A new study says investing in Great Lakes restoration will bring big economic benefits - including increased tourism. (Photo by Andy Brush)
A new study released this week (September 5th) says spending money on the Great Lakes will have major economic benefits. The Florida Everglades and the Chesapeake Bay have received a lot in federal and state money to restore their ecosystems. Mark Brush reports some say it’s time for the Great Lakes to receive similar assistance:
Transcript
A new study released this week (September 5th) says spending money on the Great Lakes will have major economic benefits. The Florida Everglades and the Chesapeake Bay have received a lot in federal and state money to restore their ecosystems. Mark Brush reports some say it’s time for the Great Lakes to receive similar assistance:
The researchers say that if a 26 billion dollar plan to clean up the Great Lakes is enacted – it will bring 80 to100 billion dollars in direct economic benefits. They say the benefits would come from things such as higher property values, more tourism, and more economic development.
John Austin is with the Brookings Institution and one of the authors of the study. He says businesses today want to build in places associated with good quality of life:
“So much of the economic development in our country has been on the west coast and the east coast and what we’re saying is our fresh water coast provides as much opportunity for that kind of wonderful lifestyle that many people want, but only if we keep it clean and make it available to people.”
There are several bills in Congress aimed at cleaning up the Lakes. The researchers hope their study will provide incentive to pass these bills. For the Environment Report, I’m Mark Brush.
Many people do not know what to do with old computers and
equipment, so they end up in the trash.
Electronic waste can potentially contain harmful chemicals like
lead, mercury, and cadmium. Recycling computers and other electronics is a
way to help the environment.
If you bought a new computer over the holidays, there are plenty of places to drop off your household’s old computer. But to prevent more of the old monitors, laptops and other items from winding up in landfills, some Midwest states are looking to make sure computer makers get involved in recycling their products. One of the few manufacturers that already helps re-use old computer parts is Texas-based Dell, Incorporated. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach went to a Dell-sponsored recycling center and has this
report:
Transcript
If you bought a new computer over the holidays, there are plenty of
places to drop off your household’s old computer, but to prevent more
of the old monitors, laptops and other items from winding up in
landfills, some Midwest states are looking to make sure computer
makers get involved in recycling their products. One of the few
manufacturers that already helps re-use old computer parts is
Texas-based Dell, Incorporated. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Chuck Quirmbach went to a Dell-sponsored recycling center and has this
report:
About a year ago, Dell helped set up and publicize a computer
recycling plant at a Goodwill Industries facility in Dell’s home city
of Austin.
(Sound of clunking)
Goodwill employees and volunteers sort through the hundreds of
boxes of computers and computer parts that are dropped off – at no
charge to the consumer – at the site. Newer computers are set aside
for repairs, and hard drive memories are erased. Older computers go
to a bench where workers like Paul take apart (or demanufacture)
them.
“I’m taking apart all the useable parts. Motherboard, power sources,
cards, ports, metal goes into bins, plastic goes into bins for
recycling and what not.”
(Sound of ambience switch)
Goodwill sells the reusable parts at its retail store elsewhere in the
building. Used LCD monitors, for example, go for as low as twenty
dollars.
Manager Christine Banks says some of the equipment is under
a 30-day Goodwill warranty. Other parts can be exchanged if the
customer isn’t satisfied. Banks says Goodwill is happy this computer-
recycling program makes a profit.
“Our operation does. However, there are 7 or 8 other Goodwills
throughout the country that do this that barely break even. We’re just
fortunate we have higher tech donations, a pool of employees with
more technology, it’s very tricky.”
Some states charge high disposal costs for unwanted computer parts,
which can contain potentially harmful chemicals. Those high costs can
make it difficult for a recycling program to get off the ground, but
environmental groups say the fast-growing pile of circuit boards,
monitors, and plastic parts can leach poisons like lead, mercury, and
cadmium into the environment.
They say small-scale projects like the one in Austin have to be part of a
broader effort to keep electronic waste out of the nation’s landfills. That
effort could include government mandates forcing manufacturers to
safely dispose of old products.
Robin Schneider is with the Austin office of the National Computer
Takeback Campaign.
“So, to really deal with the environmental problems of millions of
pounds of toxins, we’re gonna need something bigger than this. This is a
piece of it…and gonna need lot of pieces of it.”
Schneider says she’s encouraged that some Midwest states are
looking into manufacturer takeback programs. She acknowledges that
recycling may drive up the cost of new computers, but she also says
manufacturers may start redesigning computers so that it’s more
profitable for the companies to take them back.
A new study says investing in Great Lakes restoration will bring big economic benefits - including increased tourism. (Photo by Andy Brush)
