Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/author/guest-contributor/page/21/)
Findings by researchers at the University of Michigan predict that warming temperatures may result in increased seasonal allergies. They also found that pollen emissions could begin 40 days earlier than normal, with allergy season lasting an additional 19 days. That’s in contrast with a normal allergy season that typically lasts 10 to 30 days.
As anyone who lives in Michigan knows, March and April are the wet months. But like so many things that Anyone knows, this is only about half true. The amount of precipitation (the water in rain and snow) doesn’t change much from month to month in Michigan.
A federal judge has placed the ex-president of a Fort Wayne environmental services company – described in her lawyer’s sentencing memorandum as “kind, generous, hard-working and honest” and a “huge source of inspiration” for her children and grandchildren” – on probation for two years for illegally storing hazardous wastes and falsifying a document.
Michigan State archaeologist studies artifacts to learn about life for lighthouse keepers in remote locations around the Great Lakes.
Humans, like all other animals, have an innate desire to find the right spot, an ideal place. Tim Mulherin, the author of Sand, Stars, Wind & Water found his sense of place in Northwest Lower Michigan during his first visit to the area 35 years ago.
An Ohio man who admitted fatally shooting a bald eagle will be banned from hunting for five years and has agreed to pay $20,000 as part of his sentence. Half the money will go to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, a nonprofit funder of conservation projects, as restitution. The other $10,000 is a fine.
In our newest TikTok, Echo reporter Caroline Miller discusses a recent study that documents the first sighting of an invasive species, European frogbit, in Wisconsin and says that it could threaten native plants, fish and invertebrates.
July is our warmest month, its steamy days and sticky nights giving us a little taste of the tropics. When we look for ways to beat July’s heat, we often end up in the water – sprinklers, backyard pools, or one of Michigan’s many lakes. So let’s take a few minutes on this hot July day to think about how cool water is.
The study in the journal “Science of the Total Environment” found that five million people exceeded the recommended fish intake of two meals or 12 ounces per week, as suggested by the Environmental Protection Agency. Notably, women, nonwhites, younger residents and those with lower education levels were less aware of fish advisories, and thus more prone to eat more than the recommended amount.
The Clean Water Act provides us with 50 years of useful imperfection. We should apply it’s lessons to the environmental challenges facing us today – and perhaps be a less patient as we chase perfect solutions.