If
you’ve spent time in or around Lake
Champlain lately, chances
are you’ve seen the blue-green algae turning the water thick and green and
uninviting. After all the flooding last year, which sent record amounts of
phosphorous into the lake, and a recent streak of hot weather, the blue-green
algae blooms have appeared earlier than normal this year, and have been more
widespread. They’ve also been cropping up in Lake Memphremagog and Lake Iroquois. We talk to Louis Porter, Lake Champlain Lakekeeper
at the Conservation Law Foundation, and Mary Watzin, dean of the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
at UVM, and a long-term researcher on Lake Champlain,
about the health of the lake, and what the blue-green algae blooms mean for the
surrounding environment, animals and humans.
Also
on the program, Olympic mountain biker Lea Davison. The Jericho resident will represent the United States in London at the Olympic Games. As Davidson prepares to leave
for Europe, we talk to her about the training, the competition
and the honor of being an Olympian.
And,
a collection of twenty curious wooden boxes have made appearances in a handful Vermont state parks this summer. Each box is a speaker with a
small solar panel mounted on top. Together, they create a meditative and
tranquil sound installation called Sun Boxes. Musician and artist Craig
Colorusso created Sun Boxes and has been installing them in public spaces around
the country.