Skip to content
  • logo
  • logo
  • Home
  • Solutions
  • Agriculture
  • Water
  • Cities & Suburbs
  • Nearshore
  • Recreation
  • Wildlife
  • Energy
  • Waste
  • About
  • Contact

Great Lakes Echo - Environmental news of the Great Lakes region

Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/author/dave/page/14/)

  • Home
  • Solutions
  • Agriculture
  • Water
  • Cities & Suburbs
  • Nearshore
  • Recreation
  • Wildlife
  • Energy
  • Waste
  • About
  • Contact
Subscribe

David Poulson

David Poulson is the editor of Great Lakes Echo. He also is the associate director of Michigan State University's Knight Center for Environmental Journalism where he teaches environmental, investigative and computer-assisted reporting. Before coming to MSU in 2003, he was a daily newspaper reporter and editor for 22 years, a period when he mostly covered environmental issues in the Great Lakes region. He is on the advisory boards for Michigan Sea Grant and MSU's Environmental Science and Policy Program and on the board of directors for the Society of Environmental Journalists. test

Water

A Great Lake plunge may not be such a great feat

By David Poulson | September 14, 2018

Climate change is taking the polar out of a polar plunge and could fuel bacteria and algae outbreaks.

Catch of the Day

Size matters, but what’s the appropriate measure?

By David Poulson | August 31, 2018

How mighty is Michigan’s Mackinac Bridge?

Echo

Knight Center seeks MSU journalism students for paid reporting positions

By David Poulson | August 17, 2018

Get paid to gain experience reporting on the world’s most important beat.

Echo

The Art of SciComm: MSU Science Theatre

By Kate Habrel | May 29, 2018

Ready for the show? The curtain is about to come up on MSU Science Theatre.

Homepage Featured

And God created great whales

By Kate Habrel | May 21, 2018

Grab some headphones and a snorkeling mask, and prepare for a concert of whale song.

Homepage Featured

Researchers evaluate ways to keep plastic pollution out of Great Lakes

By Lauren Caramagno | May 11, 2018

They examined strategies for keeping plastic cigar tips, water bottles and bags from harming water quality.

Air

Solid water keeps liquid from forming vapor

By David Poulson | January 11, 2018

Earlier ice on Lake Erie inhibits the formation of lake effect clouds.

Air

Satellite reveals van Gogh got it right

By David Poulson | December 8, 2017

Did Mother Nature look over van Gogh’s shoulder for this one? Or is it the other way around?

Fish

Researchers ask public for fish guts and the money to study them

By Evan Kutz | December 4, 2017

This citizen science project gives clues on how to better manage Great Lakes fish stocks.

Wildlife

A dead cow subsidy could lead to more conflicts with wolves

By Lucy Schroeder | November 29, 2017

Wolves scavenging improperly disposed dead cattle can prompt them to shrink their range, leading to more interactions with people.

Load more articles

About Great Lakes Echo

Environmental news of the Great Lakes region from the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University.

  • Headshot of Ethan Theuerkauf
    Growth in shoreline armoring is reshaping Michigan’s Lake Michigan coast

    By Kyrmyzy Turebayeva A new study documents a fivefold increase in shoreline armoring along Lake Michigan’s Eastern coast.

  • How seeds from the past are saving a unique flower of the Great Lakes

    By Kyrmyzy Turebayeva More than 30 years ago, a group of scientists planted just 4,200 seeds of the rare Pitcher’s thistle in the sandy dunes of the Great Lakes. At the time, no one knew if the new populations would survive. Today, three decades later, the restored populations are thriving and spreading.

  • Henderson holding a swan
    From otters to butterflies: How Minnesota became a pioneer in nongame wildlife conservation

    By Kyrmyzy Turebayeva In the late 1970s, when most wildlife conservation programs in the United States focused almost exclusively on game species, a quiet but historic shift began in Minnesota. It was here that one of the nation’s first state programs dedicated to protecting so-called nongame wildlife emerged from butterflies and bats to bald eagles and river otters. That story is now told in detail by Carrol Henderson in his new book, “A National Legacy: Fifty Years of Nongame Wildlife Conservation in Minnesota."

  • Michigan’s water infrastructure sees improvements, work still needs to be done

    By Clara Lincolnhol The U.S. would need to invest nearly $3.4 trillion over the next 20 years to fix and update drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, says researchers from The Value of Water Campaign. Much of that infrastructure was built 40 to 50 years ago and shows its age. Michigan’s is no exception. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the state a D+ for its drinking water infrastructure, a D in storm water management and a C for its wastewater infrastructure. Funding is a major problem. Proposed data centers would put more stress on the infrastructure.

  • Mussels in a green net.
    Endangered spectaclecase mussels reintroduced into the Chippewa River

    By Ada Tussing To combat the population loss of spectaclecase mussels, researchers with both the Minnesota and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources released over 177 mussels into the Chippewa River in Northwest Wisconsin.

  • Michigan allocates $77 million to clean thousands of contaminated sites

    By Clara Lincolnhol Michigan is pouring $77 million into clean-up of contaminated abandoned real estate such as former factories. The director of the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy says the goal is to make the cleaned-up sites safe for housing, commercial developments and other uses.

  • Winter makes curved roads dangerous; researchers seek solutions

    By Eric Freedman Flashing light on warning signs near curves can slow drivers and reduce the odds of a crash during winter weather conditions, says a new study by Michigan State University engineers.

  • The cover of “Dead Moose on Isle Royale: Off Trail with the Citizen Scientists of the Wolf-Moose Project." The cover is moose antlers on the ground.
    Great Lakes books for your holiday gift list 

    By Eric Freedman   Looking for a holiday gift for a reader who loves the Great Lakes? Here are five prospects to consider – and what our reporters learned from interviewing their authors this year.

  • A side-by-side of the historic Portage Canal and modern Portage Canal from an aerial view.
    Restoration of historical site improves quality of life for Portage, Wisconsin residents

    By Joshua Kim Following the completion of segments 1 and 2 of the Portage Canal, local residents and visitors can use the historic site and its amenities following years of disrepair.

  • What herring gulls tell us about plastic pollution

    By Victoria Witke Christina Petalas, a doctoral student McGill University, studies herring gulls to learn about plastic pollution near the St. Lawrence River. Across two studies, she found plastic additives in every bird sampled, which could have human health consequences.

  • Great Lakes Echo

Contact Us

Email: GreatLakesEcho@gmail.com
Phone: 517-432-1415

Search This Site

Browse Archives

© Copyright 2026, Great Lakes Echo

Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News.

Back to top ↑