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VIDEO: Ice volcano season in session

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Ice volcanoes form when wind-driven waves splash against the edge of ice shelves building out from a lake’s shoreline. Irregular ice forms at the edge, encouraging approaching waves to splash and spatter more. Once the ice has stretched out into the lake, waves beneath the ice sheet force water up into the cracks and volcanoes previously formed. This water makes cones larger and sometimes results an eruption of water from the cone like a volcano. The ice structures range from less than 3 feet to more than 24 feet tall, according to Michigan Technological University.

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Reusing gift cards

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Did you get a gift card over the holidays? Well, if you spent it and bought yourself something nice, don’t throw it away. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has some suggestions of what to do with that potential plastic waste instead of letting it not-rot in a landfill for all eternity. If you’re in tune with your inner Martha Stewart, the department suggests trying something creative, like making a Christmas tree decoration, luggage tags or even guitar picks. Or if you don’t want a card you received, want a different one, or prefer cash you can exchange, donate or sell cards online.

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Best Buy offers electric vehicles in Illinois and New York

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Best Buy and Ford announced a partnership to offer electric car owners home charging stations two weeks ago. But if you’re not in the market for Ford’s 2012 Focus Electric, you can still shop for something lighter at Best Buy. In mid-2009, the electronics retailer made room for something less couch-potato and more “moving.”

Best Buy chucked the electronic shelving for some larger interior décor on the main floor–electric scooters, bikes and even a motorcycle. The electric vehicles appeared in stores in seven states, two in the Great Lakes region. Four stores in Illinois and five in New York now carry electric vehicles.

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VIDEO: University of MIchigan’s water semester

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Parties are themed and weddings are too — and now university semesters? That’s right, the University of Michigan themed this winter semester. No it’s not a “school” theme, that’s too obvious. The focus is water. The water semester kicked off yesterday with an ice percussion concert.

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Beachcombers experience Lake Superior whale burps

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Winter winds over New Year’s Eve brought a “whiff” of whale burps, much to the curiosity of beachcombers. But the stench was surprisingly absent. The two whale burps were found by Duluth, Minn. resident Glenn Maxham’s son on Lake Superior’s beach over the holiday, according to Minnesota Sea Grant. Whale burps, also known as surf balls, form when nearshore shallows weave together a messy, entwined mix of plastic strands, feathers, pine needles, seaweed, shell pieces and other odds and ends.

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Satellite watch: Lake Michigan’s tendril plume

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On Dec. 17, a NASA satellite sailed over southern Lake Michigan after winds whipped up a tendril-like sediment plume. The satellite captured an image of the plume that caught the eye of the people behind the NASA Earth Observatory, an online repository of satellite images, photographs and other illustrations of both natural phenomena and human impacts on the planet. The plume results from winds blowing in from the north that set the water in southern Lake Michigan circulating in a counter-clockwise pattern called a gyre. The movement stirs up sediment from the lakebed, according to the Observatory.

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2010 Chevrolet Volt. Photo: Mariordo Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.

Green cars gala

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The annual North American International Auto Show opens today in Detroit. Among the snazzy new models is the winner of the North American Car of the Year, the Chevrolet Volt. With those of you with at least $32,780 to spare – that’s after a $7,500 tax credit – this little number offers 35 miles of gas-free travel and with gas an EPA-estimated 37 mpg for highway and city combined. Also on the green side, this year’s show presents “Smarter Living in Michigan.” The exhibit, hosted by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation with help from DTE energy, highlights alternative energy technologies. Last year the Ford Fusion Hybrid snagged the title of North American Car of the Year. The eco-friendly car eats up 41 mpg in the city and 36 mpg on the highway.