Green Options

A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee samples river water for endocrine disrupting pollutants.

Study results publicized this week suggest Twin Cities water resources and the Mississippi River downstream from the Cities are suffering from pollution by road salt and endocrine disrupting chemicals.

The results are from U.S. Geological Survey analysis of watersheds around the U.S. The road salt results indicate chloride levels that may imperil aquatic life in creeks and rivers in the Twin Cities. A study by the University of Minnesota released last winter found that about 70% of the salt applied to roads in the area remained in the Mississippi River and tributaries. Nearly 350,000 tons of road salt are applied for de-icing in the Twin Cities metropolitan area annually.

The U.S.G.S. also reported that 73% of male smallmouth bass sampled in the Mississippi River near Lake City, Minnesota have characteristics of both genders, which researchers believe may be the result of exposure to endocrine-disrupting compounds in wastewater.

With the flick of a switch, the first ever commercial-scale hydrokinetic power plant in the U.S. officially commenced operation in the Mississippi River yesterday.  The hydrokinetic turbines, manufactured by Hydro Green Energy LLC, are located below an existing hydropower plant at Hastings, Minnesota.  The initial turbine has a capacity of 100KW.  When fully operational, the new facility will have a capacity of 250KW, adding more than 5.7% of sustainable energy generation without the need to expand the existing dam or build a new one.

You want music with a message? Then you’ve got to — if you haven’t yet — check out the works of Tab Benoit.

A Louisianan through and through (born in Baton Rouge, reared in Houma), Benoit is not only a wonderful Southern Cajun/blues musician, but an outspoken and active environmentalist. His primary cause: protecting and restoring the wetlands of the Gulf Coast … something that would not only help native wildlife but the people of coastal Louisiana (and the overall climate) as well.