By Jeff Gillies, Kimberly Hirai and Shawntina Phillips
Jan. 19, 2010
Editors note: This is part one of a three-day series on the environmental implications of GM’s bankruptcy.
The money set aside to clean up pollution at 120 sites a bankrupt General Motors left across the country may be enough to address the sites in only two states, according to court records.

When an industrial giant like General Motors goes bankrupt, who pays to clean up its toxic legacy?

Jan. 19, 2010
GM bankruptcy could shortchange pollution cleanups: The money set aside to clean up pollution at 120 sites a bankrupt General Motors left across the country may be enough to address the sites in only two states, according to court records.

Jan. 20, 2010
Sites GM helped pollute no longer get cleanup dollars from the bankrupt automaker: The bankrupt shell of General Motors could dodge environmental cleanup costs for dozens of properties that the …

By Rachael Gleason
The Edmund Fitzgerald, one of the largest Great Lakes ships in its time, met the bottom of Lake Superior more than 30 years ago. What if the famous freighter had kept sinking?
A mashup called Earth Sandwich shows the ship would have surfaced on the other side of the world — more than a 1,000 miles off the coast of the Western Australia. Click the image and you can see exactly where.

Public pools are recreational havens. But hey can also be health hazards. The most common safety risk associated with swimming is usually drowning. Few people think of water quality. Join the Great Lakes Echo in a series to answer: What’s in the pool?
Day 1 — What’s in the water: How the quality of the water in your pool affects your health.

Day 2: — The people running your pool: Michigan is one of 21 states not requiring certification for pool operators

Vote: Should pool operator certification be required?

By Haley Walker, Alice Rossignol and Emma Ogutu
Maintaining a pool to be healthy and safe is not easy.
And Kevin Hoard would know.
As a certified pool operator at Michigan State University, he’s had 70 hours of official pool maintenance training.
“It updates us on the current codes, concerns and disease prevention,” Hoard said. “It makes sure we’re in compliance with the law.”

Jan. 9, 2010
Here are the five most clicked-on-by-unique-readers stories reported by Echo journalists in 2009:
5. Study projects steep Great Lakes water level drop if greenhouse gases go unchecked
4.  Alewives: The trouble they cause and the salmon that love them
3. Great Lakes bats threatened by mysterious disease
2. Alewives: Should Great Lakes managers kill ‘em or keep ‘em?
1. Michigan, Illinois, New York consider alternative energy incentives

Jan. 8, 2010
Who knows what accounts for a story’s popularity? Here at Echo we like to think that it has something to do with aggressive reporting and fine writing. But any number of factors contribute to whether one story rockets across the Internet more than another. You can go pretty nuts trying to predict which will go viral. Just ask us.
Here are five of the 10 most clicked-on-by-unique-readers stories reported by Echo journalists in 2009:
10. EPA plans to cap cement plant mercury emissions; Industry says limit will push production, pollution …

Jan. 7, 2010
Story: Mining limits proposed, opposed in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
Comment: “Did he really just compare current mining practices to “Rome 2000 years ago”
Story: Researchers study environmental impact of free-range pig production.
Comment: “…While the benefits to the land from having swine aerate the soil are real (and the damage to the surrounding environment from CAFOs is a serious concern), flash grazing also makes sense in terms of animal welfare. As I tell people, these pigs are smarter than many of my relatives, so I want them to have as good …

Jan. 6, 2010
More of our favorite reader comments from 2009
Story: Top Great Lakes trips
Comment: Depends on what you mean by ‘adventure.’ To some that may mean a cold six pack of beer and a lawn chair on Lake Michigan’s beach at sundown in August. To each his own…
Story: For Great Lakes mudpuppies in decline, new Canadian research is a bright spot
Comment: From one mudpuppy to another, thanks for this story.
Story: Find your Great Lakes match
Comment: Lake Huron, I agree pretty much with my results. Growing up a twin I was …

Jan. 5, 2010
A sampling of comments Echo staff enjoyed in 2009:
Story: New Great Lakes quiz
Comment: “My ex is definitely an Asian carp. He’s huge, gross-looking, and he frequently pops up when I least expect him to. I wish there was an electric fence to keep him away from Michigan.”
Story: The bed bugs bit but they won’t spread disease, report says
Comment: “They ARE awful, Thanks to my mother-in-law giving us an infested bedframe, now our whole house is infested. We’ve tried most of the cheaper remedies to no avail, they come …