Tagged: environment

Antifreeze often looks like a sports-drink or Kool-Aid and it can have a sweet smell that attracts animals and kids. A bill in the Michigan legislature would require that a bittering agent be added to antifreeze so humans and animals don’t want to drink it.

Burning coal in a power plant creates byproducts called fly ash and bottom ash.  That ash contains a lot of bad stuff - mercury, lead, arsenic, to name a few.

While some plants ship the dry ash to landfills that accept hazardous materials, others mix the ash with water to make a slurry, which is moved into holding ponds.

Eventually, the water in those ponds is released into the nearest waterway.

Little green flags will be popping up along the shores of Lake Charlevoix this summer to promote a new guardian program.

It's sponsored by the Lake Charlevoix Association. Waterfront residents and businesses that have the power to impact the watershed are encouraged to sign up.

The Lake Guardian commitment asks individuals to pledge to do nine things, including avoiding
"the use of yard fertilizers containing phosphorous and to limit the use of fertilizers wherever possible." Committed members will also vow to request that landscapers use "lake-friendly methods" and to use native plants to cover exposed soil and "work to control erosion on or near our Lakeshore."