Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/author/guest-contributor/page/124/)
The Red Cedar River adds beauty to Michigan State University’s East Lansing campus.
But it can also become polluted with trash as it runs runs through a campus of more than 47,000 students.
The university’s Fisheries and Wildlife club recently hosted a day where volunteers cleaned up the river. See video.
Michigan fishery managers recently released 325,000 coho salmon into the Grand River in the state’s capital.
Planting the Grand was skipped in 2007 and 2009 due to funding shortages.
The planting pause will let biologist study movement and survival of the fish.
Even if they’re used as nothing more than glorified coasters, phone books continue to pile up at doorsteps and recycing centers. Manufacturers insist they are valuable advertising vehicles needed to bridge the digital divide.
If you’re sick and tired of coming home to a fresh phone book lying on your doorstep, you can avoid driving it to the recycling center or just chucking it in the trash bin.
What can you do? Advocates recommend Chicagoans take these actions to help ensure the future of regional water:
Disconnect downspouts and install a rain barrel to use to capture water for watering your lawn or washing your car. Buy a $40 rain barrel at mwrd.org or to the Department of Environment Web site at cityofchicago.org for more information. Go to Metersave.org and to set up a time for them to install a water meter in your home. Don’t use automatic sprinklers.
City officials, urban planners and environmental experts warn of a disconnect between Chicagoans’ perception of water abundance and reality.
They fear future scarcity unless there are radical changes in the way water is collected, distributed and consumed.