Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/author/keweir/page/35/)
(MI) Detroit Free Press – Car sharing lets drivers save cash while helping the environment.
Ten years ago, Jan Culbertson, an architect living in Ann Arbor, would have been the customer that BMW, Mercedes-Benz or Lexus took for granted. But she might not be in the future. Today she is a senior principal with A3C Collaborative Architecture and one of 1,400 Zipcar members in Ann Arbor. More
(ON) The Gov Monitor – Canadian Coast Guard’s newest science research vessel CCGS Kelso will be based at the Canadian Centre of Inland Waters, where it will support researchers from Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Environment Canada gathering information about the biological, chemical and physical properties of Canada’s Great Lakes. The vessel, classified as a Near Shore Fisheries Research Vessel, has been in service since June 2009, and will assume the duties of the soon-to-be-retired CCGS Shark. CCGS Kelso is named after the late Dr. John Kelso, a Canadian scientist for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, who dedicated his life to advancing freshwater science. More
(MI) The Muskegon Chronicle – West Michigan residents should get behind a Saugatuck Township lawmaker’s effort to save Michigan’s wetlands protection program, which will end on Oct. 1. Sen. Patricia Birkholz last week introduced a bill to keep the program, which Gov. Jennifer Granholm wants to eliminate as a cost-savings measure, running for at least two more years while new funding sources are sought. More
(MI) Bay City Times – A study by Michigan Technological University researchers aims to figure out how to best manage phosphorus inputs to Saginaw Bay. Phosphorus, a nutrient in everything from fertilizers to wastewater, helps fuel the growth of algae in the bay, which fouls shorelines when it dies and washes up on beaches. More
(DC) NOAA – A physical oceanographer who worked with satellites to generate climate, weather, and water products for operational and research use, will be the director of NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Mich. Marie Colton, Ph.D., who has been acting director since January, takes the permanent position on October 11. “Our Great Lakes laboratory plays a major role in helping NOAA and the nation address freshwater issues, including climate change, water resource management, invasive species, and human health. So we looked for someone with a broad range of experience and we were delighted that Dr. Colton was eager to continue,” said Richard W. Spinrad, Ph.D, NOAA assistant administrator for oceanic and atmospheric research. More
(MN) Minneapolis Star Tribune – Environmentalists’ long-held dream of restoring the Great Lakes may be on the verge of being realized. More than 200 of them are meeting in Duluth this week to celebrate — and to plot their next moves to protect the lakes that hold nearly one-fifth of the world’s fresh water. More
(MI) Flint Journal – The Genesee County Parks and Recreation Commission has not yet determined whether a managed archery hunt will be used to control the wild deer population causing habitat damage at For-Mar Nature Preserve and Arboretum in Burton. However, potential participants will be prequalified and selected through a special testing program and lottery drawing, in order to be prepared for this fall’s hunting season should the commissioners vote to move ahead with the plan. More
(OH) Cleveland Plain Dealer – The gorgeous shores of Lake Erie and the beautiful banks of its many tributaries are among the best environmental spots in Northeast Ohio. That may be in part because of the work done by an army of nature-loving volunteers who take part in various cleanups each year — both in the spring (RiverDay and other cleanups) and then the Lake Erie shore and its tributaries again each fall. More
(MI) The Detroit News – Michigan State University is holding a ceremony to mark the opening of its $13 million Surplus Store and Recycling Center. President Lou Anna Simon and others are set to speak at the event, which starts at 9 a.m. Thursday. Visitors may tour the facility afterward. More
(MI) The Detroit News – Two out-of-state renewable energy firms have selected Ford’s shuttered Wixom plant for an ambitious $725 million redevelopment project, creating what officials are calling the nation’s largest renewable energy park, company officials said Thursday. The companies, Xtreme Power of Austin, Texas, and Clairvoyant Energy of Santa Barbara, Calif., plan to retool the aging factory, which once built such icons as the Lincoln Town Car and Ford Thunderbird, to manufacture solar panels and utility-scale batteries used for generating renewable power. More