The Environment Report

We'll hear about a developer who wants to build houses on a reclaimed sand mining site that’s on the shore of Lake Michigan. And we'll get advice on how to clean your boat to avoid spreading invasive species from one lake to another.

Northern Michigan winemakers are on the hunt for a signature grape. We'll hear about the debate among vintners.

The massive piles of petroleum coke along the Detroit River are a byproduct of refining tar sands oil from Canada.  People who live nearby have been raising concerns about it. We'll get an update on the pet coke piles.

We’ll hear about researchers putting a value on how much pollution urban trees can remove from the air, and we'll hear about a project called CrowdHydrology. The scientists want you to text them with information about streams in Michigan.  

There are only three people in Michigan who are allowed to catch hummingbirds. They put tiny little bands on their legs to study them. We’ll hang out with the hummingbird banders.

Some of the de-icing fluid from the Grand Rapids’ airport has been getting into a nearby creek. It results in a film of bacteria called bio-slime. The state is now requiring airport officials to do something about it.

When it comes to reducing carbon dioxide… one researcher argues the electric car is getting too much attention. We’ll hear where he thinks the attention should be focused. And we'll hear about an Android app that lets you know about dangerous beach conditions in the Great Lakes region.

Ticks are booming this year in Michigan… and the species of tick that carries Lyme disease has been increasing over the past several years. We'll talk with a tick expert at Michigan State University to find out which areas of the state are affected.

Sturgeon are amazing fish. They can live to be 100 years old.  We’ll hear about people who are trying to make sure the kind of sturgeon specific to the Kalamazoo River will survive.

There’s a restaurant in Leland, Michigan where you can get a Bloody Mary with a smoked fish in it. It’s a really popular drink… but that species of fish has been hard to find in the Great Lakes.

Mosquito season is here… already.  We’ll find out why that’s happening.

If you thought birding wasn’t a competitive sport, you’ve never been to a birdathon. We’ll tag along on the West Michigan Birdathon. It’s all about how many different birds you can spot in six hours.

The Palisades Nuclear Power Plant has been shut down for more than a week. Workers are trying to figure out how slightly radioactive water got into Lake Michigan. We’ll get an update on what’s happening.

In Kalamazoo, people are trying to get rid of a toxic waste site. There’s decades worth of waste from the paper mill industry. Why residents are getting ready to fight the federal government over the waste pile.

We’ll visit the town of Ironwood in the Upper Peninsula.  State Senator Tom Casperson says that people in Ironwood are living in fear of wolves. We’ll check out Casperson’s claim.