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Tagged: environment

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Environment & Science
11:01 am
Tue September 4, 2012

Battle over Michigan's new swine rules goes hog wild

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Credit Courtesy of Long Haul Productions
A Russian sow on Mark Baker's farm. Four other parties have joined Baker's lawsuit against the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Credit Long Haul Productions
Mark Baker produces cured pork from a type of hybrid swine recently put on Michigan's invasive species list. Baker says complying with the state's new rules will end his business.
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Originally published on Wed September 19, 2012 4:33 pm

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Environment & Science
9:40 am
Thu August 23, 2012

Which is greener? A gas grill or charcoal?

Charcoal produces more CO2 emissions than gas, but that carbon can be absorbed by new trees when making new briquets.
Credit Magnus Manske / wikimedia commons
Which is greener, a charcoal grill or a gas grill? The answer, "it's complicated."
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(Editor's note: This story was originally published in July 2009)

Neal Fisher thinks he’s an environmentally friendly kind of guy. He and his wife recycle, they use compact fluorescent light bulbs in the house, they walk most places and hardly ever use their car.

But when it comes to outdoor grilling... it’s charcoal all the way.

“It may be a little decadent when you’re taking the environment into consideration, but I do it.”

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Environment & Science
3:07 pm
Mon August 13, 2012

DNR turns down request for moratorium on mute swan killings

Credit Photo by Mary Hollinger, NESDIS/NODC biologist, NOAA
A pair of mute swans.
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Mute swans are flourishing in Michigan. The state’s Department of Natural Resources estimates their population almost tripled from 5,700 to more than 15,000 between 2000 and 2010.  We've previously reported the DNR says mute swans eat a huge amount of vegetation in lakes. They can push out native birds, such as the trumpeter swan, and officials say mute swans can snap and charge at people.

To keep the population under control, the DNR is killing the birds and destroying their nests.

The Humane Society of the United States and the Michigan Save Our Swans Committee argue the DNR’s methods are inhumane.

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Environment & Science
4:35 pm
Fri August 10, 2012

Robots to spend winter under the ice in Lake Superior

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Credit Brett Groehler, Director of Photography / UMD
Jay Austin (L) is an Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. He and assistant scientist Matt James are shown here prepping the device, an "autonomous moored platform" for its test dive.
Credit Brett Groehler Director of Photography / UMD
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Researchers are sending robots where no scientist has gone before: under the ice in Lake Superior during winter.

This week, researchers from the University of Minnesota-Duluth put their first robot in Lake Superior to test it. Think of them as robotic divers... they travel up and down on cables and collect data. The cables will be anchored to the bottom of the lake.

Erik Brown is one of the lead researchers and the acting director of the Large Lakes Observatory at UMD.  He says the harsh winters on Lake Superior make it too dangerous for people to go out on ships and collect data.

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Environment & Science
10:21 pm
Wed August 8, 2012

Gov. Snyder signs controversial critical sand dunes bill

Credit Flickr user/I'm Such a Child
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By Emily Fox

People who own private property on Michigan sand dunes will now have more flexibility when it comes to getting building permits.

Governor Rick Snyder signed a bill this week that broadens building permits on what are called critical dunes. Those are dunes that have the most environmental protection.

Rachel Hoekstra is the legislative Director for the Senator who introduced the bill. She says the previous law had too many regulations for building permits.

“Basically it turned out to be whoever had the most money could potentially one day build a home in these areas.”

But opponents of the new law say it puts those critical sand dunes at risk.

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The Environment Report
9:00 am
Tue July 31, 2012

Cleaning up a pollution puzzle in Ann Arbor (PHOTOS)

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Kevin Lund of MDEQ shows a sample of oil and water he collected when he dug a hole in the bank of the Huron River. The analysis they did on the samples they collected showed that the contamination was coming from the old MichCon manufactured gas plant.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
Kevin Lund of MDEQ shows a sample of oil and water he collected when he dug a hole in the bank of the Huron River. The analysis they did on the samples they collected showed that the contamination was coming from the old MichCon manufactured gas plant.
Kevin Lund, a senior geologist at the MDEQ's Department of Remediation, kicks over gravel to reveal the pollution along the Huron River.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
Kevin Lund is a senior geologist at the MDEQ's Department of Remediation. He kicks over gravel to reveal the pollution along the Huron River.
Scrape away the gravel and dirt along the Huron River in Ann Arbor near the Broadway Bridge and you'll find this.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
Scrape away the gravel and dirt along the Huron River in Ann Arbor near the Broadway Bridge and you'll find this.
Benezene, naphthalene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are part of the chemical mix in old coal tar pollution.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
Benzene, naphthalene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are part of the chemical mix in old coal tar pollution.
The original gas works plant in Ann Arbor. Part of the foundation of this facility can still be seen today.
Credit Bentley Historical Library / Ann Arbor Public Library
The original gas works plant in Ann Arbor. Part of the foundation of this facility can still be seen today.
An explosion and fire led the gas works to move across the street to a larger site along the Huron River.
Credit Bentley Historical Library / Ann Arbor Public Library
An explosion and fire led the gas works to move across the street to a larger site along the Huron River.
Part of the foundation of the old gas works in Ann Arbor. These bricks held a gas container that was 100 feet in diameter.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
Part of the foundation of the old gas works in Ann Arbor. These bricks held a gas container that was 100 feet in diameter.
A map showing the location of the original gas works structures in Ann Arbor. Remediation experts use these maps to locate potential hot spots of pollution underground.
A map showing the location of the original gas works structures in Ann Arbor. Remediation experts use these maps to locate potential hot spots of pollution underground.
A monitoring well outside of the original gas plant in Ann Arbor. Keven Lund of MDEQ says they've detected low levels of contaminants around the original gas works, but not at levels to be concerned about.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
A monitoring well outside of the original gas plant in Ann Arbor. Keven Lund of MDEQ says they've detected low levels of contaminants around the original gas works, but not at levels to be concerned about.
The gas works moved across Depot St. and the train tracks to this location next to the Huron River in Ann Arbor at the turn of the last century.
Credit Bentley Historical Library / Ann Arbor Public Library
The gas works moved across Depot St. and the train tracks to this location next to the Huron River in Ann Arbor at the turn of the last century.
A survey map showing the location of the gas works structures in Ann Arbor. Note the original path of the Huron River. The river bed was filled in and the river was rerouted to create more land for the gas works.
A survey map showing the location of the gas works structures in Ann Arbor. Note the original path of the Huron River. The river bed was filled in and the river was rerouted to create more land for the gas works.
The polluted site in Ann Arbor in the spring of 2012. All the buildings from the old service center have been torn down in preparation for the clean-up.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
The site where the old Washtenaw Gas Company stood in the spring of 2012. The buildings from the old service center have since been removed.
A tar covered brick along the Huron River in Ann Arbor - signs of the old gas works plant in the city.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
A tar covered brick along the Huron River in Ann Arbor - signs of the old gas works plant in the city.
These trees will have to be removed in order to clean up the bank and bed of the Huron River in Ann Arbor.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
These trees will have to be removed in order to clean up the bank and bed of the Huron River in Ann Arbor.
DTE says a cap will be placed along the river's edge to keep contamination from migrating toward the river. DTE will also build a small whitewater feature in the river once the clean-up is completed.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
DTE says a cap will be placed along the river's edge to keep contamination from migrating toward the river. DTE will also build a small whitewater feature in the river once the clean-up is completed.
The site was used as a service center by MichCon from the 1950s until 2009. The company says it's waiting to see how the land will be used before it does more cleanup on the site.
Credit Mark Brush / Michigan Radio
The site was used as a service center by MichCon from the 1950s until 2009. The company says it's waiting to see how the land will be used before it does more cleanup on the site.
The Argo Cascades is a series of little waterfalls and drop pools built in an old mill race in Ann Arbor. The polluted site is across the Huron River from this site.
Credit City of Ann Arbor
The Argo Cascades is a series of little waterfalls and drop pools built in an old mill race in Ann Arbor. The polluted site is across the Huron River from this site.
A map showing sites of old gas works around Michigan. To find old manufactured gas plants, look for "MGP."
Credit Dr. Allen Hatheway / Hatheway.net
A map showing sites of old gas works around Michigan.
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The city of Ann Arbor recently spent more than one million dollars rebuilding an old mill race along the Huron River. The Argo Cascades is a series of little waterfalls and pools where kayakers and people floating in inner tubes come to cool off.

But downstream from the Cascades on the other side of the river, there’s a problem.

There's been pollution lurking underground for some time from an old industrial plant, and two years ago regulators found that some of the pollution was making its way into the Huron River.

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Environment
9:01 am
Thu July 26, 2012

Measuring wind energy off the Lake Michigan shore

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Credit Leah Zuber / Grand Valley State University's Michigan Alternative & Renewable Energy Center
Buoy on July 9, 2012
Credit Leah Zuber / Grand Valley State University's Michigan Alternative & Renewable Energy Center
Buoy on July 9, 2012
Credit Leah Zuber / Grand Valley State University's Michigan Alternative & Renewable Energy Center
Buoy on July 9, 2012
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Scientists are analyzing new data that’ll determine whether offshore wind farms are viable in Lake Michigan and the data is more detailed than any available from the Great Lakes so far.

A floating eight-ton research buoy is collecting the data. There are only three such vessels in the world and this is the first one launched in the United States.

The buoy has been anchored about 37 miles off shore for about two months now. Recently crews retrieved the first set of data cards – with information about wind conditions and any bats and birds that fly by. Scientists are now analyzing that data.

Arn Boezaart heads the Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center that’s operating the buoy. "I think we are getting data at this point that will be very useful and will validate the fact that the wind conditions at mid-lake are very promising for potential future use as a commercially viable wind source," Boezaart says.

But right now there is no clear path to proposing an offshore wind farm in the Great Lakes inside the Michigan border.

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