Tag: report

Army Corps’ Spending Questioned

Environmental and consumer watchdogs have launched an all-out offensive against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in a new report. They say the Corps wastes taxpayer money on unnecessary projects, including some in the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s David Sommerstein has more:

Transcript

Environmental and consumer watchdogs have launched an all-out offensive against the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers in a new report. They say the Corps wastes taxpayer money on
unnecessary projects, including some in the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
David Sommerstein reports:


The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has built some of the nation’s biggest marvels, from the
Hoover Dam to the St. Lawrence Seaway. But in recent years, the Corps has come under fire
from Congress and others for cooking the books to justify its own work. The latest charges come
in a report by the National Wildlife Federation and Taxpayers for Common Sense. The groups
identify 29 Corps projects they say gobble up federal money and destroy natural resources. Steve
Ellis is with Taxpayers for Common Sense. He says the agency must be reformed.


“In 2000, a huge scandal erupted on the upper Mississippi River that rocked the agency that
showed that they were manipulating data. We’re back debating this exact same project or a very
similar project now three years later. The Corps bears close observation and close watching.”


The groups also cite a St. Lawrence Seaway study they say is bent on wider and deeper channels
at a price of 15 billion dollars to taxpayers. Corps and Seaway officials say the study only looks
at the existing system, not expanding it.


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

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Funding Dries Up for Corps Project

Funding has dried up for a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers study designed to show where, when, and how often it might flood along the Mississippi, Illinois, and Missouri rivers. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Rich Egger reports:

Transcript

Funding has dried up for a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers study designed to show where, when, and how often it might flood along the Mississippi, Illinois, and Missouri rivers. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Rich Egger reports:


After a whistleblower revealed the
Corps overstated the economic
benefits of its projects, Congress cut
the agency’s budget. That’s meant a
shortage of money for research, such
as this flood study. Supporters of the
research believe another large flood
is inevitable.


Heather Hampton-Knodle is with the
Upper Mississippi, Illinois, and
Missouri Rivers Association. She
says it’s important to finish the study:


“It’s the notion that we need to build the Ark before the flood…and be prepared to protect our citizens and keep our economy flowing in the case of that sort of major
disaster. This is one disaster we can
plan for.”


Funding was frozen this summer just
before the report was completed. Researchers
say they need just another $142,000
to finish the eight-and-a-half million
dollar study.


For the Great Lakes Radio
Consortium, this is Rich Egger.

Trust Fund for Great Lakes Restoration?

Some members of Congress feel the timing is right for the long-anticipated federal legislation to help restore the Great Lakes. A bill introduced in the Senate recently proposes EPA monitoring of Great Lakes water quality. Now, a bill being introduced in the House proposes a four billion dollar Great Lakes Restoration Fund. And it has strong political support. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Joyce Kryszak reports:

Transcript

Some members of Congress feel the timing is right for the long-anticipated
federal legislation to help restore the Great Lakes. A bill introduced in the
Senate recently proposes EPA monitoring of the Great Lakes water quality.
Now, a bill being introduced in the House proposes a four billion dollar
Great Lakes Restoration Fund. And it has strong political support.
The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Joyce Kryszak reports:


A critical report by the General Accounting Office prompted
Congress to start a coordinated recovery plan. The bipartisan
bill on the Senate side would pay for more reliable monitoring of
water quality. And the House bill now being introduced – also bipartisan –
would supply four billion dollars to help restore the environmental health of the lakes.


The Great Lakes Trust Fund is modeled after a multi-billion dollar
federal plan to rehabilitate Florida’s Everglades. Congressman Thomas Reynolds of New York
is one of the bill’s co-sponsors.


“We’ve seen, from increased levels of toxins and bacteria that are
killing wildlife and closing beaches, to invasive species that are
attacking an ecosystem. The Great Lakes need more than help – they need funding.”


Reynolds says he believes the backing is there to pass the legislation –
and that federal help is long overdue.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Joyce Kryszak.

Farm Pollution Researchers Threatened

Some scientists are being threatened because they’re investigating pollution from farms. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham explains:

You can read Beeman’s original report here:

Transcript

Some scientists are being threatened because they’re investigating pollution from farms. The
Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:


Bosses have blocked scientists from making findings public about pollution and agriculture. In
some cases, anonymous phone calls have threatened the lives of researchers. Perry Beeman is a
reporter for the Des Moines Register. He’s documented several instances where the powerful
farm lobby seems to be pressuring scientists to only reveal positive aspects of farming activities.


“In some people’s view there is a growing trend toward pressure on scientists who are doing
objective research, but are running into situations where they either cannot publish their findings
or are told that they can’t do the research at all.”


Beeman says there’s quite a bit of criticism that the U.S. Department of Agriculture and some
Universities are too close to the farm lobby and the result is affecting objective research.


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

States Go It Alone Against Greenhouse Gasses

Some Midwest states are highlighted in a new report that looks at what states are doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:

Transcript

Some Midwest states are highlighted in a new report
that looks at what states are doing to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach
reports:


The federal government wants no part of international
treaties aimed at reducing pollution linked to global
warming. But a report by the Pew Center On Global Climate
Change says about one-third of the states have taken significant
steps on their own. The study mentions Minnesota’s effort to
plant trees that may help reduce energy consumption and absorb
carbon. Wisconsin is praised for requiring large polluters to
report their carbon dioxide emissions.


University of Michigan professor Barry Rabe offered the study. He
says the budget deficits faced by many states may stifle additional work.


“And there may be an unfortunate irony here that at the
moment when political interest in doing something to
reduce greenhouse gases is greatest, the fiscal capacity to
fund some of these programs and implement them may be at a very,
very low point.”


The Pew Center says the state efforts are no substitute for a
comprehensive national plan. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium,
this is Chuck Quirmbach reporting.

Lakewide Management Plan to Be Released

After a decade of research, the Environmental Protection Agency
will release a report on pollution and other problems on the Great Lakes
later this week (4/27). What started as a report on toxic pollutants,
has
been expanded to include other major environmental problems. The
Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

Report Says Regional Air Is Tainted

Electric power plants in some of the Great Lakes states are the
biggest contributors to pollution in the nation. That’s the bottom line
of
the latest study from the Public Interest Research Group. The Great
Lakes Radio Consortium’s Bill Cohen reports:

Tis’ the Season to Conserve

A report released this fall by the U.N. Development Program, found that 20 percent of residents in high income countries now consume a whopping 86 percent of the world’s consumer goods. Most of that spending comes now, during the holiday season. Great Lakes Radio Consortium commentator Suzanne Elston suggests that it’s high time we learned to live a little more simply:

Female Hormones Found in Waste Water

Millions of American women rely on birth control pills to prevent pregnancy. Millions more depend on replacement hormones to prevent symptoms of menopause like hot flashes and osteoporosis. Both medications contain a synthetic version of the female hormone estrogen. And now, researchers at the University of Mississippi found that some of that estrogen ends up in wastewater. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Steve Frenkel has more on the potential effects:

Cooking Methods Lower Exposure

For years, residents around the Great Lakes have been warned not to eat certain species of contaminated fish. But a new report to be published in the American Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that certain cooking techniques can minimize the risk of exposure to toxins like P-C-B’s. However, environmentalists say the report may missing the bigger picture. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Steve Frenkel has more: