News stories tagged with "rivers"

(03/26/12) During this membership drive week, we'll be looking back at the one big story that shaped much of our news coverage over the last twelve months, a series we're calling The Year of the Floods.

It's a story with two major chapters. Communities are still picking up the pieces from horrific flash floods in late August. But all that came AFTER what was the first record-setting flooding of 2011.

Beginning in April, torrential rains combined with heavy snowmelt, sparking weeks of flooding that caused tens of millions of dollars worth of damages. In part one of our series, Brian Mann looks at the historic rise of rivers last spring that triggered emergencies from Potsdam to Port Henry.

(03/07/12) Yesterday, we reported on New York's growing reliance on electricity produced Canada. A new project now in the works would pipe enough energy from hydro dams in Quebec to power a million homes in New York City.

The North Country has also seen a boom in energy production in recent years, with new wind farms, wood pellet plants, and biomass. But with more and more competition, and the lingering economic downturn, electric rates have plummeted.

That's putting pressure on small-scale producers of electricity, including companies trying to generate green, carbon-free energy. A biomass plant in Chateaugay, in Clinton County, laid off 13 workers last month. And many of the region's small hydro dams are also struggling.

This morning, Brian Mann profiles one dam operator in the Adirondacks who says without big regulatory changes, some green energy producers won't survive. more

(12/28/11) It's been a wet, warm December and that's tough news for skiers and snowshoers. But the long autumn has extended the hiking season. So Brian Mann set off last week to explore the trail to Roaring Brook Falls just outside of Keene Valley.

It's one of the shortest, easiest hiking trails in the Adirondacks, and the pay-off in views and scenery may be one of the most spectacular. Here's Brian's audio postcard.

(03/07/11) Northeast states are increasingly looking to Canada to meet a growing demand for low cost hydro electricity from renewable sources.

But the energy imports are stirring controversy. In northern New Hampshire, local activists are fighting a power line that would send the electricity south. And questions are being raised about whether big hydro is really green.

As part of a collaboration of Northeast stations John Dillon of Vermont Public Radio reports.

Northeast environmental reporting is made possible, in part, by a grant from United Technologies. Northeast environmental coverage is part of NPR's Local News Initiative. more

(12/24/10) With winter in full swing, officials with the state Department of Environmental Conservation are reminding outdoor enthusiasts to be cautious on lakes and rivers.

Hiking, snowshoeing, skiing, and snowmobiling on frozen lakes and ponds are among the many winter delights enjoyed by residents and visitors of the Adirondack Park. Chris Morris offers some tips on how to be safe on the ice this winter.

(08/24/10) The head of one of the most embattled state organizations in the North Country has stepped down. Glenn LaFave, who ran the Hudson River Black River Regulating District, left the organization last Wednesday after four years on the job.

As Brian Mann reports, he departs as the District's future is in doubt because of a debt crisis and a series of court challenges.

(06/09/10) Researchers say the invasive algae didymo, widely called "rock snot," is spreading throughout Vermont and the Lake Champlain basin. Found last week east of Burlington, the algae could make its way into Adirondack waterways, and once it establishes a presence, it's just about impossible to control or eradicate. Scientists say the algae forms large mats along the bottom of waterways and chokes out native plants. Martha Foley has more.

(10/27/09) For those of us in the North Country the St. Lawrence River is a summer playground or the wide water below us when we take the bridge to Canada. For author Margaret Wooster, the giant river is part of the Great Lakes watershed, and an ecosystem in danger. Betsy Kepes reviews Wooster's book Living Waters, Reading the Rivers of the Lower Great Lakes.

(02/05/09) St. Lawrence River advocates, policy makers, and scientists will gather Saturday in Clayton for Save the River's 20th annual Winter Weekend conference. The day-long event at the Clayton Opera house will focus on the effects of climate change on the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes. The event's keynote speaker Saturday night will offer a broader look at rivers across America. Tim Palmer has been writing about and photographing rivers for more than 25 years. Paddler magazine named Palmer "one of the 10 greatest river conservationists of our time". Palmer spoke with David Sommerstein.

(10/27/08) A group of New Yorkers is trying to convince people to get out on one of the most polluted bodies of water in the country - literally out there, in canoes. Samara Freemark reports that they hope once people see the water up close, they'll realize just how dirty it is. And maybe then they'll help clean it up.