Nearshore

Photo Friday: The beaches of the Indiana Dunes

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Although Kathleen Stachowski now resides in Montana, the Great Lakes, and Lake Michigan in particular, will always hold a special place in her heart. Born and raised in Michigan City, Ind. near Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Stachowski’s life has always been tied to the dunes and the lake. Her childhood was filled with family trips to the lake and the dunes, seeing it then as a place of both wonder and solace. “The dunes had a truly wild feel in those days and not many people went there,” she recalled.

Indiana Dunes named top 10 urban escape

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Geographic popularity contests have been kind to the Lake Michigan shoreline this summer: The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore has been named a top 10 urban escape by National Geographic. The distinction comes on the heels of another sandy hotspot, the Sleeping Bear Dunes in northwestern Michigan, named by Good Morning America as the most beautiful place in the country. The Indiana Dunes Lakeshore was lauded as an escape from nearby Gary, Ind., and Chicago because of its 15 miles of lakeshore, biodiversity, and dunes that offer panoramic views of the lake.  The “Top 10 Urban Escapes” list is part of National Geographic’s, “Ten Best of Everything — National Parks,” book. Nearby communities are banking on their unique shoreline with a recent redevelopment plan dubbed Gateway to the Indiana Dunes.  The collaboration of dune towns is designed to spur development complementary to the natural resources and beauty. They have something to build on as 2010 was a record year for the dunes with 2.2 million visitors – an all-time high

So if you’re tired of staring at buildings and breathing city air, northwest Indiana wants you.

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Climate change may spur northward advance of Great Lakes invaders

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Amid concern and confusion over Asian carp possibly finding their way into the Great Lakes, many experts involved in the controversy agree that other invasive species are likely to show up too.

Non-native wildlife are common in the Great Lakes, with more than 140 species living in them. Sea lampreys were first found in Lake Ontario in the 1830s.

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PA Superfund site map

MONDAY MASHUP: Great Lakes Superfund sites

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Hazardous waste sites in Great Lakes states make up a third of the nation’s total, according to an investigation by the Center for Public Integrity. Each state page also has information on proposed, existing and remediated Superfund sites.

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A tale of three cities: Winners of the GM cleanup lotto are more like survivors

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By Brian Laskowski, Shawntina Phillips and Jeff Gillies
Jan. 21, 2010
Editors note: This is part three of a three-day series on the environmental implications of GM’s bankruptcy. Massena, Flint and Bedford are three towns that rose in the industrial might of the General Motors manufacturing era. Now Motors Liquidation Co., the company that owns GM’s worst assets, is preparing to close the door on the automaker’s legacy in these cities. But before it leaves, Motors Liquidation or GM must account for decades of pollution at former factories and waste sites.

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Salvaging Insolvency: Sites GM helped pollute no longer get cleanup dollars from the bankrupt automaker

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By Kimberly Hirai and Jeff Gillies
Jan. 20, 2010
Editors note: This is part two of a three-day series on the environmental implications of GM’s bankruptcy. The bankrupt shell of General Motors could dodge environmental cleanup costs for dozens of properties that the automaker polluted but doesn’t own. Motors Liquidation Co. — the bundle of old GM debt and real estate that the automaker abandoned though bankruptcy — will clean up polluted property it inherited from GM with part of a $1.17 billion loan from the U.S. and Canadian governments.

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Salvaging Insolvency: GM bankruptcy could shortchange pollution cleanups

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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. And that estimate ignores dozens more sites across the country that GM polluted, but either gave away or never owned — sites even less likely to get any cleanup money through the bankruptcy. GM entered a government — engineered bankruptcy aiming to emerge as a new, leaner company with fewer factories, dealerships and employees.

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Special Report: Salvaging Insolvency

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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 automaker polluted but doesn’t own.