May, 2001 - The Environment Report

Greener Oil Companies?

Some major oil companies are beginning to change some of
their practices in order to help the environment. But not everyone
believes the oil companies are just being ”earth friendly.” The Great
Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

High Time for High Gas Prices

Vice President Dick Cheney recently spoke to the Toronto
Press Club about U.S. energy needs. Cheney said that the U.S.
would buy all the energy that Canada could supply. Immediately
following the announcement, Canadian gas prices jumped to over
two U.S. dollars a gallon. Some experts say that by the summer it
could go as high as $2.50. Great Lakes Radio Consortium
commentator Suzanne Elston says that high prices aren’t
necessarily a bad thing:

Reviving Degraded Industrial Land

Cities all over the Great Lakes region are struggling with
what to do with old industrial sites. Those areas are known as
brownfields. They’re usually contaminated, and cleaning them up can
be expensive. That makes repairing such a site a less than popular
project for many cities, but Chicago is trying to convert a brownfield
into a development that helps protect the environment. The Great
Lakes Radio Consortium’s Jonathan Ahl reports:

Uniting the World’s Great Lakes

A summer storm approaches a nomadic dwelling in the Mongolian countryside.
Photo by Mark Edlund.
Listen to songs from a Tuvan throat singer: 1 | 2
To learn more about the Totem People's Preservation Project, go to www.totempeople.org
The Baikal Rift Zone extends from Russia to northern Mongolia and contains two large, ancient lake systems: Lake Baikal and Lake Hovsgol (pictured above). Both lakes are characterized by their huge size and depth: Lake Baikal alone contains over 20 percent of the world's fresh water and is over one mile deep. They are also some of the cleanest lakes on the earth: however, both lakes face threats from mining, tourism, and industry.
Photo by Mark Edlund.

Forty percent of the world’s fresh water is contained in our Great Lakes and in Lake Baikal. That other great lake – on the border of Russia and Mongolia – faces many of the environmental concerns that trouble our lakes. A recent delegation from Asia traveled to theUnited States to compare problems and solutions. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Brian Mann reports:

Internet Spotlight on Polluted Water

Soon you’ll be able to use the Internet to see if any of your
local streams are safe for swimming or fishing. The Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

Airborne Toxins Seep Into Lake Michigan

An environmental group says air emissions are playing a big part
in the overall pollution of Lake Michigan. As the Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Bill Poorman reports, those emissions aren’t included in
current water regulations:

Farming Wind Power

Construction is scheduled to begin this fall on the first
commercial wind energy farm in Illinois. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Chris Lehman reports:

Livestock Farms Breeding Resistant Bacteria?

Practices on Midwest livestock farms could be a factor in
increased antibiotic resistance in people. That’s according to
researchers – who recently traced antibiotic resistant bacteria
found in groundwater to a nearby hog farm. The Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Mark Brush has more:

Stopping the March of the Gypsy Moth

Federal and state agriculture officials in the Great Lakes
region are working to slow the spread of what’s called
one of the most destructive forest pests ever introduced into the U.S.
The gypsy moth caterpillar is blamed for destroying 24 thousand acres
of trees in Ohio alone. As the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Natalie Walston reports, efforts to wipe out the insect have been
futile:

Affordable Housing in Upscale Market

Tourism is an economic mainstay of many Great Lakes
communities. But popular tourist destinations can be a victim of
their own success. The more popular they are, the more expensive
housing gets, and the tougher it is for workers who are the backbone
of the tourist industry to find a place to live. In Minnesota’s Cook
County
on the North Shore of Lake Superior, some business people are coming
up with innovative solutions that could provide answers for other Great
Lakes communities. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Stephanie
Hemphill reports: