While investigators are trying to figure out what led to an Amtrak
passenger train’s collision with a tractor-trailer truck in Illinois…
some proponents of faster trains say accidents like that one could be
avoided with upgraded service. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Lester Graham reports…high-speed rail supporters say faster trains would
mean safer tracks:
Month: March 1999
Butterfly Exhibit Flies Into Region
Each spring, thousands of tropical butterflies make their way to the
Great Lakes region. But they don’t migrate here naturally — they’re
imported as part of the largest temporary tropical butterfly exhibit in
the country. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson Reports:
New Restrictions on Farmwater Runoff
The Clinton administration is putting new restrictions on farms to
reduce the livestock waste running into the nation’s creeks and rivers.
The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Clean Up Planned for Fox River
The state of Wisconsin is asking for the public’s opinion of its plan
to clean up a polluted river that flows into Green Bay. The Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
New Alternative to Road Salt
Snowy, icy roads are a fact of life around the Great Lakes. For years,
de-icing salt has been the weapon of choice to keep roads passable
during the winter months. But the runoff from road salt can pollute
surface and ground water, contaminating wells and causing problems for
fish populations. So researchers have been looking for alternatives.
And now, there’s a new one that looks promising. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Wendy Nelson reports:
Spring Bear Hunt Called Off
U.S. hunters were outraged last month (February) when Ontario’s
Minister of Natural Resources cancelled the spring bear hunt. His
reasoning was based on concerns about the orphaning of bear cubs. As The
Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Suzanne Elston points out, the decision
was in fact, purely political:
Highway Threatens Sacred Tribal Lands
A Minnesota highway relocation project is getting national attention as
Native American tribes are attempting to stop state and federal projects
from destroying tribal lands. The Highway 55 re-route would cost an
estimated 100 million dollars and would provide a faster route from
downtown Minneapolis to the local airport and Mall of America. A
Minnesota tribal group says that if construction for the highway takes
place, they will lose sacred land. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Jesse Hardman reports:
Science Center Brings Lessons Home
In school when kids learn about the environment… they often learn
about the devastation of the rain forests in South America; they learn
about lemurs in Madagascar…. and about the melting of the polar ice
caps. They don’t often learn about the environment in their own
hometowns. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports…
some school children are getting a chance to learn about the environment
around them and what they can do to protect it:
Volunteers Put Their Beliefs to Work
It’s been called a domestic version of the PeaceCorps. AmeriCorps is a
service learning program that puts young people to work in communities
around the country. It was an early priority of the Clinton
administration, and since the project was established four years ago,
more than 100-thousand people have participated. AmeriCorps members
work in schools, churches and for non-profit groups, such as Habitat for
Humanity and the Red Cross. One of the newest AmeriCorps chapters was
established last fall in the middle of the Adirondack Park in New York
State. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Todd Moe reports:
GLC Wields More Power
When the Great Lakes Commission makes its annual pilgrimage to
Washington DC this year (March 17th), it might have more political clout
than it did last year. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham
reports: