Echo
New York professor, pollution institute study plastic in the Great Lakes from on board sailing vessel
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Although the water looks clean, a New York professor said she knows plastic pollutes the Great Lakes.
Echo
Keep the undead out of your drinking water
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Contaminated water is a serious problem. And so are zombies. So you know what’s a really serious problem? A zombie in your well. There’s no Brita filter for that.
Echo
Michigan passes PBB health study on to Emory University
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Due to lack of funds and resources, the Michigan Long Term PBB Study is passed off to Emory University, where research has already uncovered some long-term health problems.
Climate
Mild winter helps Upper Peninsula deer find food, avoid predators
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Michigan’s mild winter could mean more deer in the Upper Peninsula this year. Experts say unusually warm weather could make more food sources available.
Echo
Mercury in newborns likely from mothers eating contaminated fish
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Fetuses, newborns and infants are most at risk for mercury exposure, and a sampling of newborns in the Lake Superior basin showed 8 percent of them testing above safe levels. The study, conducted by the Minnesota Department of Health from 2008 to 2010, tested 1,465 newborns living in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota for mercury. The 8 percent testing above safe levels had methylmercury in them, the kind from fish. Even small amounts of mercury can hurt infants’ developing brain and nervous system. Babies born in warm months were more likely to have higher levels, which, when coupled with the methymercury findings, suggest that fish consumption is the culprit.
Echo
Proposed changes to Lake Ontario water levels would help wetlands, hurt homeowners
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The IJC recommends increased water level fluctuation on Lake Ontario to spur wetland health.
Echo
No Impact project inspires sustainable living
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Imagine if you could cause no environmental impact. I’m not talking about recycling a few bottles here and there. I’m talking about no transportation, no plastic, no trash, no meat, no new things, no take-out food and no electricity. Colin Beavan imagined what it would be like as well, and along with his wife Michelle and 3-year-old daughter, Isabella, he turned it into reality. In the 2009 documentary “No Impact Man,” Beavan and his family lived a “no impact” lifestyle in New York City for a year.
Of Asian carp, water privatization and media metrics… what’s an editor to do?
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Carp catch readers’ attention. But at what cost? Do such stories drown out the less flashy yet important Great Lakes stories?
Echo
Occupy Planets: Environmental Footprints and Sustainability
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There are 7 billion people in the world. In the past dozen years the Earth’s population has grown by about 1 billion. If all 7 billion lived like the average United States resident, how many planets do you think we’d need? I asked that question of 10 classmates at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich. Most said their environmental footprint would be about average.