Great Lakes Echo (http://greatlakesecho.org/2012/05/page/2/)
The only federally-protected underwater sanctuary on the Great Lakes could increase 10-fold to more than 4,000 square miles.
The expansion includes waters adjacent to Alcona and Presque Isle counties in the northeast of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.
A non-profit conservation group recently launched a first-of-its-kind tool for measuring the environmental impact of Michigan Supreme Court decisions. Green Gavels uses red, yellow and green gavels to illustrate the negative, neutral or positive conservation impact of each environmental case that reaches the Michigan Supreme Court. The group heading the project, Michigan League of Conservation Voters, also rates each justice’s decision in each case. People can see if a specific justice’s voting patterns has a negative or positive environmental impact overall. “Our mission is to provide the information necessary for citizens to hold officials accountable,” said Drew YoungeDyke, the league’s policy and communications specialist.
Here’s a milestone for the Chicago River: It’s no longer on a list of the most endangered rivers in the nation. American Rivers each year reports on what the river advocacy group believes are the most endangered. It’s a call for action to save rivers facing critical tipping point. The Chicago River was on the list for almost two decades, mostly because the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District spewed bacteria-filled sewage without disinfecting it. For years the EPA and local environmental groups pushed city authorities to apply clean up technology since the water is widely used.
Success means reducing waste and dumping fees while creating a new revenue stream.
The research is also spurred by consumers who value alternatives to petroleum-based building blocks of other products.
Federal officials are studying how to help Great Lakes communities better prepare for hazardous floods. “It will be the most comprehensive study ever conducted of shoreline flooding,” said Ken Hinterlong, a senior engineer with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. So far, only “…the first phase of the project is done, which is a basin-wide data collection for Lake Michigan and Lake St. Clair.”
The study began in 2009. The agency is holding technical workshops for scientists and informational meetings for the public throughout 2012, to share data collected for Lake Michigan, Lake Erie and Lake St.
This week Echo reporters asked the public and an expert what percent of the world’s water is drinkable.
Make your own guess before you launch this brief video.
The White House’s recently accelerated a plan to permanently protect the Great Lakes from Asian carp. But many environmentalists are less than impressed.
Many years ago I wrote a news story about a group of divers hired to vacuum a chemical spill from the bottom of the St. Clair River. It was dangerous work. The current was fast and they had to remove insoluble contaminants skittering around in depressions and mapped out with a rope grid. The divers were an interesting bunch.
What’s the best way to deliver environmental education?
Try getting students out of the classroom.
