Peru Copper Mining Endangers Water Supply
Peru is one of the world’s largest copper miners.While the decline in the price of metals has slowed the industry, mining still has a profound effect on communities in Peru. Kelin Hall is a student at the University of Chicago. She received a Human Rights internship from the U of C to study corruption and human rights violations of copper companies in southern Peru.
While she was in Peru last summer Kelin worked with the environmental and labor rights organization Associacion Civil Labor to do her research.
Kalin Hall told us how she got interested in mining issues in Peru.
Locals Weigh In on Lifting Ban on Nuclear Power Plants
In 1987 Illinois said "No" to any more commercial nuclear power plants. But recently, Illinois State Representative JoAnn Osmond has called for lifting the ban on plant construction. As part of our series Chicago Matters: Growing Forward we asked what locals what they think of the idea.
Zion, 25 Years On
In the late 1950s, power companies started to fan out across small-town Illinois, casting for places to build nuclear power plants. Over the next few decades seven towns bit. The lure? The prospect of good jobs and higher property taxes. Few towns thought through what would happen if the plants waved goodbye. But that’s a reality Zion, Illinois has had to face. As part of Chicago Matters: Growing Forward, Shawn Allee profiles Zion’s history with nuclear power.
Scientists Look to Forecast Beach Closings
New research could help officials forecast Chicago beach closings. And it may change the way scientists think about health risks in the water.
Great Lakes Water Treaty Heads to President's Desk
The U.S. House today OK'ed legislation designed to conserve Great Lakes water. The interstate treaty would block most communities outside the Great Lakes Basin from tapping into the fresh water supply.
How did your member of Congress vote?
U.S. House Set to Vote on Great Lakes Water Treaty
A treaty designed to keep Great Lakes water in the Great Lakes is expected to get the final go-ahead today from Congress.
Illinois EPA: Water Safe, But Pharmaceutical Traces Exist
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency says the state's drinking water is safe, even though tests confirm the presence of dozens of pharmaceuticals.
The End of the Pipe
We may have dodged a tornado, but last night’s storms left severe damage in their wake. Once the flooding subsides, where will all that standing water water go? Millions of gallons of fresh water are flowing under Chicago right now. And as our region grows, more and more people want to divert some their way.
Water Treaty Gets Senate Hearing, Presidential Nod
A treaty designed to keep Great Lakes water in the Great Lakes gets a hearing Wednesday in the U.S. Senate. The hearing comes as the plan gains a powerful booster.
Great Lakes Water Compact on Way to Congress
A treaty designed to conserve Great Lakes water is now headed for Congress.
New Survey Projects Water Shortages in Illinois' Future
Life is just now beginning to return to normal in flooded communities across the Midwest. Considering what a soggy summer it’s been in this region, it may seem odd to be talking about water shortages. But that’s exactly what could be in store for at least 11 Illinois counties, according to a new study out yesterday. The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning commissioned the report on future water demand, and found that it could increase anywhere from 7 to 64 percent by mid-century. Where on that spectrum Illinois winds up will depend, they say, on how well the region plans. Tim Loftus is a senior environmental planner at CMAP, and he tells us more about the research.
Great Lakes Water Treaty Heads to Washington
Only Congress and the president now stand in the way of a treaty to keep Great Lakes water in the Great Lakes region.
Is the Grand Calumet River Worth Saving?
The Grand Calumet river meanders for 13 miles—most of it through Northwest Indiana. It winds from a lagoon in Gary to Hegewisch on Chicago’s South Side, and eventually dumps into Lake Michigan. What it dumps has been a big concern for decades: tons of sludge contaminated with mercury, PCBs and cyanide. There have been efforts to clean up the river. But in spite of those efforts, the Grand Cal remains one of the biggest threats to the health and vitality of Lake Michigan. As part of Chicago Matters: Growing Forward, Chicago Public Radio’s Michael Puente has this report.
Grey Water on the Shores of Lake Michigan
In areas of the U.S. where water is scarce and droughts are increasingly frequent, recycling water is becoming a more common practice. But here on the shores of the abundant Lake Michigan, conserving water is often the last thing on people’s minds. That’s a situation that may be changing. As part of Chicago Matters: Growing Forward, Alison Cuddy explores how one trend, grey water recycling, is making its way into our region.
The New Geopolitics of Energy
Chicagoans may suffer the highest gas prices in the U.S., but even our prices look good compared to other developed countries. In Britain, France, Germany and Italy, gas is over 8 dollars a gallon. In Turkey, gas is over 11 dollars a gallon where a fill-up can cost 200$
In Japan, gas is a more tolerable 6 dollars a gallon. It’s also about 6 bucks a gallon in Brazil — but there — sugar-based ethanol is a bargain at 3 bucks a gallon.
But gas prices are just the tip of the energy iceberg. Natural gas prices are going up too. A prolonged era of high energy costs has the potential to not only transform our pocket books but the globe.
Michael Klare is Five College Professor of Peace and World Security Studies at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts and author of Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet; The New Geopolitics of Energy. Michael is also Defense Correspondent for The Nation magazine. We’ll spend the hour talking about what he calls the “new international energy order”
Klare says that “new international energy order” has two kinds of countries. He explained why he divides the world into either “energy surplus states” or “energy deficit states”…
Hear more interviews from our Geopolitics of Energy series.
Refineries Expand to Process Dirty Oil
Transforming black crude oil into gasoline has always been a notoriously dirty process. But refineries are expanding so they can use a new source of oil. That could make the process even dirtier. Chicago Public Radio’s Shawn Allee explains why this is happening and what environmentalists are doing about it.
Shawn Allee is a reporter for Chicago Public Radio. He produced this piece for The Environment Report.
Paying More for Water
Geopolitics of Energy—History and Future of OPEC
Fareed Mohamedi—Partner and Head of Country Strategies, PFC Energy
