Millions of Americans use a microwave on a daily basis…but how many of us actually understand how the thing works? As technology becomes more complex, there are times when science looks a bit like magic. Great Lakes Radio Consortium Commentator Julia King worries that today’s "High Science" has us so used to functioning without answers that we’re forgetting to ask questions:
Category: Commentary
Commentary – Polluter Pays
The Federal Clean Air Act requires businesses that emit certain air pollutants to cover the costs of regulating that pollution at the state level. It’s designed to be a market-based approach which theoretically, should give polluters a fiscal incentive to reduce their emissions. But Great Lakes Radio Consortium Commentator Lana Pollack says that not all businesses are paying their fair share:
Commentary – Nuke Plant for Sale: On-Line
Maine’s Yankee Rowe is the one of the first decommissioned nuclear plants to be dismantled and sold off. And as the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Suzanne Elston discovered, all parties are welcome:
Commentary – Garden Waste
As we prepare our gardens for the growing season, we contribute to the31 million tons of yard waste produced annually. Great Lakes RadioConsortium Commentator Bob Lilienfeld offers suggestions on how toreduce some of that waste:
Commentary – Reducing Backyard Waste
With Spring upon us, the weather has allowed us to spend some time planting in the garden and cleaning up the yard. But did you know that yard waste accounts for about fifteen percent of total household trash? Great Lakes Radio Consortium Commentator Bob Lilienfeld tells us how to reduce organic waste coming from our lawns:
Commentary – Radioactive Legacy
Last month (March 1998), the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency released the results of an eight year study. Its purpose was to examine a proposal to bury high level nuclear waste deep in the bedrock of the Canadian Shield. As Great Lakes Radio Consortium Commentator Suzanne Elston discovered, the panel concluded that out of sight, isn’t necessarily out of mind:
Commentary – The Quest for Purity
The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service is proposing national rulesfor organic food production. The new rules are an attempt tostandardize labeling and quality. But as they are now written, theywill still allow irradiation, genetically altered food and syntheticfertilizers…And that has Great Lakes Radio Consortium Commentator JuliaKing worried:
Commentary – Our Own Gehenna
As we approach the celebration of Easter, the thoughts of the Christian community are focused on the life promised after death. But as Great Lakes Radio Consortium Commentator Suzanne Elston reflects, we’re making our own heaven or hell, right here on Earth:
Commentary – Champlain a Great Lake?
Earlier this month (March, 1998) President Clinton signed a bill declaring Vermont’s Lake Champlain as one of the Great Lakes. The move was engineered by Senator Patrick Leahy in order to make Vermont universities eligible for federal research dollars. But the move created a firestorm of ridicule and protest. Last week, the Senate voted unanimously to remove the designation. The House is expected to do the same this week—a move that pleases Great Lakes Commentator Julia King:
Commentary – Cutting Paper Waste
Remember the paperless society? As we all know, it never really happened. Great Lakes Radio Consortium commentator Bob Lilienfeld knows why, and has some suggestions on ways to cut back on the ever-increasing avalanche of paper used and thrown away: