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Great Lakes Echo - Environmental news of the Great Lakes region

Great Lakes Echo (http://greatlakesecho.org/)

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Fifty-year-old pollution law is proof that we can address other wicked challenges

By Guest Contributor | 7 hours ago

The Clean Water Act provides us with 50 years of useful imperfection. We should apply it’s lessons to the environmental challenges facing us today – and perhaps be a less patient as we chase perfect solutions.

Echo

Finding home in our own bodies can rekindle connection to nature

For decades, people have largely ignored the Earth’s decay, treating climate change as a problem that can be postponed. Ranae Lenor Hanson, a retired professor and activist, rejects that fallacy and defends the Earth, its waters and all its creatures in her book Watershed: Attending to a Body and Earth in Distress.

Homepage Featured

Largest tally of snakebites in Michigan

Michigan’s only venomous snake, the eastern massasauga rattlesnake, has been suspected or proven responsible for at least 75 bites reported in the state from 2003 through 2020, according to the most comprehensive tally ever of such incidents.

Great Lakes

Water test: a long history and hopeful future of human impact on Great Lakes ecology

The Lake Michigan and Lake Huron waters governed by an 1836 treaty are at the heart of negotiations between Michigan, the federal government and Native American tribes to determine how much and what kinds of fish can be harvested. Much has changed since the treaty was signed in 1836, notably because of invasive mussels. But human activity changed the lakes long before then. 

More Headlines

Water test: One fish, two fish – where are all the whitefish?
Water test: Where biology meets geometry in the Great Lakes
Water test: quagga mussels hijack key Great Lakes nutrient

Climate

  • Climate change increases milk production: TikTok edition

    In our newest TikTok, Echo reporter Shelby Frink discusses the results of a recent study published in Agricultural and Resources Economic Review that explores how climate change impacts milk and feed production.

  • More climate

Water quality

  • Watershed groups fight decades-old pollution

    Michigan watersheds are still wracked with pollution from decades ago, along with new runoff. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s MI Healthy Climate Plan would make preserving land and water a statewide priority. 

  • More water quality

Invaders

  • Threats to the native berries amongst us

    A century after National Geographic published its article on berries, Michigan is witnessing some changes due to climate change and invasive species.

  • More invaders

Wildlife

  • Water test: Rending the Great Lakes food web

    The food web in lakes Michigan and Huron has changed in ways that jeopardize age-old fishing traditions and raise questions about how we’ve managed them. Now negotiators are updating a legal settlement that spells out where and how much lake whitefish and lake trout can be harvested. 

  • More wildlife

Energy

  • Nuclear power concerns outlast decommissioning

    As Michigan and other states gradually move away from coal and other brown energy sources, there’s growing interest in carbon-free alternatives, including nuclear energy, which some advocates call a “clean alternative” that now fuels 30% of Michigan’s total electricity. With Palisades and other plants in the Great Lakes region scheduled to shut down in the coming decades, more people are considering the long-term impacts of this energy source.

  • More energy

Art

  • Spooky lakes and beach trash: How a Wisconsin teacher and artist gained 1.3 million TikTok followers

    Geo Rutherford is a self-described Great Lakes enthusiast that built a large following—the same number that the Washington Post has—by making educational TikTok videos about the Great Lakes and other lakes around the world.

  • More art

Law

  • Proposed hotline aimed at bottle bill fraud

    Some Michigan lawmakers and environmental advocates want to create a hotline to stop retailers from fraudulently cashing in on the state’s beverage container deposit law.

  • More law

Nearshore

  • More beach, boat access planned from coastal grants

    Coastal restoration efforts are underway across the state as recipients of the Michigan Coastal Management Program grants begin work locally. Seventeen awards totaling more than $1.1 million will fund projects and initiatives to protect, preserve and enhance the state’s coastal resources.

  • More nearshore

Urban

  • Urban ecology is in the hands of Minnesota citizens

    Since 2019, just over a dozen inner-city families in the heart of Minneapolis have cared for small prairies full of native plants in the boulevard strips adjacent to their homes. The project is aimed at  increasing urban biodiversity. It is called City Backyard Science and is funded by the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment.

  • More urban

Farm

  • Conservation program partnership targets farms in three Michigan watersheds

    The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) was reinstated earlier this year and reimburses farmers for following proper conservation practices. To be eligible for the program, land must have a cropping history, or planting history, of four out of six years between 2012-17 and have been owned at least one year prior to applying.

  • More farm

Waste

  • Supply chain slowdown could boost demand for recycled materials: TikTok edition

    In our newest TikTok, Echo reporter Danielle James discusses how the pandemic's impact on supply chains could help the recycling industry bring in new business.

  • More waste

Recreation

  • Deer kill count moves online

    Starting this year, hunters in Michigan will have to report their deer harvest online. Wildlife officials presented the plan to the state Natural Resources Commission and said online reporting will provide more accurate information about what kinds of deer are being taken and provide it more quickly.

  • More recreation

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Climate Stories

Catch of the Day

  • Water test: Rending the Great Lakes food web

    The food web in lakes Michigan and Huron has changed in ways that jeopardize age-old fishing traditions and raise questions about how we’ve managed them. Now negotiators are updating a legal settlement that spells out where and how much lake whitefish and lake trout can be harvested. 

  • More Catch of the Day

COVID-19

  • Communities welcome return of winter festivals

    By Sammy Schuck Most people may know that festivals attract people to Michigan communities. What most may not know is that festivals and events in the state are an annual $1 billion industry, according to Michigan Festivals and Events Association CEO Mike Szukhent. According to Szukhent, the lack of winter festivals last year “hit hard.” […]

  • More COVID-19 stories

Podcasts

  • ‘Adopt-a-Forest’ program encourages citizens to clean up public land

    The Adopt-a-Forest program is volunteer-driven and helps people engage with the outdoors and encourages them to keep public lands clean, the state Department of Natural Resources says.

  • More podcasts

Photo Friday

  • NASA astronaut captures Belle Isle image from space

    The Detroit River is one of the most important waterways in the Great Lakes system, according to NASA’s post.

  • More Photo Friday

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Email: GreatLakesEcho@gmail.com
Editor: David Poulson
Phone: 517 432 5417
Email: poulsondavid@gmail.com

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