Tag: science

Killing River to Stall Spread of Invasives?

Biologists are trying to prevent invasive species such as the Asian carp, from traveling between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River basin. The latest plan proposed by some scientists is to remove all the oxygen from a section of the Chicago River. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Annie MacDowell has more:

Transcript

Biologists are trying to prevent invasive species such as the Asian carp from traveling between
the Great Lakes and the Mississippi river basin. The latest plan proposed by some scientists is to
remove all the oxygen from a section of the Chicago river. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Annie Macdowell has more:


Scientists say killing part of the river would create a barrier no fish could swim through and live.
Removing the oxygen is against the Clean Water Act, but biologists think it might be worth it.


Jerry Rasmussen is a river biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He says the
potential economic and ecological disaster from the invasive species justifies creating this dead
zone.


“The real problem has been reluctance of everyone, including myself, to take a measure like this
because of the implications of it and the precedents it sets, but the concern is significant enough
with these Asian Carp that a significant problem may require significant measures to stop it.”


Rasmussen says killing a section of the river buys engineers time to work on a long-term solution
to the invasives problem, such as building a second electric barrier. He says the river would be
shut down for a minimum of two years and then re-oxygenated so that living things could return.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Annie MacDowell.

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.

New Microbe Munches Pollutants

Trichloroethaneor TCA, is a solvent that contaminates groundwater and erodes the ozone layer. It is present at many polluted sites across the country. TCA comes from many common products such as glue, paint and industrial degreasers. Now scientists say they’ve found a microbe that can help clean it up. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tamar Charney reports:

Transcript

Trichloroethane or TCA is a solvent that contaminates groundwater
and erodes the ozone layer. It is present at many polluted sites across
the country. TCA comes from many common products such as glue,
industrial
degreasers, and aerosol sprays. Now scientists say they’ve found a
microbe
that can help clean it up. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tamar
Charney reports:


One way polluted water can be cleaned is to add bacteria that breaks
down the harmful substances. It is a process called bioremediation. In a
recent issue of “Science,” researchers at Michigan State University say
they’ve identified a microbe that could do this with TCA. Benjamin
Griffin is a doctoral student who worked on the project. He says they
found the bacteria in sediment in the Hudson River.


“They actually breathe TCA, so they respire it. They’re using this
chlorinated compound in the same way we use oxygen.”


The bacteria breaks down the TCA into other compounds. Those chemical
compounds can then be further broken down by other pollution-eating or
breathing bacteria. Up until now, scientists though there might not be
a
way to biodegrade TCA. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Tamar
Charney.

Peter Raven-The Role of Science in Stewardship

Time Magazine recently published profiles of people it considers "Heroes of
the Planet." Among them was Peter Raven. He’s the director of the Missouri
Botanical Garden. Raven has used his position as a platform to preach
better stewardship of the Earth. In the second of a series of interviews…
the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham sat down with Raven in his
botanical garden to talk about advances in the laboratory that could affect
all life on Earth:

New Measuring Device for E-Coli

A Lake Michigan researcher is experimenting with a new testing device, one
of only six such devices in the United States, that is being used to
measure e-coli (ee-coal-eye) bacteria levels. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Len Clark has more:

Scientists Push for Tougher Arsenic Standards

Groundwater in some Great Lakes states has been found to meet or exceed
acceptable levels of naturally occurring arsenic. Growing concern about
the health effects of arsenic consumption recently prompted the U-S
Academy of Sciences to recommend that the federal government create more
stringent standards for human consumption of arsenic. The Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Marisa Helms has the story:

Exotics Invading Your Garden

Non-native plants like the wood rose, Japanese barberry and English ivy
are found in many gardens around the country. Gardeners love them
because they’re beautiful. But author and certified master gardener
Janet Marinelli says people don’t realize how harmful these plants can
be. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly spoke with Marinelli
about her findings:

Nuking Nuclear Waste

Finding a way to safely dispose of nuclear waste has been a problem that
has plagued the nuclear industry since the Cold War. But as the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium’s Suzanne Elston has discovered, a physicist from
Boise, Idaho has plans to give nuclear waste a taste of its own
medicine.

Feds Criticized for Lead Strategy

The U-S-E-P-A is working on a new set of standards for lead content indust and soil in and around homes. Those standards will be mandatory forall federally-owned or assisted housing and voluntary for other homes.Lead is of concern for the E-P-A because studies have found that one outof every 20 children in the U-S suffer from elevated blood-lead levels.But in a September issue of the journal "Science", one physician iscriticizing the way federal authorities are developing those newstandards. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Steve Hirschberg hasmore:

New Study Disputes Mercury Risk

A new study from the University of Rochester has concluded that eatingocean fish with low levels of mercury doesn’t pose any serious healthrisks. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham has more: