Author: Tracy Samilton

Foundation Confronts Sedentary Lifestyles

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has launched what it calls “a comprehensive campaign to attack Americans’ sedentary habits.” The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy Samilton reports:

Transcript

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has launched what it calls “a comprehensive campaign to
attack Americans’ sedentary habits.” The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy Samilton reports:


Those involved in the ambitious campaign say they want to change the mindset of a country
which has engineered physical activity out of daily life – with the result that 60% of Americans
are now either overweight or obese. The campaign will help redesign communities originally
designed for the car, so people can walk or bike to destinations. But there’s a right way and a
wrong way to go about that redesign, according to public health expert Rich Killingsworth.


“Many communities are simply just putting in the facility of a sidewalk and forgetting about where it’s connected to and who it’s
connected to and who will it be used by.”


Killingsworth says another pitfall is people aren’t in the habit of biking or walking where they
want to go, which means they may not automatically use the new greenways, bike paths or
sidewalks. So the Foundation is also funding community public health campaigns to encourage people to become more active.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Tracy Samilton.

Progress on Pollution Clean-Up Too Slow?

The International Joint Commission has issued a special report on progress in cleaning up 43 of the most polluted sites in the Great Lakes region. These sites are known as “areas of concern.” The report says some progress has been made, but critics say the report is deeply flawed. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy Samilton reports:

Transcript

The International Joint Commission has issued a special report on progress in cleaning up 43 of
the most polluted sites in the Great Lakes region. These sites are known as “areas of concern.”
The report says some progress has been made. But critics say the report is deeply flawed. The
Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy Samilton reports:


The IJC is an international commission that monitors the health of the Great Lakes. The IJC
report says two of the 43 areas of concern have been cleaned up. But Margaret Wooster of the
environmental group, Great Lakes United, says the IJC report is a disappointment. Wooster says
progress is far too slow and part of the problem is a lack of accountability for who cleans up
what.


“The EPA reduced their involvement, and they say they said they expected the states to step in.
The states did not step in. Nobody’s really reporting to anybody.”


Dennis Schornack is the U.S. Chair of the IJC. He says even though progress is slow, it’s
progress in the right direction. He says the recent passage in the U.S. of the Great Lakes Legacy
Act is a big step forward, that should eventually provide funding for more cleanup.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Tracy Samilton.

Nuns Create Green “Motherhouse”

A 600 member order of nuns based in Michigan has just completed a major renovation of its “motherhouse.” The top to bottom environmentally-friendly renovation includes the largest privately funded geothermal field in the country. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy Samilton reports:

Transcript

A 600 member order of nuns based in Michigan has just completed a major renovation of its
“motherhouse.” The top to bottom environmentally friendly renovation includes the largest
privately funded geothermal field in the country. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy
Samilton reports:


The motherhouse is home to the order’s headquarters and retirement
facilities for the nuns. During the renovation, everything that could be
recycled or reused was. The primary source of heating and cooling is a
270 acre geothermal field of water pipes which uses the earth to cool or
heat water depending on the season. Sister Janet Ryan says the nuns had
to finance the 55-million dollar renovation mainly with loans. But they
felt it was worth it, to serve the order’s mission of helping the poor,
the abandoned and the forgotten.


“The Earth is one of the most forgotten, and really we’ve
lost touch with the fact that Earth is the Mother of all life.”


Ryan says nuns typically don’t make a lot of money – so the order hopes to
generate new sources of revenue to help pay back the loans. That could
include tours, retreats and even allowing people from outside the order to become residents of a
sustainable community.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Tracy Samilton.

Hot Temps, Smaller Animals?

A scientist who has been studying the effects of a period of global warming that took place millions of years ago says there could be similar effects going on now. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy Samilton reports:

Transcript

A scientist who has been studying the effects of a period of global
warming that took place millions of years ago says there could be similar
effects going on now. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy Samilton
reports:


University of Michigan Paleontologist Philip Gingerich has been studying
fossils of mammals that lived 55 million years ago. During that time, there
was a period of global warming that lasted 80 thousand years. The mammals
became much smaller when it was warm, and returned to their normal size
when the environment cooled. Gingerich says he thinks the animals adapted
to eating less nutritious plants. He says it’s not too soon to
start looking for similar changes because of today’s increasing
temperatures.


“So where it will lead, we don’t know. We don’t know if it will have
the same consequences. I mean, if it did, we might be three feet tall in
the future or something.”


Gingerich points out that the earth did not have polar ice caps 55 million
years ago. So another global warming could be more devastating this time
around, especially for the millions of people living at sea level.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Tracy Samilton.

Report Finds White House Blocked Asbestos Warning

A recent newspaper report says that the White House stopped the EPA from issuing a warning about widespread asbestos-contaminated insulation last spring. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy Samilton reports:

Transcript

A recent newspaper report says that the White House stopped the
EPA from issuing a warning about widespread asbestos-contaminated
insulation last spring. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy Samilton
reports:


Zonolite insulation was produced in this country from the 1940’s through
the 1990’s, and almost all of it was made from ore that came from one mine
in Libby, Montana. Thousands of miners were killed or sickened because
the ore was contaminated with an extremely lethal asbestos fiber.


But it was only last year that the EPA decided to issue a public health
emergency warning to residents and workers who could come in contact with
Zonolite insulation in homes where it had been installed.


A St. Louis Post Dispatch investigation revealed that the White House Office of
Management and Budget intervened, and the EPA never issued the warning.
The Post Dispatch reports that EPA chief Christine Todd Whitman was
outraged by the decision.


Hundreds of thousands of homes in Michigan and Illinois probably have
Zonolite insulation. The insulation is often strewn loose in attics.
It’s silvery-brown and comes in feather-light pieces ranging from the size
of a pea to the size of a nickel.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Tracy Samilton.

French Fry Oil to Fuel Ships?

Two research vessels may be plying the shores of Lake Michigan next year using a unique form of biodiesel fuel. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy Samilton has more:

Transcript

Two research vessels may be playing the shores of Lake Michigan next year using a unique form
of biodiesel fuel. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy Samilton reports:


The Annis Water Resources Institute at Grand Valley State University has two research and
educational outreach vessels. Engineer Robert Udell would like to see the boats running on some form of
biodiesel fuel by next season. The idea he favors the most is gathering up all the used fryer oil
that campus eateries use for making french fries, then processing it to fuel the boats. Udell says
there’s only one side effect he’s aware of.


“You quite often get a french fry exhaust odor. I’ve been close to engines running on diesel
from fryer oil and it’s really not that noticeable.”


Udell says the fuel could also be shipped in from Chicago, but he prefers having a small
processing plant on campus. He says it could make the fuel more cheaply, and provide hands-on
learning opportunities for chemistry and engineering students.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Tracy Samilton.

Better Designs for New Housing Developments?

If you’re shopping for a new home in the country – chances are you’ve run across a typical housing development that many environmentalists say epitomize the problems of urban sprawl. But a recent study says we may be overlooking some unique ways of keeping these developments from threatening the environment. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy Samilton reports:

Transcript

If your shopping for a new home in the country – chances are you’ve run across a typical housing development that many environmentalists say epitomize the problems of urban sprawl. But a recent study says we may be overlooking some unique ways of keeping these developments from threatening the environment. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy Samilton reports:


Joan Nassauer is a landscape ecologist at the University of Michigan. She wanted to see how potential homeowners would react to modified housing developments. Her designs used special methods to keep rainwater from flooding nearby rivers and streams. The flooding can cause erosion, sediment pollution, and loss of habitat. Nassauer created computer models of housing developments that had special systems to catch stormwater and release it slowly into the ground. Her model included existing or re-created wetlands, and the lots were planted with native plants instead of today’s traditional green lawns.


“What we’re ultimately trying to do is mimic the movement of rain water into surface and ground water systems the way it would have been in indigenous ecosystems.”


Nassauer says most people in her study found this kind of development more attractive than traditional lots. She says local officials could pass laws to require developers to use these techniques.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Tracy Samilton.

Faster Test for Beach Closings

An Indiana University scientist has developed a computer model that can predict E. coli levels near public beaches. The system could help public health officials who’ve been relying on test results that come too late to be of much help. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy Samilton reports:

Transcript

An Indiana University scientist has developed a computer model that can predict E. coli levels near public beaches. The system could help public health officials who’ve been relying on test results that come too late to be of much help. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy Samilton reports:


E. coli is a bacteria that can reach dangerous levels in the water, usually when big rainstorms flush untreated water into nearby lakes and streams. But traditional tests for E. coli take 24 to 48 hours. Indiana University hydrologist Greg Oliphant says the delay is a serious problem for keeping people safe when they go to the beach.


“Regulators were saying go ahead and go in the water, and E. coli was above safe level, and stay out when water turned out to be perfectly safe for full body contact.”


Olyphant has developed a computer model that uses wind, rain, and temperature readings to predict when E. coli levels will be high. The system has been tested in Chicago and Milwaukee and they found it to be about 80% effective. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Tracy Samilton.

Bringing Back the American Chestnut

Researchers say they are making some progress in the effort to restore the American Chestnut tree. The tree was devastated at the turn of the last century by a fungus accidentally introduced in this country by plant importers. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy Samilton has more:

Transcript

Researchers say they are making some progress in the effort to restore the American Chestnut tree. The tree was devastated at the turn of the last century by a fungus accidentally introduced in this country by plant importers. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy Samilton has more:


Michigan State University plant pathologist Dennis Fulbright says the American chestnut was extremely valuable for many reasons. It was tall and straight, making it ideal for ship masts and utility poles. It was unusually decay resistant and could be used in situations where wood comes into contact with soil. And it produced a great food for humans and wildlife alike. That is, until the fungus arrived in America.

“Chestnut blight was first found in the city of New York in 1904, and from that point it took about 50 years to destroy 4 billion trees.”


Researchers are conducting two separate experiments to see if they can help the tree resist the blight. In Pennsylvania, they’re crossbreeding the American chestnut with the naturally resistant Chinese chestnut. And in Michigan, they’re planting chestnuts from the few remaining trees that survived the blight, to see if their resistance can be passed on to future generations of trees. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Tracy Samilton.

Fertilizer Made Greener With Soy

Some soybean farmers have developed a new kind of fertilizer that could help the environment. Clean Green fertilizer is made of 100% soybeans. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy Samilton reports:

Transcript

Some soybean farmers have developed a new kind of fertilizer that could
help the environment. Clean Green fertilizer is made of 100% soybeans.
The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy Samilton reports:


Many chemical fertilizers have high phosphorus levels. Phosphorus can
drastically alter the ecosystems of lakes or streams. Michigan Soybean
farmers have developed a new fertilizer made entirely of soybeans to
address the problem. Clean Green has 7% nitrogen which is good for lawns
but 0% phosphorus. Mike Score of the Michigan State University
agricultural extension program tested Clean Green on lawns and found the
product worked.


“So then we went on to compare Clean Green with chemical
fertilizers that are available on the marketplace today and we looked at
chemicals with and without phosphorus. And we found that Clean Green
worked equal to or better than chemical fertilizers that are on the
market.”


Score says people have to use more Clean Green per application on their
lawns than chemical fertilizers. But they only have to apply the product
twice, once in the spring and once in the fall, rather than four times a
year like conventional fertilizer. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium,
I’m Tracy Samilton.