Archive for August 2010

Aug 31 2010 | | 4 Comments
refuge

A 1985 revamp of the plan to restore lake trout in Lake Michigan focused stocking on two relatively shallow, rocky sections of Lake Michigan where fishing for the species was banned.

Aug 30 2010 | | No Comments
LakeRim Map

An interactive map from the Indiana Geological Survey shows a string of scenic beaches and natural areas along Indiana’s Great Lakes shoreline.

Aug 27 2010 | | No Comments
LIDAR

Planes outfitted with lasers have been probing the depths of Lake Superior for the past two months.
Their mission? Measure lake bottom elevations along the coast using a laser surveying technique called LIDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging.
The process is similar to how bats and dolphins use sound waves to judge distances. The planes shoot lasers into the water and measure how long it takes for the pulses to hit lake bottom and return; time indicates water depth.
It’s difficult for research vessels to navigate shallow waters to measure depths along the …

Aug 26 2010 | | 5 Comments
-2

Great Lakes states placed in the bottom two-thirds of 30 states ranked recently by their 2009 beach water quality by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Aug 24 2010 | | One Comment
Northland College is working to have LEED certification is all of its campus buildings. Photo: Northland College

Sierra Magazine recently ranked the nation’s greenest colleges. The Sierra Club’s publication asked 900 schools about their global warming and sustainability initiatives.

Aug 23 2010 | | No Comments
Lake Superior Water Trail_WI

If you unraveled the shoreline of the Great Lakes, it would just fall short of stretching half way around the Earth. The region has more than 10,000 miles of coast, and a good portion is open to the public for recreation.

Many states have interactive maps that display water trails — water routes for boaters and paddlers — and provide information about beach access and amenities.

Aug 20 2010 | | No Comments
Storms in 2008 flooded Wisconsin's Lake Delton and destroyed homes. Storms this year closed Milwaukee streets and flooded basements. Climatologits say climate change could make these storms more intense and frequent. Photo: U.S. Air Force.

Mike Nichols doesn’t take a position on global climate change. He just writes newspaper editorials downplaying its effects.
Nichols, a senior fellow with the free-market think tank Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, took exception in a recent column to the term “climate chaos,” which has gotten a lot of media play as floods drown Pakistan and a heat wave bakes Russia.
In a recent article in the New York Times, reporter Justin Gillis describes the connection between chaotic weather and greenhouse gasses:
“Theory suggests that a world warming up because of those gases will …

Aug 16 2010 | | No Comments
Explore federal data on chemical releases and contamination using ToxMap, an interactive map by the world's largest medical library.

The world’s largest medical library mapped Environmental Protection Agency data on toxic releases and Superfund sites to illustrate their impact on public health.

Roughly 7,400 industrial facilities in the Great Lakes region reported the release of toxic chemicals in 2008, according to EPA data.

Aug 13 2010 | | No Comments
Sewer overflows like this one in Milwaukee contributed to dozens of billions gallons of polluted water dumped into the Great Lakes in 2009. Photo: Wisconsin DNR

U.S. cities are dumping a Niagara of sewage into the Great Lakes.

A recent report recommends sewer upgrades to avoid beach closures and drinking water threats.

Such improvements are not eligible for a recent influx of federal clean up dollars so a coalition of environmental groups is urging a boost in low-interest sewer construction loans.

Aug 12 2010 | | One Comment
snakehead

Mistaken identity.

Snakeheads, a scary looking potential Great Lakes invader, apparently have not yet been discovered within the system.