Lester Graham
Reporter, The Environment ReportLester Graham reports for The Environment Report. He has reported on public policy, politics, and issues regarding race and gender inequity. He was previously with The Environment Report at Michigan Public from 1998-2010.
He has been a journalist since 1985. Graham has served as a board member of the Public Radio News Directors Inc., and also served as President of the Illinois News Broadcasters Association. He is a member of the Radio-Television Digital News Association (RTDNA), Society of Professional Journalists and other professional groups.
Lester has received 15 first place national awards for journalism excellence and scores more at the national, regional, and state levels.
Contact Lester: graham@michiganradio.org
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Michigan and Ohio are both struggling to reduce the fertilizer runoff getting into Lake Erie which feeds cyanobacterial blooms, also called harmful algal blooms. Those toxic blooms can be hazardous to people and animals. Both states are working toward a 40% reduction goal set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Canada is working toward that same amount of reduction. So far, the efforts are not meeting the goals. -
Game managers say there are too many deer in parts of the state’s Lower Peninsula. The Michigan Natural Resources Commission has added days to the deer hunting season. -
Baby boomers are part of a "silver tsunami" of retirements sweeping across the nation's drinking water and wastewater systems. -
Enbridge wants to build a new 41-mile section of pipeline to take Line 5 around the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa reservation. Opponents want Line 5 shut down. -
The U.S. EPA announced four tribes in Michigan would receive grants to install renewable energy infrastructure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. -
Hotter days make heat exhaustion a greater hazard for kids. Hotter days also can mean more ozone pollution and that leads to lung impairments. Unusual weather events, particularly storms that cause flooding, add stress to children's lives. -
A University of Michigan study looked at data from more than 25,000 participants to see if long term exposure to air pollution had effects on elderly people's health. It found even those without chronic diseases from air pollution needed assistance from family or professionals for everyday living. -
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is using a couple of roving robots on tracks to sift through the sand on beaches, cleaning up debris. -
After legal challenges from environmental groups, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed to reconsider its decision to not protect the Kirtland's snake under the Endangered Species Act. -
Michigan has a pilot program to restore a large wetland area to reduce fertilizer runoff from getting into Lake Erie because it feeds toxic cyanobacterial blooms that spread in the western basin each year.
