Great Lakes Echo - Environmental news across the basin

The Great Lakes, as seen from the International Space Station. Photo by Chris Hadfield, courtesy of NASA.

Great Lakes restoration produces results

By: Guest Columnist | 15 hours ago

Great Lakes advocate sees substantive return on federal investment in restoration.

Planted acres increase in region; warming climate among reasons

It allows for earlier and longer growing season.

Winged Wednesday: A Great Lakes summer bird guide

A crested caracara walks on the sand in Costa Rica. Though these birds are naive to southern Mexico and South America, a crested caracara was spotted in Wisconsin in May. Photo: Joseph C. Boone

Today Echo kicks off a weekly series on birds of the Great Lakes region.

State parks examine role in solving obesity

Food options in a vending machine at Pinckney State Recreation Area. Image: Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems.

Survey indicates few healthy food choices and campers’ desire for more.

More Headlines

Judge OKs settlement with Illinois resin manufacturer

Misguided priorities, contradictions and benign neglect plague water management

Michigan lawmakers launch bipartisan search for energy freedom

More than 42 percent of Michigan potential voters think the state should dramatically reduce its reliance on electricity generated from coal over the next 25 years as technology improves and costs decrease for other sources, according to a recent poll by Public Sector Consultants. But only 13 percent favor a dramatic drop in coal-produced electricity over the next 10 years, even if it means electricity rates were to increase, according to the poll of 600 likely voters done by the Lansing public policy company and Denno Research.

Nearshore

Poll: A fifth of Michigan residents not Great Lakes wet yet

Michigan residents may live in a basin containing nearly 20 percent of the world’s freshwater, but more than 21 percent failed to boat, swim or wade in a Great Lake in the past five years, according to a recent poll conducted by Lansing-based Public Sector Consultants. Here’s what else the poll revealed: Only 13.5 percent of Michigan potential voters went to every lake during the past five years.

Wildlife

Photo Friday: An emerald on the beach

Note: This image and explanation is by David Marvin. Kennedy’s emerald dragonflies (Somatochlora kennedyi) tend to be fairly shy dragonflies when it comes to being photographed.

Art

Another 1,000 miles of adventure

Battle Creek resident and Michigan native Loreen Nienwenhuis is in the middle of a third 1,000 miler within the Great Lakes basin.

Law

Towns can ban fracking, New York’s top court rules

Local governments in New York can use their zoning ordinances to ban drilling for oil and gas, including fracking, the state’s highest court has ruled. By a 5-2 vote, the New York Court of Appeals rejected energy industry arguments that only the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has legislative authority to regulate fracking.

Water quality

Michigan’s Deer Lake could be taken off polluted hot spot list

Deer Lake in Ishpeming, Mich., classified as a major international toxic hot spot since 1987, may get a clean bill of health this year after decades of costly cleanup. The Upper Peninsula's Marquette County lake was contaminated with mercury from nearby mines.

Recreation

Pennsylvania ban on Sunday hunting upheld

Pennsylvania’s ban on most Sunday hunting doesn’t violate the U.S. Constitution, a federal judge has ruled in a suit against the state Game Commission. There is no constitutional right to hunt, U.S. District Judge Yvette Kane said, finding that the restriction doesn’t violate the Second Amendment right to bear arms or reflect favored treatment to religions for which Sunday has special meaning.

Climate

Can curbing carbon build the economy?

Analysis When President Obama announced a proposed rule to reduce power plant emissions that contribute substantially to climate change, predictable objections from Republicans came fast and furious – job destroyer, too expensive, unnecessary, presidential power grab – even that there is no such thing as human-induced climate change. The traditional utility industry raised its objections based on practicality and cost.

Invaders

Great Lakes exports mussels, advice and reporter to Texas

Clean, drain, dry is common advice among the Great Lakes boating community. Now it's delivered with a southern drawl.

Farm

Back to the farm

Memoir explores pursuit of agrarian dream by Great Lakes Echo A new memoir from the MSU Press looks at what happens when a professional couple decides to get in touch with their agrarian dream of life in the country. Richard Gilbert teaches writing at Otterbein College in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio.

Drones

Upending the basin: Can Fotokite ease drone drama for journalists?

Simple solutions to complex problems are best. And I think I may have stumbled over one relevant to experimental journalism.

Waste

Michigan’s recycling rate is lousy – and people know it

Most potential Michigan voters are well aware of the state's less than stellar recycling rate, according to a poll released today by Lansing-based Public Sector Consultants. The national average for recycling is about 35 percent, the public policy research firm reports.

About/Contact

Follow us: Facebook, Twitter, RSS, Email

Catch of the Day

Photo Friday: An emerald on the beach

Note: This image and explanation is by David Marvin. Kennedy’s emerald dragonflies (Somatochlora kennedyi) tend to be fairly shy dragonflies when it comes to being photographed.

Month in review: Detroit water shut-offs, carp and pipelines

At the end of each month we check in with Echo commentator and journalist Gary Wilson for updates on environmental stories from around the basin. For today’s Great Lakes Month in Review, Gary discusses Detroit water shutoffs and the latest legal news on the Asian Carp situation.

Photo Friday

Photo Friday: Shipboard education

BaySail in Bay City, Mich., is a 15-year-old non profit organization that teaches students through scientific observations and measurements of weather, water quality, aquatic life, and human impact on the environment, says Scott Ellis, the Lake Huron organization's communications manager. Lessons on board the tall ship Appledore IV encourage collaboration with peers and experts.

Commentary

Business and water policy: A troubling brew

Commentary On Wall Street when you’ve got a hot stock everyone wants a piece of the action. Does the same mentality apply to water and the Great Lakes?

Upending the basin: Making data dance

Last week I covered the release of an animated model of an oil spill in the Straits of Mackinac. The greatest question it prompted in my mind: Why didn’t we do that?

Current State podcasts

Mosquitoes triple

If you live in Michigan it seems like every summer is a time to complain about the mosquitoes being really bad this year, but how bad are they, really? Current State talked with Ned Walker about this year’s mosquito crop and some of the issues connected to mosquito-borne illness.

Special reports

From elsewhere

Pavlov hosts town hall to oppose Canadian nuclear waste dump on Lake Huron
Michigan State Sen. Phil Pavlov sponsored a town hall meeting in Port Huron, Mich. to encourage citi […]
Asian carp private members' bill to be tabled by Brian Masse
Windsor West NDP MP and border critic Brian Masse will table a private members' bill designed t […]
EDITORIAL: Protecting Lake Erie from Asian carp extends to Muskingum and other rivers
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources champions an aggressive, proactive strategy to protect Lake […]
COMMENTARY: Great Lakes restoration produces results
Great Lakes restoration efforts are producing results in communities across the region, and we expec […]
Repairs underway on Port Washington's breakwater wall
Ozaukee County's only breakwater wall is crumbling into Lake Michigan and repairs are being mad […]

Great Lakes Echo - Environmental news of the Great Lakes region