Water

Dam removal ready — on paper

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(MI) Traverse City Record-Eagle – Local officials approved plans to remove three former hydroelectric dams on the river — Brown Bridge Dam owned by Traverse City, and Sabin and Boardman dams owned by Grand Traverse County. The decisions came early this year after a multi-year public study by the Boardman River Dams Committee wrapped at the end of 2008. The committee offered two primary and opposing recommendations that paralleled community opinions: Some wanted the dams removed and touted a free-flowing river with improved fishery and recreational opportunities, while others wanted the structures left intact to preserve water impoundments and perhaps return the dams to use as power generators. More

Waste

Global warming history course offers ideas for recycling

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(MI) Grand Rapids Press – For those resolving to do better by the environment in 2010, one way to do so is by taking a class such as “Global Warming: Changing Course” starting Jan. 6 at the Grand Rapids Public Library. The discussion course will examine the history and science of global warming, and how individuals can change their personal habits to reduce their impact on the environment. “With a new year a lot of people are looking to make a fresh start and make some changes in their lives,” said Kristen Krueger-Corrado, library spokeswoman. “We thought this course dovetailed nicely with looking at their lifestyle differently.” More

Echo

Toxic chemicals in water wells have Grundy County residents on edge

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(IL) Chicago Tribune – Toxic chemicals have crept into the drinking water in a corner of rural Grundy County, stoking fears and raising suspicions about who is to blame. Tests by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency on at least five private wells in a neighborhood that abuts a large landfill near Morris, an hour’s drive from Chicago, have shown dangerously high levels of arsenic, selenium, lead, thallium, antimony and other potentially harmful chemicals. More

Echo

PCB lawsuit dismissal unlikely to hurt Fox River cleanup efforts

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(WI) Green Bay Press Gazette – Companies funding the PCB cleanup in the Fox River said they don’t expect any disruption of the project following a judge’s action dismissing a lawsuit that sought to clarify who must pay. Representatives for Appleton Papers Inc., NCR Corp. and Georgia-Pacific Corp. all signaled that they will follow through with the cleanup despite uncertainty about who ultimately is footing the bill. More

Waste

Haworth zero-landfill goal becoming reality

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(MI) Holland Sentinel – The facilities manager at Haworth Inc. was behind the move to get the company’s 10 U.S. manufacturing facilities and one distribution center to zero-landfill status. That status is the tip of a sustainability iceberg that ends at the holy grail of environmentalism: zero waste. More

Echo

Home confinement is ordered in fish guts case

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(MI) The Associated Press – Two Upper Peninsula brothers accused of dumping fish remains for years into a Lake Michigan bay have been sentenced to six months of home confinement. Carl and Donald Frazier process whitefish in Naubinway in Mackinac County. The government says they dumped barrels of fish guts into the water and shoreline of Epoufette Bay. More

Echo

Carp hold edge over Mr. Cox

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(MI) The Detroit News – The Fantastic Mr. Cox is waging political war against the Asian carp. He’ll need the wind at his back. My worry is that his strategy is more likely to create high farce than permanent fish kill. On Monday, the attorney general announced he was taking his case against the carp all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, hoping that the scales of justice will tilt against big fish and the state of Illinois. So far, though, the fearsome fish of many adjectives (“invasive” “omnivorous” “aggressive” are regulars) have eluded all of the manmade impediments placed in their paths, including an expensive electrical barrier in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

Echo

Nuclear plant spills tritium into lake

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(ON) Toronto Star – Workers at the Darlington nuclear station filled the wrong tank with a cocktail of water and a radioactive isotope Monday, spilling more than 200,000 litres into Lake Ontario. Ontario Power Generation is investigating how the accident happened and officials say hourly tests of the lake water show that the level of tritium — the radioactive isotope of hydrogen — poses no harm to nearby residents. More

Echo

State report: Toeller Building air quality not to blame

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(MI) Battle Creek Enquirer – A comprehensive indoor air quality report released Monday shows that most mold, pollen and debris found in a Calhoun County building meet acceptable levels for employees to breathe. “But you know there is still something in that building making people sick,” Caroline Ross, State Employees United Auto Workers Local 6000 health and safety representative, said Tuesday. More

Echo

Breathe in a healthier state

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(MI) Detroit Free Press – Recently, Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed a bill that bans smoking in all public places beginning in May. Michigan joins the ranks of states that have taken a strong step toward protecting the health of their communities by making bars, restaurants and other public places smoke-free. We know that secondhand smoke causes premature death and disease. For example, exposed kids are at an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), acute respiratory infections, ear infections and other illnesses. More