News stories tagged with "water"

(05/02/12) Missisquoi Bay is in the northeast corner of Lake Champlain, along the Vermont-Quebec border. The bay has some of the highest phosphorus concentrations in the lake and is frequently plagued by blue/green algae. In 2008, the US government asked the International Joint Commission, a bi-national body that helps manage US and Canadian boundary waters, to assist in reducing phosphorus levels in the bay.

They've now completed a study that identifies where the phosphorus is coming from and how it gets to the lake. Two public hearings are underway to discuss the results. Sarah Harris was at last night's meeting in Saint Armand, Quebec and has more. more

(04/19/12) The North Country is no stranger to the awesome power of water. We saw what it could do last spring and summer, when spring floods, and later Irene, swept through the area. Our economy depends on water in various forms: agriculture needs just the right amount, fisheries need to be healthy and clean, the mountains need snow in the winter.

Journalist Charles Fishman writes about how we're handling water issues in America today and what we need to be doing in his new book, The Big Thirst. Fishman will speak at SUNY Potsdam on April 25. He told Nora Flaherty the world has all the water it needs, and it's infinitely renewable even if it's absolutely filthy--it just needs to be cleaned.

Charles Fishman will speak at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 25 in Sara M. Snell Music Theater at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music. The presentation is free and open to the public. To reserve a seat, (315) 267-2515.

(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.

(12/20/11) Over the fall, North Country Public Radio was one of a group of public radio stations that partnered in a special series from WBEZ in Chicago. The ongoing project, called Front and Center, looks at the Great Lakes, from a variety of angles. This week, we're sampling some of the Front and Center stories.

The Great Lakes contain 20 percent of the world's fresh surface water. But can this precious resource can be harnessed to help reverse the region's economic decline and put people back to work. Brian Mann led off the series near Lake Ontario. more

(12/05/11) Advocates for clean water are concerned about proposed Congressional spending cuts. The program that helps communities afford expensive water and sewer projects is expected to be cut in half. Julie Grant reports many local governments won't be able to afford them. more

(11/15/11) The U.S. has worked to get lead out of gas and out of paint, but the biggest source of lead in a consumer product is still on roadways. It's in the form of wheel weights, used to balance the tires on our cars. The Environmental Protection Agency says about 1.6 million pounds of lead falls off of vehicles each year, and winds up in the environment. New York is among a handful of states that is leading the effort to ban lead wheel weights. Julie Grant reports. more

(09/15/11) New York state has created a new emergency loan program for local governments. The Hurricane Emergency Loan Program, or HELP, will make loans to communities whose wastewater and drinking water facilities were damaged by Irene or Tropical Storm Lee. more

(07/26/11) Our occasional series, "Moving the World" continues with a conversation with two St. Lawrence county men who are producing a documentary about water relief in Uganda.

Ben Hull and Joshua McGrath leave for Africa this week to begin filming the documentary that will focus on efforts to install rainwater collection tanks on community buildings to provide safe, accessible drinking water. Todd Moe spoke with them earlier this summer as they prepared for the trip.

(05/13/11) The new exhibit, Paddling to Perfection, opens at noon today at the St. Lawrence County Historical Association as part of the weekend celebration of the 50th Anniversary Rushton Canoe Races in Canton. Boatbuilder J Henry Rushton built his first boat, a canoe, at his Canton boat shop in 1873. Within ten years, his boats, canoes and paddles were on display at world's fairs and expos.

The new exhibit explores Rushton's involvement with the American Canoe Association meet in 1886 at Grindstone Island on the St. Lawrence River and Rushton's award winning canoes at the 1893 Columbian World Exposition in Chicago. St. Lawrence County historian Trent Trulock told Todd Moe that the "Paddling to Perfection" exhibit includes photographs, books, and artifacts related to these two events.

(03/10/11) Martha Foley's recent discovery of an old Golden Book on pond life inspires this discussion of some new discoveries that Dr. Curt Stager has made in the same Adirondack pond that he's been researching for 20 years.