Echo

Coastal comparison

By |

 

The Great Lakes coastline is one of the longest in the United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The federal agency compared the total miles of Great Lakes coastline with the total miles of the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coastlines. Here’s how it stacks up against the Atlantic coastal states:

Here’s how the Great Lakes coasts stack up against the Pacific coast states. If it wasn’t for Alaska, the Great Lakes coastline would dominate these states:

And it’s not even a contest when compared to the Gulf Coast states:

More information can be found at the agency’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory website. The laboratory researches the environment to provide information about resource use and sustainability of Great Lakes ecosystems.
 

Echo

Photo Friday: Frozen lighthouses

By |

[cincopa AwDASLbegkNo]

Tom Gill, an environmental photographer, has a soft spot for frozen lighthouses. The slideshow above showcases photos of the St. Joseph Pier Lighthouse and the South Haven South Pier Lighthouse, which become coated in ice after Lake Michigan waves crash and freeze. More can be found on Gill’s Flickr and blog. Gill’s icy Lake Michigan lighthouse photos have been published in the Huffington Post, Australia News Limited and the Daily Mail in Great Britain. “Only 4 more continents to go,” Gill joked.

Echo

Great Lakes to receive $19 million for Hurricane Sandy damage

By |

It’s been almost five months since Hurricane Sandy unleashed destruction in the eastern United States, but the recovery for the Great Lakes region is just getting started. Jo-Ellen Darcy, the Assistant Secretary of the Army, confirmed that the Great Lakes region would receive approximately $19 million. A group of Midwest senators wrote to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in February, petitioning for federal aid to repair Great Lakes ports, harbors and waterways damaged by the hurricane. “While the Great Lakes navigation system is threatened due to underfunding, which has been worsened due to lakes levels that have hit record lows, the system also was damaged by Hurricane Sandy,” the letter read. Michigan Sen. Carl Levin led the efforts, petitioning to Senate Appropriations Chairman Barbara Mikulski for Great Lakes recovery projects.

Echo

Repeated plunges into icy Lake Michigan will raise money for Special Olympics

By |

It may not be the best time for a swim in Lake Michigan, but that isn’t stopping 37 Illinois residents on Friday. Those taking part in the 8th annual 2013 SUPER Plunge will be braving the icy waters to raise money for Special Olympics Illinois. The SUPER acronym says it all: Some Unbelievable Plungers Enter Repeatedly. It’s so named because participants are expected to dive not once, not twice, but 24 times over the course of 24 hours. The Lake Michigan water may be frigid, but the event is undoubtedly effective.

Echo

Photo Friday: Ice buildup on the Lake Michigan shoreline

By |

When powerful waves force snowball-sized balls of ice against the shoreline, the ice buildup can reach great heights, as captured by photographer Tim Wenzel in Grand Haven, Michigan. The 6-foot waves on January 24 resulted in an almost volcanic Lake Michigan landscape. This photo was contributed to Earth Science Picture of the Day, a service of NASA’s Earth Science Division and the Universities Space Research Association.

Echo

Students compete in Great Lakes Bowl

By |

 

Do you know the name for a zone in a body of water where temperature rapidly changes with depth? Students competing in the 2013 National Ocean Sciences Bowl are expected to know the answer. In fact, the question is categorized as “easy.” This year’s Great Lakes regional competition was held Saturday, Feb. 9 at the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment.

Echo

Carp creep

By |

Here’s a nifty animated graphic that plots the spread of Asian carp.

It was produced by the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Wildlife Federation.

Echo

Great Lakes pizzas raise $6,000 for litter reduction, Belle Isle restoration

By |

DETROIT — Which Great Lake is the most popular? Going strictly by pizza preference, it appears to be Huron and Michigan. They were marginally the most-ordered pizzas in a promotion that raised $6,000 for the Alliance for the Great Lakes. “They were all pretty close,” said Wesley Pikula, vice president of operations at Buddy’s. “They were within about twenty pies of each other.”

Last year, Echo reported that the popular Michigan pizza chain Buddy’s Pizza launched its Great Lakes Pizza Collection with a pledge.