Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/author/mialitzenberg/)
By Mia Litzenberg
Climate change is creating new challenges for Great Lakes coastal communities. To tackle these hazards, the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority launched the Lake Ontario Coastal Resilience Pilot Project last summer. Over the next four years, the project aims to engage communities in developing a coastal resilience plan.
By Mia Litzenberg
In a weekly Good Grief Network session held on July 25, time and space were created for participants to reflect on their feelings of uncertainty in an unstable environment over Zoom. Trained facilitators kept time for each participant to speak while the other participants bore witness as listeners. The overarching rule was no cross-talk, which means not directly responding or referring to what a person shared. The session began with a grounding exercise, where participants closed their eyes and imagined themselves in a safe space in nature. They were encouraged to embody any sensory details associated with this place.
By Mia Litzenberg
In the Detroit area, people experience unsafe levels of particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and ozone in the air they breathe. These pollutants are blamed for adverse health effects such as heart disease, respiratory issues and cancer. The University of Michigan is part of an ongoing Detroit research partnership, Community Action to Promote Healthy Environments (CAPHE). CAPHE identifies sources of air pollution, measures its impact on residents and empowers the community to take action. CAPHE found that outdoor air pollution has caused people to miss a total of 500,000 days of work and 990,000 days of school.