Great Lakes Echo (http://greatlakesecho.org/tag/pollution/)
Fertilizer runoff from seasonal heavy rainfall on Midwestern farms is traveling down the Mississippi River and creating a “hypoxic zone,” or low oxygen zone in the Gulf of Mexico, a recent study by Iowa State University scientists warns.
A $2.9 million cleanup of contaminated sediments along the Detroit River will help bring a new look to the Motor City and set the stage for the completion of the Riverwalk by linking two popular waterfront parks.
After more than two decades of cleanup and community efforts, Lake Erie’s Presque Isle Bay became the second heavily contaminated place in the United States to be removed from the Great Lakes toxic waters list.
While microplastics get plenty of attention as a Great Lakes pollutant, researchers say there is not enough information to know if these macroplastic golf balls pose similar harm in freshwater systems.
Her efforts led to bans on microplastics and to the discovery that plastic is ubiquitous throughout the environment.
A river that once caught fire is once again among those under the microscope for pollution pouring into the Great Lakes, researchers say.
Michigan may authorize new uses for toxic coal ash by Great Lakes Echo
One of the bills that cleared the Michigan legislature this session was a provision that allows certain bio-waste materials to be re-used for beneficial purposes. These substances include things like cement kiln dust, wood pulp and coal ash. Coal ash is the leftover residue from coal burned by electric power plants. The bill permits coal ash to be used in road construction, but it may also be used in agriculture as a fertilizer supplement, causing some environmental advocates to become concerned. Current State’s Kevin Lavery speaks with Republican State Representative Wayne Schmidt, the bill’s main sponsor, who strongly states that coal ash is completely safe and does not pose any environmental threats.
New research indicates that road salt applied on icy roads and that runs into rivers remains toxic not just in winter, but throughout two-thirds of the year.
It’s safe to say most of us take for granted that when we turn on our faucets, clean water comes out. But where does our drinking water come from? How clean is it? And how much responsibility do we, as individuals, have to ensure that our water stays clean?
Detroit’s Rouge River is one of the Great Lakes’ most polluted waterways. Generations of air and water pollution from heavy industry near the mouth of the river contaminated its sediments and made the fish unsafe to eat.