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Environment & Science
12:00 pm
Tue May 21, 2013

Read this for a brief summary of all the problems at Palisades

Read this for a brief summary of all the problems at Palisades

The SIRWT tank on top of Palisades Nuclear Power Plant
Credit Mark Savage / Entergy
The 'safety injection refueling water storage tank' (SIRWT) sits above the control room at the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant.

Operators at Palisades Nuclear Power Plant announced yesterday that it will take until early summer to repair the plant and get it back online.

The plant was shut down after it was discovered that radioactive water had been entering Lake Michigan.

The leak came from a water storage tank that has continually caused problems at Palisades. Water from the tank dripped into the plant’s control room in May of 2011.

This time the water leaked onto the roof, down the roof drains, and out into the lake.

The Environment Report
9:00 am
Tue May 21, 2013

West Michigan birders compete to find the most species

West Michigan birders compete to find the most species

You can listen to today's Environment Report above or read an expanded version of the story below.

If you’ve always thought of birding as a quiet, relaxing hobby… you haven’t been to a Birdathon.

During the recent West Michigan Birdathon, I met up with Team Fallout (as in migratory fallout) at the Blandford Nature Center. Shortly after I arrived, we were scrambling to the top of an overlook.

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Environment & Science
9:45 pm
Mon May 20, 2013

Palisades water tank repairs take to early summer

Palisades water tank repairs take to early summer

COVERT TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - Operators of the idled Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in southwestern Michigan say repairs to a tank that leaked slightly radioactive water into Lake Michigan will take until early summer to complete.

The plant is in Van Buren County's Covert Township, about 80 miles east-northeast of Chicago,

New Orleans-based Entergy Corp. idled the plant May 5 after operators found a tank leaking faster than regulations allow. Some slightly radioactive water entered Lake Michigan, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission says there was no public health risk.

The plant which has had nine shutdowns since September 2011.

Stateside
5:03 pm
Mon May 20, 2013

Building a 'Better Michigan' through media

Building a 'Better Michigan' through media

Credit The Detroit Free Press
Stephen Henderson

An interview with Stephen Henderson of the Detroit Free Press.

To many of us, Sunday mornings mean a full cup of coffee and our Sunday paper. And there certainly has been no shortage of dire and ominous headlines served up with that Sunday morning coffee.

That's why the Detroit Free Press has launched a new effort. It's called "A Better Michigan" and it will seek answers to the question, "What will it take to build a better Michigan?

Those of us at Michigan Radio and on "Stateside" are proud to be partners with the Detroit Free Press in this effort .

The editorial page editor of the Detroit Free Press, Stephen Henderson, joined us to talk about "A Better Michigan."

Listen to the full interview above.

Stateside
4:57 pm
Mon May 20, 2013

The 'State of the Bird' in Michigan

The 'State of the Bird' in Michigan

Credit Wikipedia.org
The robin is the State Bird of Michigan

An interview with Nature Conservancy Magazine's Teresa Duran

Did you know that May is the height of birding season?

Our State Bird is the robin, but there are literally hundreds of species who call Michigan home.

Teresa Duran knows about the wide assortment of birds we can find in our own back yards and gardens, and how important it is that we preserve land to keep these hundreds of species thriving.

She is the publisher of Nature Conservancy Magazine, and she joined us in the studio today to discuss the many different species of birds found in our state and what role they play in our environment.

To read the Nature Conservancy Magazine's story on birding, go to magazine.nature.org.

Listen to the full interview above.

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