(IL) Chicago Tribune – Environmental groups are raising concerns about the restoration of Miller Meadow, contending that the site poses hazards to visitors and the environment.

(NY) The New York Times – Why, after decades of battling, complaining and maneuvering over fuel economy standards, did carmakers fall in line behind the tough new nationwide mileage standard President Obama announced Tuesday?

(MI) Detroit Free Press – A group of 178 Michigan scientists from 11 universities have signed a letter backing legislation that would set up a national cap and trade system to curb greenhouse gases.

(MI) Detroit Free Press – Adam Rhein trudged through a murky branch of Stoney Creek in Washington Township in chest-high rubber waders on Tuesday and lowered a long net into the gentle water.

(ON) The Toronto Star – A magnetic formation running deep beneath Toronto might explain why songbirds head straight here on their spring migration.

(MI) Detroit Free Press – Ever wondered what it takes to open up a park, ever wondered why close a park? Well, Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior, which is 70 miles from its mainland headquarters in Houghton, is closed to visitors from Nov. 1 to May 1 every year.

(MN) Duluth News Tribune – In 2005, a coalition of Midwestern corn growers, giant agribusinesses, environmental groups and politicians anxious to assuage public concern over dependence on foreign oil joined together to mandate the addition of ever increasing amounts of ethanol to our gasoline.

By Jeff Gillies, gilliesj@msu.edu
Great Lakes Echo
May 19, 2009
In the alphabet soup of Great Lakes contaminants, PCBs, PCDDs and PBDEs usually rule the broth.
But in a recent study, Canadian scientists took a closer look at another noodle.
They examined a group of seldom-studied, dioxin-like contaminants called polychlorinated naphthalenes, or PCNs. These chemicals can have toxic effects including chloracne and liver damage.
And although industry abandoned their use 30 years ago, the researchers still found the chemicals in lake trout collected from Lake Ontario from 1979 and 2004.

(MI) The Detroit News – Federal officials dealt a setback to opponents of a proposed nickel mine in the Upper Peninsula Monday by declining to place a trout species that spawns in the area on the endangered species list.

(NY) The New York Times – President Barack Obama wants drivers to go farther on a gallon of gas and cause less damage to the environment — and be willing to pick up the tab.