Lake George, NY, Jun 25, 2010 — The mayor of Lake George says he'll drink a glass of water from the lake. That in itself wouldn't ordinarily be much of a news story. But it's been slightly less than one year since thousands of gallons of raw sewage spewed into the Lake. Village mayor Robert Blais says it happened last July 4 weekend at Shepard Park, a popular swimming beach on Lake George. Blais says it was a blow to the community, which was barred from a favorite free beach. And many people in the area worried about their drinking water and their livelihoods. Todd Moe has more.  Go to full article

Tupper Lake, NY, Jun 17, 2010 — Residents of Upper Saranac Lake are fighting an invasive water plant with a book about food. Their new cookbook, with hundreds of recipes, comes with an environmental message.

In 2004, lake residents began an intensive struggle against the destructive milfoil with an underwater dive program that harvests the invasive plant by hand. It's an on-going challenge. All the proceeds from The Upper Saranac Cookbook will be used to fight eurasian water milfoil on the lake.

Todd Moe spoke with lake association member Marsha Stanley about the new cookbook and the battle to control milfoil.  Go to full article

Potsdam, NY, May 14, 2010 — In our occasional series, Moving the World, we meet North Country people who take their skills, expertise and resources to share with communities around the globe. Clarkson University student engineers collaborated again this year on a project to bring clean water to a small community in central America. The school's student chapter of Engineers Without Borders adopted a remote village in Ecuador, and worked to find a source for clean drinking water. The Clarkson team designed and built a device that produces clay pots for filtering river water to make it safe. Todd Moe has more.  Go to full article

Washington, DC, Jan 13, 2010 — The Environmental Protection Agency has released its first comprehensive survey of the nation's lakes. Samara Freemark tells us what the study turned up.  Go to full article

Harrisville, NY, Oct 15, 2009 — The talent for finding water with a forked twig goes back centuries. Despite scientific ridicule, water witches still flourish today. Ed Chartrand, of Harrisville, has helped hundreds of people in the North Country find the best location to dig wells by finding water veins using a freshly cut crotched stick. He's being honored with a North Country Heritage Award from Traditional Arts in Upstate New York this Sunday. Todd Moe has this profile.  Go to full article

Lake George, NY, Aug 28, 2009 — A new art exhibit in Lake George combines shipwrecks, the visual arts and science. The "Raising the Fleet" exhibition is truly in the lake - viewable on land and 40 feet below the surface. Underwater easels near the sunken wrecks of 18th century vessels hold artwork by Elinor Mossop. They include microscopic images of amoebae with sketches of military shipwrecks. Todd Moe spoke with biologist Sam Bowser about this art/science collaborative exhibit.  Go to full article

Fort Covington, NY, Jul 06, 2009 — A hundred-year old dam on the Salmon River in Franklin County is coming down. The Fort Covington dam was last used for hydropower in the 1950s. It's been crumbling ever since. Martha Foley has more.  Go to full article

Washington, DC, May 15, 2009 — The Environmental Protection Agency's budget has a lot of money for green energy projects, dealing with climate change and creating green jobs. But as Lester Graham reports, the EPA will also deal with old fashioned environmental issues such as pollution.  Go to full article

Ogdensburg, NY, May 13, 2009 — Officials in Ogdensburg want the state to release $355,000 for environmental assessments and potential clean up of waterfront sites contaminated by industrial pollutants. Martha Foley has more.  Go to full article

Mar 04, 2009 — The Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River contain one-fifth of the world's fresh surface water, 90% of the fresh surface water in the U.S. But they've been battered by industrial pollution, farm and road runoff, and invasive species. The 185 foreign species in the Lakes and River cause billions of dollars in damage to the region's economy every year. After years of neglect by Washington, the Obama Administration is making a multi-billion dollar commitment to the cleaning up the Great Lakes. Environmentalists believe they have a big ally. David Sommerstein reports.  Go to full article