Water

Magazine highlights the best of Lake Superior

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Lake Superior Magazine’s September issue will includes its annual Best of the Lake list. The article highlights reader favorites in dozens of categories, from best spectacular views to best boat ride to best fish sandwich. All winners are chosen from the Lake Superior states of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, plus Ontario, Canada. Current State’s Peter Whorf spoke with editor Konnie LeMay, who explains that certain categories are voted on every year because Michigan residents are interested to know about those particular hidden Michigan treasures.

Water

A deeper dive into Lake Erie’s pea-green soup

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Karen Schaefer, an independent public radio journalist based in Ohio who has been covering algae blooms in Lake Erie for years, reported on the recent Toledo water crisis for Great Lakes Echo. Here she gives deeper background on the development of the threat posed by algae and what may lie ahead. Additional stories here. This report first appeared on WKAR’s Current State public affairs program and is produced as a partnership with Great Lakes Echo.  

Water

Failed algae policies leave Toledo high and dry

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Commentary
Toledo citizens were without water this past weekend as life-threatening toxins caused by harmful algae far surpassed safe levels. That’s 400,000 people left to scramble for water wherever they could find it. Ohio declared a state of emergency and it was one of those all hands on deck situations. Toledo without water because of toxic algae? We shouldn’t be surprised.

Water

Month in review: Detroit water shut-offs, carp and pipelines

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At the end of each month we check in with Echo commentator and journalist Gary Wilson for updates on environmental stories from around the basin. For today’s Great Lakes Month in Review, Gary discusses Detroit water shutoffs and the latest legal news on the Asian Carp situation. This segment is a feature of a partnership between Great Lakes Echo and WKAR’s Current State public affairs program. supported by Michigan State University’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism.  

Water

Photo Friday: Shipboard education

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BaySail in Bay City, Mich., is a 15-year-old non profit organization that teaches students through scientific observations and measurements of weather, water quality, aquatic life, and human impact on the environment, says Scott Ellis, the Lake Huron organization’s communications manager. Lessons on board the tall ship Appledore IV encourage collaboration with peers and experts. Some 43,000 students from schools throughout Michigan have been aboard. A new program launched this year called Windward Bound is a weekend long, sailing and camping trip for Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and other youth groups. They sail from Bay City to Tawas and participate in shipboard and land-based environmental education and sail training.