From the Feb. 11, 2011, Environment Report, heard on Delta College Q-90.1 FM … 

1.

Proposed new federal air pollution rules could bring about 62,000 construction jobs to Michigan during the next five years.

That’s according to a University of Massachusetts study released at a national green jobs conference in Washington, D.C.

The study says $200 billion worth of investments to clean up and modernize power plants in the U.S. would create about 1.5 million jobs through 2015.

The report says those investments would create 62,346 construction, installation and professional jobs in Michigan.

On the flip side, about 137 operation and maintenance jobs would be lost in the state, if coal-fired power plants are closed after the new power plants go online.

2.

From now through April 2, universities across the country are competing in Recyclemania 2011.

In Michigan, participating schools include Central Michigan University and Saginaw Valley State University.

Campuses are competing to see which school can collect the largest amount of recyclables per capita, the largest amount of total recyclables, and produce the least amount of trash per capita.

SVSU is participating in the Waste Minimization category. Organizers plan to educate employees and students about ways to minimize waste, and work to recycle paper cups and pizza boxes used and sold in the food court.

At CMU, there are programs to sell or donate campus surplus property, work with vendors to reduce transportation packaging and offer reusable dinnerware and utensils in all sit-down dining facilities.

3.

Watch your head. Roofs are collapsing across the Midwest under the weight of all this snow.

The Saginaw Valley received about 10 inches of snow earlier this month.

A report by The Weather Channel cites roof collapses in Port Huron, Michigan, along with Indiana and other states.

A structural engineering professor at the University of New Hampshire recommends that homeowners who can safely remove snow from the ground with a roof rake do so regularly, and not let the snow build up.

Ice dams on your roof can be temporarily addressed by melting the ice with road salt or hot water, the professor says.

If ice damming is a recurring problem, you should have your roof inspected and modified to allow for better ventiliation.

— Photo of roof collapse from 2009. Credit Ryan McFarland, Flickr.