Environmentalists are suing the US Environmental Protection Agency
over pollution from ocean-going vessels. Tracy Samilton reports:
Transcript
Environmentalists are suing the US Environmental Protection Agency
over pollution from ocean-going vessels. Tracy Samilton reports:
Friends of the Earth says big ships are among the largest mobile
sources of air pollution in the world. And large ships don’t have to
meet US environmental regulations.
Attorney Sarah Burt says emissions from cruise ships, cargo ships and
ocean tankers cause asthma and thousands of premature deaths:
“These tanker ships burn a fuel called bunker fuel, which is the lowest
grade of fuel available it’s completely unrefined.”
She says the US EPA already agreed to regulate large ship emissions,
but missed its April deadline. The EPA says the US is currently
negotiating tougher ship emissions standards with the International
Maritime Organization.
Sarah and Mike Litch rake the bottom of Little Glen Lake, identifying plants to make sure there are no new foreign invaders. They want to catch problems early before they spread and completely take over this lake. (Photo by Linda Stephan)
It would be very easy for a foreign invasive plant to overtake Little Glen Lake. If that happened, the sandy bottom would be filled with a tangle of weeds reaching all the way to the surface.
Little Glen Lake is a small sandy bottomed lake next to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in northern Michigan. The eastern coast of Lake Michigan is just beyond the sand dunes. (Photo by Linda Stephan)
Aquatic plants and animals can cling to the bottom of
recreational boats. That’s one way invasive species are spread. A couple of hitchhiking zebra mussels, or a plant
caught in the propeller are enough to alter the ecosystem of an
entire lake. One resort region has passed laws requiring boaters
to wash their boats before putting them into their local lakes.
But some state officials don’t like the new laws, and that
might make it impossible to enforce them. Linda Stephan
reports:
Transcript
Aquatic plants and animals can cling to the bottom of
recreational boats. That’s one way invasive species are spread. A couple of hitchhiking zebra mussels, or a plant
caught in the propeller are enough to alter the ecosystem of an
entire lake. One resort region has passed laws requiring boaters
to wash their boats before putting them into their local lakes.
But some state officials don’t like the new laws, and that
might make it impossible to enforce them. Linda Stephan
reports:
Little Glen Lake is known for unpredictable winds, and clear
blue waters… at times the lake is turquoise. It sits against
glacial dunes that lead to the eastern coast of Lake Michigan.
Sarah Litch retired here with her husband Mike:
“It was kind of a toss-up between New England and here. Miss
the mountains, but we love the water here. Although there are
so many water issues now. I don’t know.”
Those water issues include foreign invasive plants that could
take over Little Glen Lake:
On a pontoon boat, the Litch’s zig zag across the lake, raking up
aquatic plants at the bottom. If there are any invaders, they
want to find them early.
One of the bad guys they’re looking for is Eurasian water
milfoil. That’s a long, thin plant with feather-like green leaves.
Another invader is Hydrilla. You’ve probably seen it in
aquariums. It’s taken over lakes from California to Indiana, and
on to Maine. Both plants grow very quickly, they choke out native
fish habitat, and form a green carpet on the lake surface:
“And then it can be all – you’re trying to boat in all this tangle
of aquatic plants, or swim. So it just ruins a lake.”
These invaders have likely spread from lake to lake across the
US hitchhiking on boats pulled out of one lake, and headed for
another.
Some states such as Maine and Minnesota now require boaters
to make sure crafts and trailers are free of aquatic nuisances
before they drive down the road with them, possibly
endangering other lakes. And in those states, officials inspect
boats, too.
But other states, such as Pennsylvania and Michigan, have NOT
taken those steps, and Michigan borders four of the five Great
Lakes.
Since the state hasn’t passed laws to prevent boats from moving
invasive species from one lake to another, some local officials
have.
Sarah Litch designed a local law that requires boats to be washed
before going into local inland lakes, and it easily passed in two
adjoining communities. So around here, it’s a 500 dollar fine if
you don’t wash your boat.
Homeowners provide a free wash station at the main point of
entry to Little Glen Lake, a state-owned boat launch, but a few
boaters had refused the voluntary local inspections. That
frustrated Sarah Litch enough to fight for new local laws:
“Just to give people that are working at the boat wash a little more
backup when they have a refusal. So that they can inform the
individual and take their license if they refuse.”
But the local governments might end up in a power struggle
with the state agency that controls the boat launch, the
Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The state
agency doesn’t like this new local law.
Jason Fleming – who’s with the agency – says the homeowners’
boat wash has been successfully running on state property for a
decade, but only because the state allows it with special
permission:
“When we established that with the association, it was based on
a voluntary basis. So we’d have to review the terms and the
language of that agreement.”
In other words, if workers at the wash station start reporting
boaters to the local sheriff for refusing their services. Fleming
says the state might kick them off the state-owned boat launch
property. He says a voluntary approach is enough.
State officials don’t believe the local law applies to the state-
owned boat launch.
Chris Bzdok is an environmental lawyer. He says state courts have repeatedly ruled that local
governments can make laws like this one… and they can enforce them:
“The localities have a right to protect these resources – whether
they’re being accessed through a road end, through a private
marina, or through a state facility. The larger question is why
the DNR has a problem with it. What would be any good-faith,
genuine, substantive reason for opposing that?”
Scanning the lake from the boat launch, Sarah Litch talks of
what to do when – not if – the next invading plant or aquatic
animal arrives.
She says the best way to protect the lakes is to enforce the local
law, to make sure boats don’t bring in new invaders.
Dairy cows on the Straub farm look up with a mouthful of
grass. They're in one of 24 sections of a grazing field, and tomorrow
they'll rotate to the next section, and so on. Cows that do
rotational grazing are healthier, more productive and live longer
than cows that are warehoused indoors at Concentrated Animal Feeding
Operations. (Photo by Erin Toner)
The rhythmic click of electric fences and the occasional
"moo" are the only sounds of the morning at the Straub farm. The
rotational grazing method does away with much of the heavy equipment,
fertilizers, barn space and overall cost of farming. That means the
Straubs can bring in about three times more profit per cow than large
concentrated feeding operations. (Photo by Erin Toner)
Howard and Mary Jo Straub have four children. Three of
them are using rotational grazing on their own dairy farms. Daughter
Patty Warnke and her husband farm less than a mile from her parents. (Photo by Erin Toner)
In the retail world, big-box stores have made it tough for small companies to stay in business. That’s also true for agriculture, where the big guys are massive feeding operations that house thousands of cows. Surviving as a small farmer in that world often takes a new way of doing business. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Erin Toner has the story of one dairy-farming family that’s found a way to stay in farming, and make a pretty good living:
Transcript
In the retail world, big-box stores have made it tough for small companies to stay in
business. That’s also true for agriculture, where the big guys are massive feeding
operations that house thousands of cows. Surviving as a small farmer in that world often
takes a new way of doing business. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Erin Toner has
the story of one dairy-farming family that’s found a way to stay in farming, and make a
pretty good living:
(early morning sounds)
It’s one of those hazy and muggy summer mornings… where the air’s thick enough to
soak up the smell of manure, and dewy grass. Nearby, cows are swatting flies with their
tails, eating grass and relaxing in lush, green pastures. These days it’s a lifestyle most
dairy cows never get to experience. Most are confined in big buildings with hundreds or
thousands of other milk-making machines.
Howard and Mary Jo Straub didn’t like where dairy farming was going. So about ten
years ago, they switched from a farm that warehoused dairy cattle indoors, to something
called seasonal rotational grazing. Mary Jo explains how it works.
“The cows get a new paddock or area, and our areas are about five acres, and each day
they would get a new five acres of grass to eat. We have 24 paddocks, so every 24 days,
they would be back into the same five acres.”
And in those 24 days, rainfall and the cows’ own manure has helped the grass grow back
in that first paddock… and then the second, and so on. This is very low-maintenance
farming… and low-cost farming.
The Straubs don’t have to buy tons of grain to feed their cows. And they’re not applying
pesticides or fertilizer to their pastures as they would on a corn field. They don’t have
tons of manure to dispose of, they don’t have loans out on grain-harvesting machinery,
and they don’t have to pay lots of employees to feed and manage their animals.
Howard Straub says farming is a lot easier than it used to be, and a lot more lucrative.
“We used to get up and milk, we did a three-time-a-day milking before. We mixed up
five loads of feed for different groups of cows. Now we just, we milk the cows twice a
day and when we’re done milking we open the gate and let them out to go eat.”
Since their costs are so low, the Straubs make between 800 and 1,000 dollars profit on
each of their 84 cows. Before, they made around 150 dollars profit per cow.
Howard Straub says grazing has made cattle the chief asset on his farm, instead of a
bunch of machines. His cows are healthier because they’re eating grass… like they were
meant to do… and because they get lots of exercise. The cattle live longer, produce more
milk and have more calves.
And even though the idea with grazing is that there are sprawling pastures for the cows, it
doesn’t require any more land than confined feeding farms. That’s because you have to
consider all the land that supports a herd of cattle, says Tom Kriegl, who studies dairy
farming at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“You can have a diary operation where the only land that you own is the land that the
building sits on that you house cows in, and you might buy all of your feed for those
cows and you would not own the land that the feed is grown on. But you actually need
that additional land that the feed is grown on even if you don’t own it.”
Howard and Mary Jo Straub say they encourage all the young farmers they meet to make
the switch to rotational grazing. And it is catching on. The Great Lakes Grazing
Network estimates that almost half of all new small and mid-size dairies in the region are
using rotational grazing.
Kevin Ogles is a grazing specialist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service. He
says grazing is probably the future for all smaller dairy farms. But he says grazing is
complicated, with benefits that don’t come immediately.
“The concept is simple. Mastering it, that takes a while. So, once people make the
transition after doing it for a few years, that’s when you hear them talk about the
economic gain. The quality of life has improved.”
At this point, you could call the Straub family master grazers. Since they started ten
years ago, Howard and Mary Jo have managed to pay off a 250,000 dollar mortgage.
Today, they’re almost debt-free… and they’re able to stop farming for two months in the
winter… when they head down to Florida… as Howard says… to take time for the fun
things in life. He says that would never have been possible before.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Erin Toner.
New governors from different political parties than their predecessors took over in more than half of the states around the Great Lakes. In most of those states, the governor’s seat went from Republican to Democrat. Some environmental groups are optimistic that the changes will benefit their causes. But the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham spoke with journalists around the region who feel politics and state budgets will slow any change the new governors might want:
Transcript
New governors from different political parties than their predecessors took over in more than half
of the states around the Great Lakes. In most of those states, the governors’ seat went from
Republican to Democrat. Some environmental groups are optimistic that the changes will benefit
their causes. But the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham spoke with journalists
around the region who feel politics and state budget problems will slow any change the new
governors might want:
Five of the eight Great Lakes states have new governors. Four of those states went from
governorships long-held by Republicans to a Democrat governor.
For example, Republicans held the Illinois govenor’s seat for 26 years. That changed when
Democrat Rod Blagojevich took the office. The environment was not a huge issue in the
campaign. Under the Republicans there’s been an interest in acquiring large pieces of land for
parks and creating green corridors. And Blagojevich is even retaining the previous
administration’s director of the state Environmental Protection Agency. Still, some
environmentalists feel they’ll fare better under a Democrat.
At the Illinois capitol, Bill Wheelhouse is the Statehouse Bureau Chief for Illinois Public Radio.
He says the change probably won’t be that significant…
“Environmental groups will see more friendly territory for some of their pet projects to some
degree. But, Illinois is not a liberal state. It’s not one that is concerned with ground-breaking
legislation on the environment or anything else. Politics is a business in that state and that can
never be forgotten.”
Despite that, the new governor, Blagojevich, has outlined a couple of areas he’d like to change.
One is charging businesses for pollution discharge permits, something that’s been free in the past.
It’s popular among lawmakers because it brings in more money for the state which is facing
budget deficits. Bill Wheelhouse says another issue Blagojevich has proposed is legislation
mandating that Illinois power companies use renewable resources such as wind and solar power.
“What it would do is in just a couple of years require that part of the energy portfolio of a utility
company include five percent renewable energy and that would increase, I believe, up to about
15-percent a decade down the road.”
Again, that kind of legislation wouldn’t cost the state any new money. That’s a plus.
Wheelhouse adds that even with Blagojevich’s fellow Democrats controlling both the House and
the Senate, any environmental proposal that doesn’t pay for itself is not likely to get very far,
because of Illinois’ budget deficit.
It’s the same story in other states. Illinois’ neighbor to the north, Wisconsin, also saw a shift
from several years under Republican governors to a newly installed Democrat. Jim Doyle is now
Governor.
Reporter Chuck Quirmbach covers environmental issues for Wisconsin Public Radio. He says
the race for governor touched on the environment, but there was another more immediate issue to
consider.
“The overwhelming issue, the issue common to a lot of states is the state budget deficit here in
Wisconsin, but the environment was an important difference. It energized a lot of environmental
groups to vote for Doyle or this Green Party candidate who got about two-percent of the vote. So,
it was a significant difference. It may not have been the number one issue in the state, though.”
Quirmbach says while environmentalists are optimistic about a Democrat taking the governor’s
office, Governor Doyle will have to compromise with the Republicans who hold a majority in
both chambers of the Wisconsin legislature… and he’ll have to make compromises because of the
state’s budget…
“The threat to the green agenda will be the economy and whether Doyle decides, ‘Well, putting
people to work might be more important than protecting certain wetlands or protecting the
environment from air pollution.'”
Across Lake Michigan from Wisconsin is another state that’s long had a Republican governor.
Michigan elected Democrat Jennifer Granholm, and in Michigan, the environment was a key issue
in the campaign for governor.
Sarah Hulett covers state government for Michigan Public Radio Network. She says the
Democrat governor quickly moved on an environmental issue which gets some Republican
support in Michigan.
“Right when the governor came in, Governor Granholm, she put together a land-use commission
— Smart Growth Commission, I think, is the name of it — made up of Democrats and Republicans
and involved the Republican leaders in both chambers in that. So, she’s off to a pretty good start
in terms of the environment, I’d say.”
But, like Wisconsin and Illinois, Michigan is facing budget problems and Hulett says the new
Democrat governor might find the environmental initiatives that cost the state will be a hard
sell to the Republican-held legislature.
“Well, the deficit is huge. And, so, that affects everything across the board. And, you know, the
environmental community is having to be patient with some of these initiatives.”
It’s a similar story in Pennsylvania where Democrat Ed Rendell took the governor’s seat from
Republicans. Rendell is friendly to environmental issues, but he, too, has to deal with a budget
deficit and he has to work with a Republican-controlled legislature.
So, despite conventional wisdom which indicates more enviro-friendly laws might come from a
Democrat in the Governor’s mansion, in those states where there’s been a change, the economy
might force those governors to put the environment further down on the list of priorities.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.
Half of the states surrounding the Great Lakes have seen the governor’s office switch from Republican to Democrat. Environmental organizations believe that will be good for their causes. But the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports other factors might interfere:
Transcript
Half of the states surrounding the Great Lakes have seen the governor’s office switch from
Republican to Democrat. Environmental organizations believe that will be good for their causes.
But the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports other factors might interfere:
Conventional wisdom finds that Democrats are more often friendly to environmental issues than
Republicans. Of course that’s not always true, but when four Democrats seized four
governorships that had been long-held by Republicans, many environmentalists were optimistic
they’d get a better deal. That optimism might be short-lived. Now that the Democrat governors
in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania have had time to look at the budget, the reality
of politics is setting in and in most cases the environment isn’t quite as high on the list of
priorities. Each of the states is facing budget shortfalls, some amounting to a couple of billion
dollars. And in three of those states the Democrat governor will have to work with a legislature
controlled by Republicans. Political observers say it’s clear that the new governors will have to
find compromises in any environmental initiatives they talked up during the campaigns.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.
