Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/tag/echo/page/35/)
Smart meters are easy to read and an accurate way of measuring how much electricity is used by utility customers.
The Michigan Public Service Commission recently approved rules to control how data collected by the meters is used.
But some customers worry that the meters are a technological invasion of privacy.
Mr. Great Lakes (Jeff Kart) reports from Bay City, Michigan’s Delta College Q-90.1 FM. Nov. 29, 2013 – Mr. Great Lakes – Jeff Kart by jeffkart
This week, Kart discusses the savings of energy efficiency in Michigan, the Electric Reliability Project and avian botulism. Text at Mr. Great Lakes
As workers at many farms and orchards become more and more scarce, the need for mechanical harvesting is rising.
Blueberries, cherries and grapes are all increasingly being harvested by machines rather than farm workers.
A recent survey asked people if global warming had been happening and if they believed the government should regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
Strangely enough, there were instances of states with noticeable disparities – people who want greenhouse gases regulated but don’t believe they cause climate change, and people who believe in climate change but do not want to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes regional team and the National Weather Service’s Detroit team have simulated wave height during the Great Storm of 1913.
The storm sunk 12 boats and killed 250 people.
Michigan farmers are increasingly turning to technology to track weather, map the precise spreading of fertilizers and seeds and follow prices for input and services.
Their only hurdle? Dealing with often shoddy broadband Internet service.
A curious, century-old population trend in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula shows a yo-yoing cycle of growth and decline every 20 years.
It could be rooted in natural resource issues.
Perhaps the timber or mining industries are behind it… or maybe the weather.
The impact of most of these “chemicals of emerging concern” on the health of people and aquatic life remains unclear, according to the International Joint Commission.
Mr. Great Lakes (Jeff Kart) reports from Bay City, Michigan’s Delta College Q-90.1 FM. Nov. 22, 2013 – The Environment Report, with Jeff Kart, Mr. Great Lakes by jeffkart
This week, Kart discusses the first urban nature preserve in Bay City and the beginnings of a 140-mile Thumb Loop high-voltage transmission line. Text at Mr. Great Lakes
A football stadium may have green grass but does it have green habits? Each week, Great Lakes Echo highlights a Big Ten football stadium’s attempts to do the most to impact the environment the least. All schools have information on the stadium’s diversion rate – the amount of waste recycled instead of put in a landfill. Stadium: Memorial Stadium
School: University of Nebraska
Built: 1923
Capacity: 81,091
2012 diversion Rate: 95 percent
Scouting report: The school’s athletic department began partnering with Recycling Enterprises of Nebraska during the 2008 season to max out recycling. Recycling bins for paper and plastic are placed near all trash receptacles, said Richard Sutton, professor of Agronomy and Horticulture. The athletic department also asks fans to pick up the surrounding area of their seats during and after games.