Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/author/rachaelgleason/page/6/)
Rachael Gleason is a graduate of the Michigan State University and Knight Center for Environmental Journalism master's program. Rachael edited EJ Magazine and reported for Great Lakes Echo for two years. She currently focuses on water privatization issues. Rachael was quiz editor, SmackDown! editor and had a standing feature called Monday Mashup, where she reviewed interactive maps of the Great Lakes region. Rachael is originally from Texas, where she worked as a reporter, photographer and desk editor for several years. In addition to working for the daily newspaper of Huntsville, Rachael also worked as a business reporter for The Houston Chronicle, the newspaper of her hometown. Office: (517) 432-5155 Twitter: @rachaelgleason
More than 10,000 miles of coastline brings economic, residential and recreational opportunities to the Great Lakes region.
But settlement and natural processes take a toll on the ever-changing shoreline.
CHICAGO – A bighead Asian Carp was apprehended Wednesday after breaching a maximum security federal barrier, officials say. No one was harmed in the capture of the 20-pounder. Officials aren’t sure how the carp escaped, but they say he was just six miles from a clean getaway. Advocates of the watery prison say it keeps the public safe from the ferocious fish. Opponents say the barrier isn’t a cure, but a band-aid over a larger ecological problem. Click here for more on how society is putting up with carp.
A 20-pound bighead Asian Carp was fished out of Lake Calumet in Chicago, the first one found to have breached the barrier.
A new regional initiative encourages green energy use, economic development and water resource protection in more than 70 Great Lakes cities. The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, a bi-national network of mayors promoting the region’s restoration, recently launched the Green Cities Transforming Towards Sustainability program. The program is supposed to protect water and coastal areas and promote low-carbon energy generation and green land use and building design. Officials hope green economic development stimulates local economies.
Michigan trout preserves, Wisconsin shipwreck sites, Ohio wildlife areas, Indiana dunes, Minnesota fish sanctuaries are part of the Great Lakes listings in a national inventory of marine protected areas.
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is thousands of miles away, but experts worry that Great Lakes migratory birds are threatened by it. Minnesota’s state bird – the common loon – and the endangered piping plover are among those in harm’s way.
Ontario’s coal-fired power plants are going off the grid in 2014. Until then, the provincial government has approved maximum air emission limits for the remaining plants. Canadian environmentalists and health officials aren’t pleased, according to a story from Windsor Star reporter Dave Battagello. Activists say the higher limits will “put lives at risk” and worsen the Ontario’s air quality. Windsor, Detroit’s Canadian neighbor, is already one of the most polluted parts of the province, according to the story.
Now you can get real time reports of water temperature, flows, levels and quality of rivers, lakes and groundwater.
The United States Geological Survey is providing that information by combining mapping and Internet technology.
Comparing water rates is a messy business. Here’s some of the methodology I used for Echo’s two-day series on water rates this week. Most of the research was conducted in early February. I surveyed 32 cities in the eight states bordering the Great Lakes. I chose four cities in each state with similar population sizes.
Many Great Lakes cities are discouraging water use by setting conservation water rates.
But utility providers can lose money if rates aren’t set correctly.