Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/category/test/page/96/)
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More and more, I see a greater dependence on the imperfect science of risk assessment in emerging Great Lakes issues. Studied intensely for years at Harvard University and other leading institutions, risk assessment is something we deal with in many aspects of life even if we don’t stop to think about it.
Pennsylvania has the largest total dollar value of fines for facilities violating hazardous waste regulations in 2012 among the Great Lakes states, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Wisconsin has the smallest. The figures come from an EPA map that reports state compliance with regulations. The map’s dashboard allows users to choose different measures and different years. Here is the total dollar value of penalties incurred by large facilities with hazardous waste violations for each state along with the number of large facilities for each state:
Pennsylvania: $542,364; for 1,103 large facilities.
Genetic research of the sea lamprey may help find the cure for a rare liver disease in human newborns and expand understanding of human neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s.
Studying the sea lamprey’s genome may make it possible to stop a lamprey’s transformation from harmless larvae to invasive Great Lakes parasite.
Scientists have conducted extensive research on the plastic-filled gyres of the ocean. This past summer, however, researchers decided to look inland for the first time and measure plastic pollution in the Great Lakes. Some of the groups’ water samples had concentrations of plastic greater than those found anywhere else. The study has resulted in several other projects. Chemistry professor Dr. Sherri Mason discusses the plastic pollution in the basin.
Steam devils and waterspouts are created by very cold air moving across warmer waters evaporating so fast they produce vapor.
A record number of them have been reported on the Great Lakes recently.
When a species is red listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature it is rare for it to be hunted. But Michigan’s northern bobwhite is an exception.
The Michigan Audubon Society recently reported the northern bobwhite, commonly known as quail, is Michigan’s only bird that is both hunted and on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list, which identifies species at a high risk of extinction. The quail hunting season in Michigan lasts three weeks from Oct. 20to Nov.
Each week, Great Lakes Echo features a photo story about a different Area of Concern designated by the U.S. or Canadian governments in the Great Lakes basin. Guess where the area is located, based on the description of the site.
Two leadership changes with significant implications: A pope who identifies with St. Francis of Assisi and an EPA administrator identified as a bulldog on air pollution.
The ever growing corporate interest in the Great Lakes has been influential in public policy, and may prove dangerous for the Basin’s natural resources.
Examples include companies that bottle and export water, and legislation in Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan that benefit industries over the environment.
Three of Canada’s most walkable cities are in the Great Lakes region. Proximity to amenities such as grocery shopping, schools, cafes, pharmacies are evaluated. Map shows most walkable U.S. and Canadian cities in the Great Lakes region.