Water

Comedy on tap (water)

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I recently got an email about a free comedy show in Ann Arbor, Mich. Featuring Canadian stand-up comedian Derek Forgie.  Derek is not a typical comedian.  He’s an activist whose entire show is about the bottled water industry. He prides himself on being raised on tap water (according to one of his YouTube videos), entertains a crowd while serving up a great lesson about water quality and why tap water is (much) better than anything bottled.  One of his four reasons: the price. Forgie compares paying for bottled water to buying an Oh Henry candy bar for $10,000.  He asks if you would buy a dollar candy bar if someone were to charge you ten thousand times what it’s worth. The Ann Arbor show was in collaboration with Food and Water Watch, a national consumer advocacy group.

Echo

VIDEO: Scientists examine the world’s freshwater lakes

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The Large Lakes Observatory is observing the Great Lakes to better understand threats to the world’s freshwater resources. Research teams are studying everything from climate change impacts on the lakes to nitrate build-ups. And it’s not just the Great Lakes. With support from the National Science Foundation, the observatory’s scientists are studying the biology, chemistry, physics and geology of large lakes around the world. The video below highlights some of their research in the Great Lakes.

Echo

VIDEO: Mussels coating ancient reefs in Lake Michigan

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When people talk about restoring the Great Lakes, they’re not looking back as far as John Janssen, professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Scientists. “I want to bring the coral reefs back,” Janssen said. Ancient coral reefs are peppered throughout some of the Great Lakes where glaciers carved out tough rock formations 400 million years ago. Remnants of reefs can be seen on the eastern side of Lake Michigan, the Bruce Peninsula of Lake Huron, the southwestern side of Lake Erie and near Niagara Falls. Lake Superior is the only lake that never had reefs.