Energy

Half of clunker appliance money up for grabs in Great Lakes region

By |

Great Lakes states have roughly $44.8 million left to hand out in energy-saving appliance rebates. The region received $80 million in recovery funds to spur economic growth and encourage the use of energy-efficient refrigerators, washers and dryers and heating and cooling systems.

Cash for appliances programs in Illinois and Pennsylvania start later this month; Minnesota is already out of funds. Focus on Energy representative Bobbi Fey expects Wisconsin funds to last through the end of April. Click here for the original Great Lakes Echo story. Follow these links for details on cash for clunker appliances programs:
– Michigan: Appliances, Heating and Cooling
– New York
– Illinois
– Ohio
– Pennsylvania
– Indiana
– Minnesota
– Wisconsin

Land

VIDEO: Growing Power sprouts in Wisconsin

By |

It’s one of the last places you’d expect to find a farm.

But in Wisconsin’s largest city is Growing Power, an urban agriculture project that proves it can grow food just about anywhere.

Check out this video that shows Growing Power as one of the growing number of urban farms throughout the Great Lakes region.

Cool maps of deformed Great Lakes

By |

Most people love Lake Michigan. The 17th century German mapmaker Herman Moll isn’t most people. His depictions of Lake Superior and Lake Huron dwarf the region’s favorite in a 1711 map of “ye North Parts of America.”

The historical map is one of many offered by greatlakesmaps.org, a collaborative project of Wisconsin’s Water Library, the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant program and other Wisconsin institutions. The 1711 map may not be geographically accurate – last time I checked Lake Huron wasn’t heart-shaped – but it’s revealing. The British crafted it in response to an earlier French map that minimized the nation’s holdings, according to the Web site.

Echo
Food Environment Atlas

MONDAY MASHUP: Food Environment Atlas

By |

People in Indiana and Ohio spend more than $500 a year on fast food – hundreds more than the Great Lakes state average. Uncover such food-related information with this U.S. Department of Agriculture mashup of food environments.