Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/author/brian/page/9/)
After decades of decline, mercury levels are increasing in some Great Lakes fish and birds, according to a recent study.
And health problems are occurring at lower concentrations than expected.
A Great Lakes shipping canal scheduled to be dredged next spring has toxic chemicals deep below the surface, according to a recent study.
Great Lakes environmental issues are on tap Oct. 11-14 in Detroit. The stories below cover some of the issues that will be discussed during Great Lakes Week 2011 by four international organizations.
Oct. 14:
Making blue investments that yield green dividends
Blue investments in a green economy will be discussed Oct. 11-14 in Detroit at the 2011 Great Lakes Week.
A NASA satellite caught a huge cyclone storm last week swirling over Lake Michigan and surrounding states. A cyclone is an area of low pressure where winds flow counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere, according to the University of Illinois cyclone webpage. They usually develop when a warm front from the south meets a cold front from the north. The cold and warm air wrap around a center of low pressure and the air in the center where they meet causes clouds and precipitation. Mid-latitude cyclones cause stormy weather in the continental U.S. While their comma shape usually identifies them, I distinctly see a shrimp in the above NASA photo. Watch the shrimp, or comma, develop in a very cool animation from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites that shows the storm’s progress from September 25 to September 27.
Just in time for the big fall hunting seasons in the Great Lakes region, a recent survey shows a high level of public support for our bright orange and camouflage-clad friends. Seventy-five percent of those surveyed nationwide said they approved of the activity and 93 percent said that target shooting is acceptable. The study was financed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a firearms trade association. The high level of public approval has been consistent over the past two decades, according to the organization. But the survey went a step further than previous research and found that 94 percent supported the right of others to hunt, regardless of their opinion of the activity. Only 4 percent of respondents wanted to strip others of the right to hunt.
Invasive species don’t have to be exotic, obscure or large to wreak havoc on the Great Lakes region.
Just look to the hardwood forests ravaged by non-native earthworms. Yes, earthworms.
An Illinois campus is confronting modern electricity needs by getting on their own grid and offering an innovative solution to the nation’s emerging energy problems.
Michigan officials listened to the sweet songs of Kirtland’s warblers throughout the state in June — and the chorus was a positive one. The population of the endangered birds remains steady, according to the annual survey by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Environment. Officials surveyed in mid-June when the birds defend their nesting territories. Birds are detected by listening for their songs — as their singing can be heard for up to a quarter mile. Since only males are belting out songs, populations are estimated by doubling the number of singers
The 2011 survey documented 1,805 singing males, which is approximately what the population has been in recent years. The bird made a strong comeback after singing male populations hit a low in 1974 and 1987, when only 167 were observed. Warblers nest on the ground in Michigan, Wisconsin and Ontario —but most prominently in northern Michigan’s jack pine forests. The population declined rapidly as modern fire suppression stopped the natural wildfires that provided the barren landscape and young jack pines that warblers love to nest in. State and federal officials now harvest and replant approximately 3,000 acres of jack pine trees a year to mimic natural processes. Large prescribed burns aren’t safe or economical in northern Michigan, according to the state officials.
An 11-year-old petition to protect the habitat of wintering populations of endangered Great Lakes’ piping plovers was rejected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this month.
The big Great Lakes Week 2011 just got a little bigger as the International Joint Commission has confirmed former vice president Al Gore as the keynote speaker. Gore will speak at the commission’s biennial meeting in Detroit Oct. 12-14. His address is slated for 1:15 p.m. on Oct. 13. The meeting is part of Great Lakes Week: Detroit 2011, which brings together U.S. and Canadian government officials with public and private groups to explore the lakes’ most pressing problems, potential solutions and on-going restoration.