Mercury emissions from more than 150 coal-burning power plants across the Great Lakes are coming under greater scrutiny this summer. Several states are considering ways to reduce those emissions. Wisconsin could become the first state in the nation to issue rules requiring large mercury reductions. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach has the story:
Tag: water quality
LONG ROAD TO RIVER RECOVERY (Short Version)
The Environmental Protection Agency says it could be a decade before a river that feeds Green Bay and Lake Michigan will have tons of PCBs cleaned up. And a lot longer before the river recovers from the effects of the pollution. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Regulations Hurt Small Town Economies
Service stations that went out of business rather than pay for upgrades of underground storage tanks have left some small towns without anyplace in town to buy gasoline. That's affected some small towns' economy.
Across the nation some small towns are hurting because of
environmental regulations that have led to economic problems. The Great
Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
REGULATIONS HURT SMALL TOWN ECONOMIES (Shorter Version)
Service stations that went out of business rather than pay for upgrades of underground storage tanks have left some small towns without anyplace in town to buy gasoline. That's affected some small towns' economy.
Some rural communities are struggling because environmental
regulations hurt their economy. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Lester Graham reports:
Agencies Join to Fight Environmental Crimes
Officials from the U-S Coast Guard, the F-B-I, U-S customs, and
the E-P-A have signed an agreement that would allow the agencies to
more actively pursue and prosecute those who break Great Lakes
environmental laws. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Scott Willis
has more:
Administration Seeks Money for Areas of Concern
The Clinton administration is asking Congress for money in the
2001 federal budget to speed along pollution clean-up plans in some
Great Lakes areas. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham
reports… some believe it’s in part an election year move:
Justice Department Lures Green Lawyers
During the 1960’s, young socially conscious lawyers who went to work
for the government overwhelmingly specialized in civil and human rights
law. The U-S Attorney General from that period says those same kind of
lawyers are now focusing on environmental issues. The Great Lakes
Radio
Consortium’s Jonathan Ahl reports:
Potato Farms Create ‘Super-Sized’ Problem (Part 1)
Ron Offutt grows more potatoes than anyone else in the
world. He grows them for the French Fry market. Press reports call him
the Sultan of Spuds and the Lord of the Fries—but his success has an
environmental price, as people in small towns near his potato farms have
learned to their dismay. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mary
Losure reports in the first of a two part series:
Potato Farms Create ‘Super-Sized’ Problem (Part 2)
Ron D. Offutt is the biggest potato grower in the world.
His privately owned company raises 1.8 BILLION pounds of potatoes a
year. They go to make French fries for fast food chains like McDonalds
and big potato processors like J.R Simplot. But Offutt’s
success has a downside. Many people who live near his potato farms
worry about the pesticides sprayed on his fields…but they soon find
they’re up against a system much bigger than they are. The Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Mary Losure reports, in the second part of a two part
series:
City Sued Over Lethal Tap Water
The ability to sue, if your community provides unhealthy drinking water
is back before the courts. Some who say they were harmed by a parasite
in Milwaukee’s water supply in 1993 are pressing ahead with a lawsuit
against that city. But the case faces a major hurdle this month. The
Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach explains: