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Michigan museum to screen Knight Center invasive species documentary Wednesday

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At 6 p.m. Wednesday, a St. Joseph, Mich. museum will screen Bad Company, a one-hour documentary examining how humans have altered the ecology and economy of the Great Lakes region. ‘Bad Company’ is Michigan State University’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism’s fourth documentary. Michigan State University instructor and filmmaker Lou D’Aria and co-produer Matt Mikus will be present at screening at the Heritage Museum and Cultural Center, 601 Main Street.

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MASHUP: Climate change ‘Hot Map’ features Great Lakes cities

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Life-threatening heat waves, record snowfalls and lake level drops are just a few climate change catastrophes in store for the Great Lakes region, according to an interactive map recently launched by the Union of Concerned Scientists. Climate Hot Map features current climate change impacts to locations across the globe, including five Great Lakes hot spots. Click on “see detail page” at the bottom of each icon box for more information on impacts to that location. Scientists expect more intense lake-effect snowfall in the Midwest and more precipitation during the winter and spring due to rising temperatures, according to the page for Cleveland, Ohio. And warming summer temperatures in Wyoming County, N.Y. are stressing cows and lowering milk production and birthing rates, according to the map.

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Save the planet, eat an invasive

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The Great Lakes region could save a lot of money by following the “if you can’t beat ‘em, eat ‘em” motto of a website called Invasivore.org. A handful of biologists, ecologists and doctoral students update the site with news on pesky invaders and recipes, like this Ma-po Garlic Mustard and Tofu dish. Garlic Mustard is an aggravating weed that covers forest floors and dominates root systems throughout the Great Lakes. But when paired with broccoli, tofu and a spicy sauce, it apparently is something to be desired. The eating of invasive species is “reasonable revenge” for the harm these animals, fish and plants inflict on natural environments, according to Invasivore.org.

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Great Lakes songbird considered for Endangered Species List

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A western Great Lakes basin songbird may deserve federal protection as a threatened or endangered species, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Golden-winged Warblers were once widespread in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ontario. But loss of breeding habitat, conflict with Blue-winged Warblers and possible parasitism by the invasive Brown-headed Cowbird have led to their steady decline for 50 years, according to a petition filed by a Pennsylvania State University environmental law student. Pending further review by the U.S. Fish and Wild Service, the warbler could become the first continental bird added to the Endangered Species List since 1995. It would join Great Lakes endangered birds such as the Kirtland’s Warbler and Piping Plover.

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MASHUP: Bioenergy picking up steam in Great Lakes region

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More and more bioenergy plants are fueling sustainable energy efforts in Great Lakes states, according to a National Renewable Energy Laboratory BioFuels interactive map. Biofuels and biopower plants, which produce energy from landfill gas, wood and municipal solid wastes, roughly equal the number of power plants run on wind and water, according to the mashup. More than 50 plants in Wisconsin, Illinois and southern Michigan run on gas produced by microorganisms that break down landfill material. Northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio each have a handful of biopower plants fueled by wood. And about a dozen Minnesota, Michigan and Indiana plants convert municipal solid waste into ethanol.