Category: WERU News Report

WERU News Report 9/18/13

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

Today we’re following up on a news story unfolding on the coast in Searsport. Chemical companies have been located on the coast there, at Mack Point, and Kidder Point- near Sears Island –for more than 100 years. A group called Friends of Penobscot Bay has recently obtained records revealing a history of chemical spills, and raising serious questions about the disposal of highly dangerous by-products, possibly in layers up to 14 feet deep, on the shoreline. State and Federal agencies are starting to get involved in the investigation. Plans to dredge the harbor at Mack Point have hit a snag as area lobstermen voice their concerns about what might be stirred up and released into Penobscot Bay.
We spoke with Ron Huber, director of Friends of Penobscot Bay, earlier today, to get an update on the situation, including what they are finding as they sift through the old DEP records they uncovered

FMI: http://penobscotbay.blogspot.com/

WERU News Report 9/17/13

Producer/Host: Amy Browne, Meredith DeFrancesco, Lawrence Reichard

Today we’re marking the 2 year anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Here are some excerpts from our archives, as WERU covered the beginning of the movement, the occupy movement in Maine, and the one year anniversary, on this date in 2012

WERU News Report 9/11/13

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

Production assistance: John Greenman, Carolyn Coe, Matt Murphy

Segment 1: Maine’s Aging Population – state and federal policies – press conference in Bangor organized by Food&Medicine, featuring several local speakers.
Segment 2: An alternative to the official story about what happened in Syria, raised by Lawrence Reichard at a speak out in Bangor last week.
Segment 3: Toxic “layer cake” at Kidder and Mack Points in Searsport? Interview with Ron Huber, Friends of Penobscot Bay

WERU News Report 9/10/13

Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Production assistance: Matt Murphy and Carolyn Coe

Representatives from Maine’s US Congressional delegation say they have been receiving a huge volume of calls about President Obama’s planned attack on Syria, with the majority of calls being in opposition. Friday afternoon they heard from several area residents in person, at the Peace & Justice Center

WERU News Report 9/4/13

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

Today the Natural Resources Council of Maine and the National Wildlife Federation announced the release of a new report called “Swimming Upstream: Freshwater Fish in a Warming World” . According to the report, “[b]y the end of this century, habitat that meets the climate requirements of cold-water species is projected to decline by 50 percent across the United States… [N]ative cutthroat trout are expected to lose an additional 58 percent of their current habitat. As a result, the number of days anglers participate in cold-water fishing is projected to decline by more than 1 million days by 2030 and by more than 6 million days by the end of the century. Associated with the decline in fishing days for cold-water fish is a projected annual national economic loss of as much as $6.4 billion annually by the end of the century, if carbon pollution is not curbed.”

The report, and the specific impacts on Maine and New Hampshire, were presented on a conference call press conference earlier this afternoon:

FMI:
You can read the report “Swimming Upstream: Freshwater Fish in a Warming World” which details the ways in which climate change is impacting the freshwater fish population, and outlines some steps for action at www.NWF.org/FishAndClimate or www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=5637

WERU News Report 8/27/13

Producer/Host: Carolyn Coe

Program Topic: Grow Appalachia
Key Discussion Points:
a) Grow Appalachia’s beginnings
b) its role as a community-building project
c) description of the program

Guest: Maggie Ashmore, Sustainability Project Coordinator, Pine Mountain Settlment School

FMI:
http://www.berea.edu/grow-appalachia/
www.pinemountainsettlementschool.com

WERU News Report 8/21/13

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

Of the 29 states that allow bear hunting, only 18 allow the practice of baiting– luring them to an area with food. Several states have banned the practice in recent years, and efforts are underway here in Maine to follow suit. Daryl DeJoy of Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting (and full disclosure- he also was the host of the short feature “Ask WAM” that aired on WERU in the past) is leading the efforts to put the issue out to voters. While anyone attempting to reform hunting in Maine is often dismissed as an urban dweller that has never spent time in the woods, Daryl DeJoy’s background dispels that stereotype (Interview with Daryl DeJoy)

According to numbers provided by Doug Rafferty, spokesperson for Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, in 2012 the total revenue the state received from bear hunting and trapping permits was just over ½ a million dollars. More bear hunting permits were sold to non-residents than to Mainers, although the opposite is true for trapping permits. We spoke with Doug Rafferty earlier today.

WERU News Report 8/20/13

Producer/Host: Carolyn Coe

Program Topic: forests of southeastern KY
Key Discussion Points:
a) Dr. Lucy Braun’s contribution to forest ecology research and conservation efforts
b) the biodiversity of the forests of eastern Kentucky
c) the ways climate change is impacting the northern hardwood forest of eastern KY

Guests:
A) Ben Begley, director of environmental education at the Pine Mountain Settlement School, PMSS
B) Pat Begley, environmental education instructor, PMSS
C ) Valerie Osborne, environmental education instructor, PMSS
D) Hugh Archer, executive director Kentucky Natural Lands Trust
E) Marc Evans, retired senior ecologist with the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission
F) music by the Harlan Drive Band