By Alice Rossignol
Nov. 13, 2009
There are few places where a government agency lines up for a permit just like everybody else.
One of them is at the Lower Wisconsin Riverway Board. Founded in 1989, the board is made up of Wisconsin citizens who enforce a series of aesthetic regulations along 92 miles of the Wisconsin River and nearly 80,000 acres of land.
“The uniqueness to having a citizen board is that it represents the people who live in the area. It’s one of the most unique systems in the country,” said Don …
By Brian Laskowski and Agnieszka Spieszny
Detroit Workers for Environmental Justice runs a green-jobs training program for low-income or unemployed Detroiters, some of whom formerly worked for the auto industry.
Kinnus Paul said his organization boasts a 100 percent job placement mostly in hands-on clean-up work.
“You have to clean up before you green up” is the agency’s motto, the job developer jokes. Jobs include hazardous waste clean up, lead and asbestos abatement, weatherization installation.
But while Paul knows a green job when he sees one, government agencies tracking an activity they hope fuels …
Cast your vote: Should Andy hunt?
By Andy McGlashen
Nov. 10, 2009
Last week I watched the great John Huston film The Misfits, and there’s a scene I can’t get out of my head. Clark Gable, Eli Wallach and Montgomery Clift have taken Marilyn Monroe with them on a “mustanging” trip into some Nevada mountains.
Monroe goes into hysterics when she learns that the men aren’t wrangling wild horses so birthday girls can lope around on them – they’re to be slaughtered for dog food. “Honey, a kind man can kill,” Gable says, as …
By Jeff Gillies
Nov. 9, 2009
What do cologne and Indiana’s great blue herons have in common?
They both contain chemicals that are increasingly worrisome to Great Lakes officials.
A list of contaminants of emerging concern includes synthetic musks and perfluorinated compounds, or PFCs. Musks are a key ingredient of perfume. PFCs have had a bevy of industrial uses including fire-fighting foams and stain-resistant Scotchgard.
Editors note: Welcome to Echo’s first Monday Mashup. Each week we’ll feature an information and geography mashup relevant to the Great Lakes. Readers can nominate mashups they’ve seen elsewhere or create their own. Got a good one? Contact Monday Mashup editor Rachael Gleason at greatlakesecho@gmail.com
By Rachael Gleason
Nov. 9, 2009
Pleasant Weather combines a Google map with real-time camera shots of weather in more than 400 locations around the Great Lakes in the U.S. and Canada. Click on the icons at places like Gurnee, Ill., to find out if it’s raining …
By Steve Davy
Nov. 6, 2009
Despite the global nature of modern industries there has never been a study measuring the impact of climate change across an industry.
Until now.
The National Science Foundation recently awarded a $1.5 million grant to an international research team to study climate change and the tart cherry industry.
Midwest officials are lobbying for high-speed trains similar to this one in Korea. Photo: LWY
By Emma Ogutu and Rachael Gleason
Nov. 5, 2009
High-speed rail advocates expect a Midwest network to cut air emissions and boost the economy.
The federal government is allocating $8 billion in economic stimulus funds for faster passenger train systems. Many states have recently submitted proposals .
The Midwest network, which would connect cities in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin, will likely see a cut of the money as federal criteria supports multi-state projects.
Click each park to see its threats. View Great Lakes Parks in Peril in a larger map
By Haley Walker and Yang Zhang
Nov. 4, 2009
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is among U.S. national parks most vulnerable to climate change, according to a recent report.
The park on the southern end of Lake Michigan faces an increase in flooding, overcrowding and air pollution and a loss of wildlife, plants and fish.
Other parks in the Great Lakes region are also at risk of these effects.
Climate change is the greatest threat to U.S. national parks, according …
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