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Great Lakes Echo - Environmental news of the Great Lakes region

Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/page/2/)

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Michigan allocates $77 million to clean thousands of contaminated sites

By Clara Lincolnhol and Capital News Service | 24 hours ago

By Clara Lincolnhol

Michigan is pouring $77 million into clean-up of contaminated abandoned real estate such as former factories. The director of the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy says the goal is to make the cleaned-up sites safe for housing, commercial developments and other uses.

Winter makes curved roads dangerous; researchers seek solutions

By Eric Freedman

Flashing light on warning signs near curves can slow drivers and reduce the odds of a crash during winter weather conditions, says a new study by Michigan State University engineers.

Great Lakes books for your holiday gift list 

The cover of “Dead Moose on Isle Royale: Off Trail with the Citizen Scientists of the Wolf-Moose Project." The cover is moose antlers on the ground.

By Eric Freedman  

Looking for a holiday gift for a reader who loves the Great Lakes? Here are five prospects to consider – and what our reporters learned from interviewing their authors this year.

Restoration of historical site improves quality of life for Portage, Wisconsin residents

A side-by-side of the historic Portage Canal and modern Portage Canal from an aerial view.

By Joshua Kim

Following the completion of segments 1 and 2 of the Portage Canal, local residents and visitors can use the historic site and its amenities following years of disrepair.

More Headlines

What herring gulls tell us about plastic pollution
Scientists update geological map of northern Wisconsin, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula 
‘Refusal is insisting on your own terms’: Indigenous activism in the Midwest

Climate

  • The projected path of a comet
    Scientists debunk UFO claims about rare interstellar comet 

    By Clara Lincolnhol  Online rumors are swirling that a comet from another solar system might be a UFO — but Michigan State University researchers say that’s pure speculation. It’s definitely a comet, they insist, with no credible reason to believe otherwise. 

More climate

Wildlife

  • Wolves hunt beavers in Isle Royale National Park, changing the ecosystem

    By Akia Thrower A new study reveals how gray wolves in Isle Royale National Park seasonally alter their habitat preferences to align with beavers’ habitat preferences, a shift that might have implications for the island’s ecosystem.

More wildlife

Energy

  • Ballot proposals advance, aiming to get ‘dark money’ out of politics

    By Georgia Hill Utility companies have a history of using “dark money” to influence Michigan elections. Now, organizations are attempting to advance ballot initiatives aimed at stopping utility companies from contributing to politicians who run for or hold offices that impact them. 

More energy

Nearshore

  • A side-by-side of the historic Portage Canal and modern Portage Canal from an aerial view.
    Restoration of historical site improves quality of life for Portage, Wisconsin residents

    By Joshua Kim Following the completion of segments 1 and 2 of the Portage Canal, local residents and visitors can use the historic site and its amenities following years of disrepair.

More nearshore

Waste

  • Pieces of microplastic in two outstretched hands.
    Michigan launches first annual Microplastics Awareness Week

    By Julia Belden The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and governor are marking Michigan’s first Microplastics Awareness Week. Scientists are now finding microplastics in the human body but don’t know their long-term effects.

More waste

Recreation

  • New book shares how Mackinac Island became Michigan’s tourism gem

    By Isabella Figueroa Nogueria Frank Boles, a retired Central Michigan University historian, has spent decades documenting Michigan’s past. His latest book, “Visiting Mackinac: 150 Years of Tourism at Michigan’s Fabled Straits,” explores how Mackinac Island and the surrounding Straits region became a hub for travelers from across the country.

More recreation

Solutions

  • Winter makes curved roads dangerous; researchers seek solutions

    Example of activated slippery curve warning signs on eastbound M-32 near Gaylord: Credit: Michigan State University By Eric Freedman  Winter – skid season – is almost upon us, making curves slipperier and more dangerous.  Now a new study done in Northern Michigan shows that flashing LED lights on signs near curves can successfully warn drivers to slow down during wintry conditions.  Curves can be deadly.  The state tallied 128,517 crashes on curved roadways during winter weather conditions between 2018 and 2022, causing 175 serious injuries and fatalities, plus 1,360 less serious and suspected injuries, the study said.  Curves on flat roads – called horizontal curves by highway engineers – “present a major challenge to drivers, especially when there is a significant difference between the posted speed limit and the curve advisory speed.”   Navigating curves becomes more hazardous when snow and ice reduce pavement friction, increasing the odds of a vehicle leaving its lane.  Horizontal curses are responsible for more than 25% of fatal crashes, and vehicles leave the road in most of those incidents.  Field testing of flashing LED lights took place along a 1.7-mile rural section of M-32 west of Gaylord. The two-lane undivided highway there has a posted 55 mph speed limit, while the curve has a 45 mph advisory speed.  The slippery curves study is part of a larger project looking for effective speed warning technologies, said Timothy Gates, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Michigan State University.

About Great Lakes Echo

Environmental news of the Great Lakes region from the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University.

  • Cannabis workers are developing job-related asthma and some have died, study says

    By Clara Lincolnhol New research says workers picking, grinding and packaging cannabis are developing workplace-related asthma, and two deaths have occurred so far.

  • Swiss researcher studies ‘abandonment tourism’ in Detroit

    By Camila Bello Castro A recent case study of a former “abandonment tourism” business in Detroit found a disconnect between the lived experience of many city residents and the lives of the tour participants who were generally white, younger and more international than most Detroiters and generally first-time visitors to the city.

  • Green clues: Crime-busters turn to moss to help solve crimes 

    By Eric Freedman Tiny pieces of moss can be crime-busters, says a study examining how law enforcement agencies, forensic teams and botanists have used moss to solve murders, track missing people, calculate how long ago someone died and – in a notorious Mason County case – try to locate the body of a baby murdered by her father.

  • Photo of Chen sitting in a chair
    New research in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula shows how invasive earthworms are changing forest soils  

    By Georgia Hill Scientists studying the body size and growth patterns of non-native earthworms in the UP’s Huron Mountains say they are disrupting forest ecosystems. Contrary to popular belief, most North American earthworms are invaders unintentionally introduced during European colonization. They have a significant impact on ecosystems, especially in the Great Lakes region where they affect soil structure, nutrient cycling and biodiversity.

  • Anishinaabe fire practices shaped Great Lakes ecosystems, new research shows

    By Victoria Witke New research shows Anishinaabe fire practices shaped today’s Great Lakes ecosystems. The region’s forests never existed and can’t continue to exist without people – or fire.

  • Michigan court refuses to reinstate lawsuit over runaway carriage horse at Greenfield Village  

    By Eric Freedman A horse-drawn carriage. A runaway horse. A crash. Sounds like an old-fashioned drama – not a bizarre 21st-century event. But that’s what happened three years ago when a visitor was injured while riding in a horse-drawn omnibus at Greenfield Village. The Court of Appeals has refused to reinstate her negligence suit against The Henry Ford and the driver.

  • Michigan soliciting fisheries habitat projects 

    By Finn Mills  Pre-proposal submissions for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ yearly fisheries habitat grants are now being accepted. Each year, the DNR allocates $1.5 million in fisheries habitat grants to governments and nonprofit organizations around the state.

  • Vacant lots boost diversity among Detroit’s birds, study finds

    By Eric Freedman Empty lots in deindustrialized cities like Detroit may contribute to bird species diversity, says a new study by researchers at MSU and Carleton University in Canada. The study is based on sound recordings collected at 110 sites in 11 Detroit neighborhoods. The study recommends that vacant land management in the city takes a balanced approach that considers the needs of both residents and birds. There are other concerns about vacant land, too, including as sites for solar arrays.

  • Sunrise over a construction site
    New interest in domestic mining comes with call for sustainability in the market

    By Joe Lorenz Electrification and tariffs mean rural Midwest communities can cash in on their mineral resources. But how can these ventures balance local benefit to the ecological cost?

  • A group of people in a boat on the Detroit River.
    Detroit River-based program aims to foster stewardship through community connection

    By Anna Barnes The Detroit River serves as an important geographic feature, connecting lakes St. Clair and Erie and creating a natural border between the U.S. and Canada. Despite its physical prominence in Detroit, its rich cultural significance is lost among many community residents. Programs are underway to address that disconnect.

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