Jeff Gillies

IJC study: Lake level lament

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This summer, Echo ran a five-part series on a controversial study of a possibly human-driven drop in Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. The $3.6 million, International Joint Commission-funded study started in 2004 and a final report of the results  came in Dec., 2009. The study looked at erosion in the St. Clair River, which runs between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. The researchers found that the “head difference” between the two lakes — that’s a measure of how high the Lake Huron surface is above the Lake Erie surface — has dropped 9 inches since 1963.

Wildlife

Chemical carp control considered at Chicago

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By Shawntina Phillips
phill465@msu.edu
Oct. 13, 2009

State and federal officials are considering a fish poison as a way of pushing back a front of hungry carp that are advancing toward the Great Lakes. Recent DNA testing indicates that Asian carp are now within a mile of an electric barrier  designed to keep fish out of Lake Michigan. They already have reached the Des Plaines River, a body of water that runs parallel to the barrier. That’s worrisome said John Rogner, the assistant director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Echo

Low oxygen, mercury pollution interaction may pose even greater threat to Great Lakes

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By Haley Walker
Walkerh4@msu.edu
Great Lakes Echo
Oct. 12, 2009

Researchers are studying whether Great Lakes fish contaminated by mercury are threatened more by low oxygen in the water than healthy fish. The International Joint Commission recently recognized runaway plant growth, a cause of low oxygen, as a major Great Lakes problem. The U.S./Canadian commission advises those governments on Great Lakes issues. Low oxygen is called hypoxia, a condition the U.S. Geological Survey says is caused by an increase in nutrients.

Echo

Studies of fish sharing male and female characteristics raise concerns about Great Lakes contaminants

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By Elisabeth Pernicone
pernico1@gmail.com
Great Lakes Echo
Oct. 9, 2009

Fish with characteristics of both genders are more prevalent than previously thought in U.S. rivers, according to a recent U.S. Geological Survey study. While this study did not analyze fish in the Great Lakes, it may raise new concerns as to whether previously noted hermaphrodite fish in this region are becoming more prevalent as well. “Until we take current sampling it is hard to know,” said Chris Metcalf, director of the Institute for Watershed Science at Trent University in Ontario. “However, all studies are symptomatic of more estrogens being discharged into streams.”

Fish with reproductive characteristics of both sexes are known as intersex, a condition linked to exposure to estrogenic compounds.

Echo

Coast Guard considers new rules to regulate ballast; takes up where Congress left off

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By Brian Laskowski
laskow26@gmail.com
Great Lakes Echo
Oct. 8, 2009
Editors note: This is part of a series about issues relevant to the biennial meeting of the International Joint Commission. Over the summer of 2008 environmental groups and Great Lakes shippers were on the edge of their seats. Congress was working on water quality standards to prevent invasive species from entering the lakes from the dumping of untreated ballast water on freighters. Then…nothing happened.

Echo

International Joint Commission examines Great Lakes water quality

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A binational group of Great Lakes scientists and policy experts advising the U.S. and Canadian governments about the Great Lakes met in Windsor in early October. This special report encompasses some of the issues they discussed

Oct. 8, 2009
The U.S. Coast Guard considers new rules to regulate ballast to slow the spread of invasive species in the Great Lakes. Oct. 7, 2009
Global warming could spur algae growth in Lake Superior.

Echo

Global warming could spur algae growth, oxygen loss in Lake Superior

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By Emma Ogutu
ogutu@msu.edu
Great Lakes Echo
Oct. 7, 2009
Editors note: This is part of a series relevant to the International Joint commission’s biennial meeting in Windsor today and Thursday. One of the reports a U.S. and Canadian advisory commission will consider today in Windsor will look at runaway plant growth in the Great Lakes. Members of the International Joint Commission, which advises the governments on environmental issues, will likely hear that there is no cause for alarm about excessive growth of algae in Lake Superior. But global warming is catching up with the Great Lakes, Superior included, and it may soon undergo changes that could turn it into the perfect host for algal blooms.

The effects of global warming could actually be more complicated than just that.  An important question is how prepared the commission and other government agencies are to handle emerging global environmental issues.

Echo

U.S./Canadian commission examines inconsistent water quality monitoring

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By Rachael Gleason
rachaelkaygleason@gmail.com
Great Lakes Echo
Oct. 6, 2009
Editors note: This is part of a series relevant to the International Joint commission’s biennial meeting in Windsor on Wednesday and Thursday. More than 20,000 beaches closed last year when water samples tested positive for harmful bacteria. But inconsistent sampling methods have Great Lakes officials questioning those results. The International Joint Commission, a binational organization that advises the U.S. and Canada on Great Lakes issues, examined problems with beach testing methods and advisory systems in a report released last month.

Echo

International Joint Commission flags inconsistent U.S./Canadian regulation of fire retardant linked to health concerns

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By Alice Rossignol
rossign1@msu.edu
Great Lakes Echo
Oct. 5, 2009
Editors note: This is part of a series relevant to the International Joint commission’s biennial meeting in Windsor on Wednesday and Thursday. An international commission that advises policymakers on Great Lakes environmental issues is questioning why the U.S. is making a fire retardant that Canada has banned. The use of the substance is part of a report that will be discussed at the International Joint Commission’s biennial meeting in Windsor, Ontario on Wednesday. The commission is responsible for upholding the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the U.S. and Canada.

Echo

What should be the International Joint Commission’s top priority?

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Vote

The U.S./Canadian International Joint Commission meets Wednesday and Thursday in Windsor to discuss advice on Great Lakes environmental issues that it will give to those governments. That happens only once every two years. Six reports are on the commission’s agenda. Details are here. Which of these issues should be the top priority for Great Lakes policymakers and scientists?