Report: Commute Times Trending Upward

  • A new study calls for more investment in public transit to reduce commutes and congestion. (Photo by James Lin)

More and more cities are experiencing serious traffic congestion. A new report looked at travel data from 2003 and found that, without massive investment, our daily commutes are likely to increase. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Shawn Allee has more:

Transcript

More and more cities are experiencing serious traffic congestion.
A new report looked at travel data from 2003 and found that, without
massive investment, our daily commutes are likely to increase. The
Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Shawn Allee has more:


The new study from the Texas Transportation Institute suggests the nation
would have to build five thousand miles of new roads every year just to keep
pace with the growth in car traffic.


Alternatively, they say massive investment in public transit could keep the
problem from getting worse. But co-author Tim Lomax says we’re not paying enough through
gasoline or other taxes to make those big investments.


He says one reason is that we often don’t calculate the cost of what he
calls the “congestion tax.”


“It should be pretty clear that we are paying for congestion right now.
We’re sitting in our cars. We’re not spending time with our businesses or
our families. We’re wasting gas because the operation of our vehicles is
inefficient.”


The Texas researchers say those costs add up, to the tune of about three
point five billion hours worth of traffic delays each year. The study also recommends that traffic engineers raise tolls in some cities and work to curb suburban sprawl in less developed areas.


For the GLRC, I’m Shawn Allee.

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Scientists Speak Out Against Bush Administration

  • A group called Scientists and Engineers for Change is touring battleground states, campaigning against the Bush Administration. (Photo by Emanuel Lobeck)

A group of prominent American scientists, including 10 Nobel prize-winners, will bring a campaign against the Bush Administration to key battleground states in the region. The group says the President has misused and marginalized scientific research. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s David Sommerstein reports:

Transcript

A group of prominent American scientists, including 10 Nobel prize-winners,
will bring a campaign against the Bush Administration to key battleground states
in the Great Lakes. The group says the President has misused and marginalized
scientific research. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s David Sommerstein reports:


The political advocacy group formed last week is called Scientists and Engineers for
Change. Stanford University professor Douglas Osheroff is a member. He won the Nobel
Prize for physics in 1996. He says the Bush Administration is compromising scientific integrity.


“Having scientists reporting to middle-level bureaucrats who simply don’t have the background
to assess what the scientists are saying and he, of course, has essentially put a gag order
on scientists that are paid by the government directly. They are really not free to say what
they want.”


Osheroff also says President Bush and Vice President Cheney’s ties to the oil industry have
led them to minimize evidence of climate change.


Members of the Scientists and Engineers for Change will speak in Battleground states
like Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania this month.


The group has no direct ties to Senator John Kerry’s campaign. The Bush campaign hasn’t
responded to the group’s claims.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m David Sommerstein.

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The Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race

  • The Wipeout sled from McGill University in Montreal gets a push at the start of the Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race. (Photo by Karen Kelly)

Every year, engineering students throughout North America hold competitions to test their skills. They build robots and solar cars – combining technical prowess with creative design. In Canada, engineering students have devised their own contest. As the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports, their contribution to the engineering world is a toboggan made of concrete:

Transcript

Every year, engineering students throughout North America hold competitions to test their skills.
They build robots and solar cars – combining technical prowess with creative design. In Canada,
engineering students have devised their own contest. As the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Karen Kelly reports, their contribution to the engineering world is a toboggan made of concrete:


(sound in gym)


It’s 10 am, Friday morning. The gym at Carleton University in Ottawa is packed with
engineering students. They’ve arrived for the technical exhibition of the Great Northern Concrete
Toboggan Race.


Why concrete?


Because it’s the last thing you’d expect on a sled.


Teams from 14 universities across Canada are here to display their designs – and to show off their
school spirit.


(sound of chanting)


There’s the oompa loompa team wearing overalls and matching green braids.


There’s the Big Fat Greek Tobaggan crew – hanging out in togas beneath a cardboard Parthenon.


And there are the Flaming Fowls, with caps featuring chicken legs made of yellow felt.


But it’s not just about costumes – it’s about the sled…


“So what’s special about your sled?”


“Well, one major thing its covered in feathers. As you can see, we went for a giant chicken.”


Giant as in 300 pounds – complete with a concrete bottom and a papier mache chicken head on
top. Andrew Kwiatkowski is team captain.


“Our running surface, what we did, we made a contour bottom so it’s higher up in the front and as
it goes back, it progressively flattens out so in theory, it will compact the snow and make us ride
faster.”


“Have you tried it out?”


“No, because our brakes – we actually worked on it on Wednesday before coming up. We didn’t
get a chance to test anything.”


The Flaming Fowls are not alone. Most of the sleds will make their inaugural run tomorrow – the
day of the race. Test runs, they say, are too risky. Hit a bump too fast, and the concrete can
crumble.


(sound)


“Well, we’re from university of Waterloo. Our sled’s name is Return of the Sledi, obviously Stars
War theme…”


Dan Roscoe runs a hand over the thick slab of concrete that coats the bottom of his sled. Each
sled is required to have a concrete bottom, a working brake, and room for five passengers.
Roscoe is particularly proud of the Sledi brake, which relies on borrowed parts to cushion the
sudden stop.


“The whole braking unit is riding on the aluminum column there, which at the back has 2 springs
off a Ford Pinto, so hopefully the riders won’t stop as quickly as the brake does.”


The competition offers a reward for best braking system, as well as best design, top speed and
best toboggan aesthetics.


(chanting)


But it’s really not about the prizes. Josh White and Emil Lauren are with Team Oompa Loompa.
And their focus is on having fun.


“It’s an awesome time. Plus, it’s really cool. You get to actually build something and apply what
you learned in class so it’s…and you’ve got to love the challenge. Building something that’s
theoretically impossible like super strong lightweight concrete, a sled out of things a sled
shouldn’t be built out of. It’s kind of fun just meeting that challenge.”


(cross fade with scraping)


The next morning, the teams gather at the top of a local ski hill. They huddle around their sleds,
rubbing them with thick layers of wax.


Carlos Deolivera is captain of Return of the Sledi. His team’s made some last minute safety
adjustments – covering sharp edges with styrofoam.


“So do you think this styrofoam held on by duct tape will actually protect people?”


“It’s a 300 pound toboggan with five riders, it’s not gonna be being cut that’s going to kill ya, it’s
the weight and the momentum of everything hitting ya. It’s just a little bit of safety in a
dangerous sport.”


Nearby is the team for the University of Calgary Chuckboggan – as in chuckwagon. They’re
mourning the loss of their longtime toboggan ritual.


“University of Calgary had a long tradition of nakedness at this competition. So last year we
brought it back, did a fully naked run in Edmonton, and got suspended by the university so this
year there won’t be any nudity, I don’t think. And it’s quite a bit colder here, too, I think.”


(sound of chanting)


The race begins and the crowd chants as the chickenhead tobaggon slides to the top of the 78 foot
hill.


“You guys ready?”


“Never. If we’re not, it doesn’t matter. We’re petrified.”


“You’re petrified?”


“Oh yeah. You can almost say we’re chicken, oh! (groans)”


The fog horn blows and the sled gets a push. The huge chicken slides about ten feet – and then
grinds to a stop.


(ohhh!)


It’s a disappointing finish for the chicken team as they push their sled to the side of the track.


Next up is the University of Calgary’s Chuckboggan.


(horn, then whoosh)


They fly by – fully clothed – and cross the finish line, winning first place. A few minutes later,
the Return of the Sledi grabs second place.


(little sound)


The Flaming Fowls do make it down the hill eventually – pushed by a crowd of other competitors.


But that’s the spirit of this event – in the end, helping a giant chicken cross the finish line is just as
important as whether you win or lose.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Karen Kelly.

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Conjecture Continues on Water Levels

Whether Great Lakes water levels are expected to improve this summer depends on who you ask. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

Transcript

Whether Great Lakes water levels are expected to improve this summer depends on who you ask. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

The average water levels of the Great Lakes have dropped about four feet in the last four years. The Army Corps of Engineers says with heavy snowfall in March and heavy rains in recent weeks in some parts of the basin, the Corps is expecting some improvement in those levels. But a meteorologist concedes that the Corps predictions disagree with those of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Cynthia Sellinger is a hydrologist with NOAA. She says because of warmer than normal weather, much of the precipitation evaporated instead of running off into the lakes.

“Without a good spring run-off which gives us our seasonal rise, the lakes will be either at last year’s level or slightly lower.”

And NOAA says for the next three months the Great Lakes basin can expect average precipitation and that won’t help the lakes replenish themselves.

For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.

New Method Assails Exotic Hitchhikers

A new way to prevent rust in the ballast of ships might also prevent many alien aquatic animals from being transported from port to port. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham has details:

Epa Wavers Over Online Information

  • Some federal agencies and laboratories have restricted access to information. The government fears terrorists could use some information to plan attacks against the U.S.

Following the terrorist attacks on September 11th, the federal government has been re-thinking its website policies. Anything that the government feels could be used by terrorists was removed from the Internet. For example, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission completely shut down its website for a time and little of it has been restored. The Army Corps of Engineers removed information about dams across the U-S from its sites. Similarly, some information about natural gas pipelines, and transportation systems was removed. The Environmental Protection Agency removed information about hazardous chemicals. Now, the E-P-A is considering putting back some information about the risks communities face because of nearby industrial plants. But some industry groups were glad to see the information removed and don’t want it put back on the internet. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

Transcript

Following the terrorist attacks on September 11th, the federal government has been re-thinking its website policies. Anything that the government feels could be used by terrorists was removed from the internet. For example. the Nuclear Regulatory Commission completely shut down its website for a time and little of it has been restored. The Army Corps of Engineers removed information about dams across the U.S. from its sites. Similarly, some information about natural gas pipelines, and transportation systems was removed. The Environmental Protection Agency removed information about hazardous chemicals. Now, the EPA is considering putting back some information about the risks communities face because of nearby industrial plants. But, some industry groups were glad to see the information removed and don’t want it put back on the internet. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports.


In the last decade or so, the government has put volumes and volumes of information on the internet. In the interest of an open and free government, federal agencies have given the public access to all kinds of data. But after the terrorist attacks, there was a scramble to remove a lot of that data. Some government agencies concede they might have overreacted when pulling information off the web. But, most indicate they thought it was better to be safe than to leave information on the internet that terrorists could use to more effectively plan an attack.


For example, the Environmental Protection Agency removed Risk Management Plans from the EPA website. Those plans give details about certain hazardous chemicals that are kept at industrial plants, how a chemical leak or fire at a plant would affect the surrounding community. and even how many people might be hurt or killed in a worse case scenario.


The EPA Administrator, Christie Whitman recently explained to journalists why she had the agency remove those plans.


“That was information on our website that really gave terrorists a road map as to how to where to plan an attack. I was just not sure that we wanted to have that up for any –not so much terrorists, but terrorist wannabe— to find and to take advantage of.”


The information was originally put together in EPA office reading rooms open to the public. Later it was put up on the EPA’s website. That was so community groups could more easily learn about the risks they faced from nearby chemical plants. It was also used by some neighborhood groups to pressure companies to either implement better safety measures or stop using certain chemicals.


Administrator Whitman says in the weeks since the attacks, the EPA has been reviewing whether some of that information can be restored to the internet.


“What we’re doing is reviewing and seeing if it is readily available elsewhere, then there’s no point in our taking it off. We’d put it back again.”


But many chemical companies and other industry groups don’t want that information put back on the government’s websites, even though it’s sometimes still available elsewhere on the internet. In fact, they don’t want the information available to the public at all.


Angela Logomasini is with the Washington-based libertarian think tank, the Competitive Enterprise Institute. She says the information, such as worse case scenarios, shouldn’t be available because it might be used by terrorists. Logomasini was surprised to learn the EPA Administrator is considering putting the information back on the internet.


“I think it’s ridiculous. I think what they should be doing is trying to investigate, you know, what the risks are and whether this is really a wise thing to do. You know, just simply because other groups have taken the information and posted some of it on the internet does not mean that our government should go out of its way and provide it too.”


Logomasini says the risk management plans are of little use to the public anyway. She says the only people who used them were environmentalists, who wanted the information to scare people.


There’s some skepticism about the chemical industry’s real motivation to keep the information out of public view. Besides environmentalists. Some journalists use the information to track industry safety and government regulations.


Margaret Kriz is a correspondent for the National Journal where she writes about government, industry and the environment. She says since September 11th, chemical industry people might be arguing that the risk management plans should be kept secret for national security reasons. But before then, their reasons had more to do with corporate public relations and competition.


“Some of the information that was taken off the web by EPA the day of the attack is information the chemical industry has been trying to get off the web for years. They have not wanted it on there because they really don’t want to have— they fear two things: they fear the public will overreact to the information if they find out (about) some chemicals in a nearby plant and the second thing, they’re fearful if a competitor for them will go look at this information and find out what chemicals are being used and figure out what their secret formula is for whatever they make.”


So, it appears to at least some observers that the chemical industry sees the concern over terrorism as an opportunity. an opportunity to get the internet-based information removed for good. But it looks as though the Environmental Protection Agency is leaning toward making some of the information available on the website again. However. EPA Administrator Christie Whitman didn’t say when. Other agencies are also reviewing the information they’ve removed from the web with an eye toward eventually making some version of the data available to the public once again on the internet.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.

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Lake Erie Pipeline Nears Approval

Over the past weeks, a proposed natural gas pipeline under Lake
Michigan has been making headlines. But in the meantime, another Great
Lakes pipeline is nearing the final stages of a regulatory review. The
four-hundred-forty mile millennium pipeline will run between Dawn,
Ontario, and the New York City area. Most of the natural gas pipeline
will follow a land route. But a ninety-mile stretch is expected to be
laid
beneath Lake Erie. As the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy
Nelson reports, that appears to be the path of least resistance:

Battle Lines Drawn for the Round Goby

  • A plan by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is intended to stop invasive species from traveling between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi river and its tributaries.

The government is trying to stop an invader from expanding from the GreatLakes into the Mississippi River system. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’sLester Graham reports… the field of battle is a small channel nearChicago: