Revealing the relationship between the natural world and the everyday lives of people
For the first time, demand is high for an environmentally friendly
car. Honda’s new Insight now has a two-month waiting list. The Great
Lakes Radio Consortium’s Julie Halpert has the story:
For decades, big political donations have influenced big tax breaks. Lobbyists, backed by money from political action committees, heavily influence the legislative process. In one case a multi-billion dollar program is supposed to help the environment. But… many believe it doesn’t. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Earlier this month, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration made headlines when it announced that the winter of
1999-2000 was the warmest one in 105 years. But Great Lakes Radio
Consortium commentator Suzanne Elston thinks that the real news is at
the gas pumps:
In the next few months, Honda and Toyota each will launch a
new type of super clean car, called a hybrid. The fact that the
Japanese
are
first to market hybrid vehicles concerns some environmentalists.
They’re
worried that domestic auto makers aren’t moving fast enough on this
promising technology. But in an unusual move, environmentalists are not
chastising the big three. Instead, they’re lending a helping hand. The
Great
Lakes Radio Consortium’s Julie Edelson Halpert files this report:
Canadian scientists are applying for a patent on using geraniums to clean up
toxins. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports it’s
controversial because the patent would control the use of a naturally
occurring flower:
Far below the bottom of the Great Lakes, valuable pockets of oil and
gas sit waiting to be tapped. But laws prohibit offshore drilling. So
for the last twenty years, oil companies have been using another method
to get to the deposits; it’s called directional or slant-drilling. Up
until this point, there hasn’t been much opposition. But now a number
of bills are pending that could change oil and gas development beneath
the lakes. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson reports:
While many motorists have enjoyed the lower gasoline and diesel fuel
prices the last couple of years… those lower prices have made
alternative fuels such as natural gas relatively more expensive. The
Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports… the managers of
one bus fleet are wondering if running less polluting buses is worth the
cost:
The U-S Consumer Product Safety Commission has persuaded a carbon
monoxide alarm manufacturer to voluntarily recall some of their alarms.
The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tom Scheck has more:
Now that states have started deregulating the sale of natural gas and
electricity, companies are busy vying for customers. But it’s unlikely
to create the same feeding frenzy unleashed by the deregulation of the
telephone industry. That’s because there’s not as high a profit margin
for natural gas and electricity – so most companies are concentrating on
signing up high-volume users, like big business. Still, home owners and
small businesses probably won’t escape the sales pitches. The Great
Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson reports: