Canadian environmentalists are concerned that nuclear power plants located on the Great Lakes are vulnerable to a potential terrorist attack. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly has the story:
Year: 2002
New Emission Control for Diesels
The company that fueled the innovation for cleaner auto exhaust is looking to do the same for diesel-powered trucks and buses. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s David Sommerstein reports:
New Method Assails Exotic Hitchhikers
A new way to prevent rust in the ballast of ships might also prevent many alien aquatic animals from being transported from port to port. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham has details:
The End of Fishtown?
Jim Carlson’s family has been fishing the waters of Lake Michigan for more than a century. While there used to be thousands of fishing operations like Carlson’s in the Great Lakes, that number has dwindled over the years. It’s estimated there may be only a few hundred left. Carlson says he could soon join that trend, if a year-old fishing treaty between the State of Michigan and five Native American tribes brings his family business to ruin. And that has his neighbors worried, too. That’s because on Michigan’s Leelanau Peninsula, fishing and tourism rely on each other for survival. And the demise of Carlson’s business could have a profound impact on the local economy. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Rick Pluta has the story:
Greener Cleaners
Joseph DeSimone, founder and chairman of Micell Technologies, explains the cleaning process that clothes undergo in his Hanger’s store in Morrisville, NC.
Consumers may not realize it, but the simple act of dropping off clothes at the cleaners could end up harming the environment. For decades, dry cleaners have used a toxic solvent to clean clothes. Now there are many contaminated former dry cleaning sites across the country. But a solution to the dry cleaning problem may now be available. A new chain of cleaners is touting a “greener” system that uses a non-toxic everyday substance. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Patty Murray has more:
Winter Snow May Not Boost Lake Levels
Experts say it’s doubtful this winter will do much to raise the water levels in the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Jonathan Ahl reports:
Campaign for Healthier Hospitals
Hospitals produce a lot of waste – everything from bio-hazards to mercury to dirty linens. Now, a program to get hospitals to pollute less is stepping up its efforts. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
GREATER MENACE FROM PCBs?
Toxic waste sites contaminated with PCBs dot industrial areas of the Midwest. Scientists have long believed that the greatest PCB risk for humans comes from eating PCB contaminated fish. A new study challenges that assumption. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s David Sommerstein reports:
Engineering a Cleaner Pig
Like most farmers, hog farmers have seen a shift from small, family-owned farms, to large-scale hog operations, but more pigs on less land creates some major environmental problems – especially, what to do with all that manure. Bio-tech researchers in Canada believe they have created an animal that will help. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mark Brush has more:
A ROAD SALT SUBSTITUTE? (Short Version)
Road salt spread on the streets of Ann Arbor, MI has a corrosive effect on this sewer grate. Many cities and states are looking for a less damaging, and more environmentally sensitive alternative to road salt.
Many highway departments in the Midwest are looking into alternative ways to remove snow and ice from streets. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Jonathan Ahl reports:
Transcript
Many highway departments in the Midwest are looking into alternative ways to remove
snow and ice from streets. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Jonathan Ahl reports:
Most states and cities use rock salt and Calcium Chloride to keep streets from becoming
slippery and dangerous, but several companies are marketing additives to salt that they
say are just as effective, but do not include many of the pollutants that come from salt.
Graig Phelps is with Natural Solutions, a company that makes one of the additives:
“There’s a definite move to limit the nutrients that are applied through snow and
ice control. Phosphorus, copper, zinc, irons, and your heavy metals, which also have a
tendency to accumulate.”
Phelps says in addition to reducing pollutants, the additives also cut down on wear and
tear of streets and trucks because the bio-based products are non-corrosive. While the
use of the corn-based de-icers is on the rise, many cities say they have to wait until the
price comes down before converting to the new products. For the Great Lakes Radio
Consortium, I’m Jonathan Ahl.