Echo
Great Lakes formed by volcanoes? American students score poorly on geography tests
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Giant volcanoes formed the Great Lakes in prehistoric times. Not quite, but that’s what seven percent of U.S. 12th-grade students guessed on geography tests last year. More than half of students got it right: The Great Lakes formed when large volumes of freshwater melted from ice sheets and settled into depressed land. A recent segment of Yahoo! Who Knew?
Nearshore
Lake Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes named nation’s favorite beauty
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If it’s a beauty pageant, then Lake Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes is certainly the crowd favorite. Good Morning America voters recently named it one of the most beautiful places in the country. And its 35 miles of sandy beaches and crystal waters earned it a top spot on a beach expert’s best Great Lakes beaches in July. Host Josh Elliott visited Lake Michigan’s best-kept secret and called the dunes “stunning monuments to the passage of time.” They formed when ice sheets melted and formed glacial lakes, pushing rock debris to the shoreline. Now covered in sand, the dunes have captured national attention for their beauty; they are even celebrity chef Mario Batali’s favorite vacation spot.
Echo
VIDEO: Great Lakes celebrate 332 years of European water exploration
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The first European mariners to explore the upper Great Lakes set sail 332 years ago last Sunday. Navigating the Niagara Falls proved too tricky for explorers before 1679, when Robert La Salle built a ship from scratch above the falls and cruised to Lake Michigan. A super cool segment of Yahoo! Who Knew? explores the history of European adventures on the world’s largest freshwater bodies of water.
Echo
New smartphone app hits the Great Lakes beach
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myBeachCast app. Image: Limno Tech
A new smartphone app provides beach advisories and other environmental information in real time. The myBeachCast app provides hourly updates from beach databases in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, said Christine Manninen, communications and web programming director at the Great Lakes Commission, the Ann Arbor-based agency that developed the widget. Illinois will join soon. The other four Great Lakes states will be added before next May when the second version of the app will be launched, she said.
Energy
Clean energy would bring jobs, health and money, according to report
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By Brian Bienkowski
Thousands of jobs, millions of dollars and a more stable climate are possible if Illinois aggressively pursues clean energy, according to a report released by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). The peer-reviewed report, dubbed “Bright Future for the Heartland,” predicts what would happen if Midwestern states reached two goals: produced 30 percent of its electricity supply from renewables by 2030; and reduced power consumption 2 percent every year starting in 2015. The goals came from policy recommendations that were given to Midwestern state governors in 2009 by an advisory board.(“Energy Roadmap”)
In 2007, Illinois mandated that 25 percent of the state’s power supply be renewable by 2025, and power consumption must drop 2 percent annually. While a step in the right direction, the report claims the Prairie State stands to gain more by shooting for the Energy Roadmap targets. By 2030, Illinois would add 8,400 jobs, lower energy bills by $4.7 billion and see $4.5 billion in new capital investment with stricter clean energy policies, according to the report. The jobs would come from renewable energy manufacturing, installation, and maintenance – the kind of labor base abundant in Illinois.
Echo
Satellite images detect air pollution in the Great Lakes region
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Satellite images recently showed air pollution from Ontario fires in the Great Lakes region. Nitrogen dioxide, which forms when nitrogen combines with oxygen during combustion, appears in NASA satellite images taken from July 15 to July 18. The fires caused thousands of Canadian residents to evacuate. The image was created with NASA’s Ozone Measuring Instrument. It measures the number of nitrogen dioxide molecules in a cubic centimeter.
Echo
MASHUP: Mapping Michigan’s best pest and natural resources management
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Michigan Christmas tree growers looking to chemically combat the gypsy moth are out of luck – the time period to spray insecticides has ended for all counties. But a new tool makes it easier to know when it’s okay to spray. Michigan State University’s interactive map Enviro-weather combines weather data and best pest and natural resources practices. It recently added gypsy moth spray windows and temperature maps to help tree farmers treat the invasive insect. This mashup isn’t just for Christmas tree growers.
Echo
Ohio lawmakers could override veto of Great Lakes water use bill
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The Toledo Blade reports today that Ohio lawmakers could override the governor’s veto of a bill establishing the Great Lakes region’s weakest water protections. Ohio Gov. John Kasich vetoed the hotly contested bill earlier this month. House Speaker Bill Batchelder told the Blade that nothing’s off the table, and that he wasn’t sure how to move forward in drafting legislation that would comply with the 2008 regional compact to protect the Great Lakes. Two former Ohio governors and environmental groups opposed the bill on grounds that it failed to meet the compact’s scientific requirements and protect Lake Erie from large water withdrawals. It would take 60 votes in the House and 20 in the Senate to override the governor’s veto; there was enough original support for the bill in both chambers for this happen, according to the story.