Echo
Kids’ Corner: Recycling
|
Echo asks elementary school kids about the importance of recycling.
Recycling experts add their perspective.
Michigan looks to expand potato production
|
Michigan has always been a good place to grow potatoes, and the traditional crop is expanding.The latest target may be the Northeastern Lower Peninsula, where suitable soil is available.
Water
App tackles water waste
|
A mobile app developed in Kenya and aimed at tackling water problems there could have applications elsewhere, including the water-rich Great Lakes region. The app, MajiRipoti, recently won the 2012 Nokia DoGood Hackathon competition. It allows users to report water theft and water and sewer pipe leakages to Kenya’s Water Service Providers. Its developer believes that similar citizen-based technologies will be useful in tackling water availability problems in other areas of the world, as well. “What prompted us to work on the application was the frequent water shortages we are experiencing in Kenya, as well as the major problem of burst water and sewer pipes,” said Douglas Injugu, head of operations at the Synacor Consortium, the company that developed the app.
Echo
Minnesota governor pushes for transit tax increase
|
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton hopes to double the Twin Cities metropolitan area transit tax to a half of a percent. It could raise hundreds of millions of dollars towards making it easier to get around the region.
Copper thieves hit farm irrigation systems
|
As the price of copper rises, thieves turn to farm irrigation systems. Irrigation systems have appealed to thieves for some time, authorities say. They’re often unprotected, in remote areas surrounded by few houses.
Echo
Acid test: Threat to oceans may also harm Great Lakes
|
As carbon levels increase from fossil fuel emissions, oceans and perhaps the Great Lakes become more acidic. That could affect freshwater ecology. Researchers want a bigger, better network of Great Lakes carbon sensors.
Current State: Michigan’s groundwater at risk
|
The Great Lakes’ record-low water levels are rightly receiving all of the attention now, but evidence is growing that Michigan’s fragile groundwater resources are quietly becoming a concern for the future. Robert Glennon, professor of law and public policy at the University of Arizona and author of “Unquenchable: America’s Water Crisis and What to do About It,” knows Michigan well and shares his insights. Echo has reported on the consequences of drought on Great Lakes groundwater – which can also be seen on this map – and the challenge of measuring its effects. The need for better groundwater conservation continues to be a widely overlooked issue facing the Basin.
Echo
A pay-to-drive tax may be far down the road in Michigan
|
As vehicles become more efficient, gas tax rates have remained the same and no longer provide enough money to pay for building and upkeeping roads and bridges. Tracking how much a vehicle drives may be an answer — but only way down the road.
Nearshore
Mr. Great Lakes: Beach butts and renewable energy
|
Mr. Great Lakes (Jeff Kart) reports from Bay City, Michigan’s Delta College Q-90.1 FM.
This week Kart discusses renewable energy investments and the trash count from the Adopt-a-Beach Great Lakes cleanup program. Text at Mr Great Lakes
Echo
Where’s the Concern? Week Five
|
Each week, Great Lakes Echo features a photo story about a different Area of Concern designated by the U.S. or Canadian governments in the Great Lakes basin.
Guess where the area is located, based on the description of the site.