Archive for August 2010
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 …
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.
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 …
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.



