programs.


Officials in Michigan face a particular challenge because more of these wells exist there than in
any other state in the country – close to 2-million by some estimates.


Jim McEwan is with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. He says surface
pollutants can be channeled down into unplugged wells:


“The contaminants can gain access by penetrating the corroded well casing because many of them
have been in the ground for 70 to 100 years, or so, and then going right down, like a drain, into
the lower drinking water aquifers.”


So far, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin each plug about 10-to-20-thousand wells per year.


It generally takes several hours and costs a few hundred dollars to seal each well. And
homeowners have to pay for the sealing of any unused wells on their property. But some states
do offer financial assistance.


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