A New Paradigm: How climate change is shaping mental landscapes in the Great Lakes
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By Mia Litzenberg
In a weekly Good Grief Network session held on July 25, time and space were created for participants to reflect on their feelings of uncertainty in an unstable environment over Zoom. Trained facilitators kept time for each participant to speak while the other participants bore witness as listeners. The overarching rule was no cross-talk, which means not directly responding or referring to what a person shared. The session began with a grounding exercise, where participants closed their eyes and imagined themselves in a safe space in nature.
Wildlife
Michigan is part of multi-state effort to track chronic wasting disease
By Elinor Epperson
Researchers at Cornell University are studying whether machine learning can help states and tribes predict the spread of a dangerous disease plaguing North American deer. A recent study done in partnership with Michigan State University showed that machine learning could calculate where chronic wasting disease will spread at the county level. That information will help state and tribal agencies address a problem much larger than their individual jurisdictions, said Mitch Marcus, the wildlife health supervisor at the state Department of Natural Resources.
Land
Illegal dumping nets probation sentence in Ohio fish kill
By Eric Freedman
A federal judge has sentenced an Ohio business owner to one year on probation and a $5,000 fine for illegally dumping a hazardous ammonia-containing substance into the Scioto River near Kenton. The crime killed more than 40,000 fish. U.S. Magistrate Judge Darrell Clay also ordered Mark Shepherd, 72, to perform 150 hours of community service and pay $22,509 to the Ohio Division of Wildlife for violating the Clean Water Act.
Nearshore
Great Lakes beach closings are no protection from harmful pollutants
By Amalia Medina
A green flag flying on a Great Lakes beach does not necessarily mean it’s safe to swim. Checking beach monitoring websites like BeachGuard is not a surefire solution either. These two findings are central to a public health research project, the Great Lakes Microbial Water Quality Assessment, that set out to measure microbial and chemical threats in Great Lakes waters, and how to reduce the number of illnesses they cause each year.