Clean water Archives

What a Long, Strange Garden Trip It’s Been

June 11, 2022June 14, 2022 Mike Nowak Bird Conservation Network, Breeding Bird Trends in the Chicago Region, Chicago Audubon Society, Depave Chicago, Depave Portland, improving water quality, Judy Pollock, mitigating heat islands, Peggy Malecki, Sinnissippi Audubon Society, Sounds of the Mississippi Flyway, The Mike Nowak Show, The Water Lab

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:12:52 — 63.3MB)

On our final show (for awhile), we talk about the Depave Movement across the world. Katya Reyna from Depave Portland and Mary Pat McGuire of Depave Chicago report on their respective programs. Judy Pollock and Bob Fisher from the Bird Conservation Network comment on the results of a 22-year study of breeding bird trends in the Chicago region. We’ll also play some music from Birdsongs, Volume 1-Sounds of the Mississippi Flyway by Micky Torpedo.

Birding Clean water Environment Lawn Care Plastics Recycling

The Hidden Dangers of Artificial Turf

May 7, 2022May 8, 2022 Mike Nowak Bob Dolgan, dangers to student athletes, Dim the Lights for Birds at Night, environment, Go Real Go Grass, Monty and Rose, Peggy Malecki, PFAS in artificial turf, recycling artificial turf, The Mike Nowak Show, This Week in Birding, World Migratory Bird Day

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:01:36 — 58.8MB)

Thousands of artificial turf fields have popped up across the country in the past few decades. The argument is that they’re cheaper, easy to maintain and perfectly safe. Really? We talk to a group of concerned Lake Forest, IL citizens from Go Real Go Grass, who reveal the dark side of artificial turf. Meanwhile, Ryan Anderson explains how you can grow real turf without using pesticides. He also announces a new certification program for healthy turf. Bob Dolgan from This Week in Birding talks about the latest chapter in the Monty and Rose saga and reports on World Migratory Bird Day.

regeneration miracle - Vernon Hills Community Garden

animal welfare Birding Clean water Climate change Composting Gardening Natural sciences soil health

The Regeneration Miracle That Is Compost

April 30, 2022May 3, 2022 Mike Nowak are bird feeders safe?, climate change, danger to songbirds from avian flu, highly pathogenic avian influenza, Illinois Food Scrap Coalition (IFSC), International Compost Awareness Week, John Bates from Field Museum Birds, Peggy Malecki, practical benefits of composting, sequestering carbon, Solid Waste Agency of Lake County (SWALCO), The Mike Nowak Show, Vernon Hills Park District Community Garden

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:01:24 — 57.3MB)

The Mike Nowak Show with Peggy Malecki helps the Illinois Food Scrap Coalition kick off International Compost Awareness Week. Merleanne Rampale from SWALCO, James Kim from Vernon HIlls Park District, and Vytas Papedinskas of Save Our Soil LLC report on a pilot program that is helping communities utilize the regeneration properties of compost. John Bates from Field Museum Birds helps clear up some confusion regarding use of backyard bird feeders during the current avian influenza outbreak in the U.S.

animal welfare Birding Clean water Climate change Conservation Food justice Information from Past Shows

Sacrificing Birds for a Marketing Gimmick

February 19, 2022February 23, 2022 Mike Nowak Chicago Bird Collision Monitors, climate change, food justice, Harms Woods, light pollution, MWRD Commissioner Kim du Buclet, One Earth Film Festival, Peggy Malecki, Raj Patel, Skokie Carvana Tower, sustainability, The Ants & the Grasshopper, The Mike Nowak Show

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:04:25 — 58.5MB)

Mike and Peggy welcome back MWRD Commissioner Kim Neely du Buclet to talk about recent green infrastructure water projects and even ways to trace coronavirus in our water supply. Raj Patel, director of The Ants & the Grasshopper explains the food and social justice components of his film about climate change. Annette Prince from Chicago Bird Collision Monitors and Skokie resident Kim Polka report on their efforts to stop a potentially bird-killing Carvana Tower in that Chicago suburb.

Biology Clean water Climate change Composting Environment Gardening Native plants Plastics Recycling soil health

Can Backyard Composting Change the World?

February 5, 2022February 7, 2022 Mike Nowak backyard composting, climate change, environment, food waste, gardening, greenhouse gasses, Illinois Food Scrap Coalition, Peggy Malecki, soil health, sustainability, The Mike Nowak Show, University of Illinois Extension, zero waste

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:01:23 — 57.4MB)

We don’t know if backyard composting can change the world, but it’s a heck of a good start. Composting experts Amy Bartucci and Kate Caldwell walk you through how to set up your pile, bin or tumbler and explain why composting is such a good idea for everyone.

Hog CAFOs Threaten Quality of Life in Illinois

animal welfare Clean water Conservation Environment Environmental justice Factory farms Farming Information from Past Shows Water conservation

Hog CAFOs Threaten Quality of Rural Life

October 30, 2021November 2, 2021 Mike Nowak Chris Petersen, environment, hog CAFOs, Illinois chorus frog, Illinois Coalition for Clean Air & Water, Illinois Department of Agriculture, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Karen Hudson, Mahomet Aquifer, Peggy Malecki, Socially Responsible Agriculture Project, The Mike Nowak Show, water contamination

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:07:57 — 61.1MB)

Hog CAFOs in Illinois and other states continue to be a threat not only to the animals confined in them, but to the well-being of rural communities. In Illinois, one proposed factory farm could threaten Mahomet Aquifer, which provides water for at least 500,000 citizens in the center of the state. Members of the Socially Responsible Agriculture Project and Illinois Coalition for Clean Air & Water talk about the dangers of CAFOs and whether citizen action can stop them in their tracks.

Clean water Environment Environmental justice

Get Yer (Coal) Ash Out of the Vermillion River!

July 31, 2021August 2, 2021 Mike Nowak America's Most Endangered Rivers, American Rivers, Andrew Rehn, coal ash contamination, Earthjustice, Eco-Justice Collaborative, Jennfer Cassel, Middle Fork Vermillion River, Pam Richart, Peggy Malecki, Prairie Rivers Network, The Mike Nowak Show, water quality

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:02:15 — 58.4MB)

In a victory for clean water, Dynegy recently agreed to remove toxic coal ash from the floodplain of the Middle Fork of the Vermillion River in east central Illinois. Pam Richart from Eco-Justice Collaborative, Jenny Cassel of Earthjustice, and Andrew Rehn from Prairie Rivers Network explain how that happened only after years of work from a broad coalition of concerned groups and citizens.

Good Food - Andy Hazzard of Hazzard Free Farms

Clean energy Clean water Climate change Conservation Environment Environmental justice Gardening Information from Past Shows Local food soil health Water conservation

Local Food Is Getting Better In Illinois

July 24, 2021July 29, 2021 Mike Nowak Bob Benenson, Climate Action Plan for the Chicago Region, cottage food laws, Edith Makra, Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns, Illinois General Assembly, Illinois Stewardship Alliance, Local Food Forum, Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, Molly Gleason, National Farmers Market Week, Peggy Malecki, The Mike Nowak Show

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:04:25 — 59.4MB)

Where local food is concerned, it was a good spring session in the Illinois General Assembly in 2021. Molly Gleason from the Illinois Stewardship Alliance talks about the various local food and conservation programs that were passed by the Illinois General Assembly. Bob Benenson joins the conversation and promotes National Farmers Market Week. Edith Makra and Geneva, Illinois Mayor Kevin Burns from the Metropolitan Mayors Council discuss the roll out of the Climate Action Plan for the Chicago Region.

Climate Change - Lake Michigan (photo by Peggy Malecki)

Clean water Climate change Environment Water conservation

Climate Change and Chicago’s Water

July 17, 2021August 12, 2021 Mike Nowak Chicago River, clean water, climate change, drought, Justin Hart, Lake Michigan, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, MWRD Commissioner Debra Shore, Peggy Malecki, stormwater management, The Mike Nowak Show, urban flooding

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:04:26 — 60.0MB)

Commissioner Debra Shore of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago explains the connections involving climate change, extreme weather events and clean water. She and science and policy advisor Justin Hart talk about the ongoing battle to keep the water supply in Chicago safe as well as its historical back and forth battles with Lake Michigan and the swamp land on which it was established.