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.  

Wildlife

Rattlesnake bite triggers advisory

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We recently reported on a snakebite incident in lower Michigan. A young, barefoot visitor to an Ann Arbor botanical garden was bitten by an Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake, the only rattlesnake native to Michigan. The young girl was hospitalized and recovered. The incident has triggered an advisory from a group of Michigan naturalists of the risk of an encounter with this species of snake in our state. Current State’s Mark Bashore speaks with Steven Parrish, a Restorative Ecologist at the Matthei Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor, to learn more about the potential risks of rattlesnakes in Michigan.

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.

Wildlife

Photo Friday: An emerald on the beach

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Note: This image and explanation is by David Marvin. Kennedy’s emerald dragonflies (Somatochlora kennedyi) tend to be fairly shy dragonflies when it comes to being photographed. This female Kennedy’s Emerald got caught in a quickly moving cold front along Lake Superior that caused it to land on the sandy beach, creating a rare occasion to photograph one without first capturing it. Its wings and body have dew that formed when the front arrived and the fog rolled inland. Kennedy’s Emerald dragonflies are related to other members of the Striped Emeralds of the Somatochlora genus, including the endangered Hine’s Emerald (Somatochlora hineana).

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.  

Nearshore

Poll: A fifth of Michigan residents not Great Lakes wet yet

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Michigan residents may live in a basin containing nearly 20 percent of the world’s freshwater, but more than 21 percent failed to boat, swim or wade in a Great Lake in the past five years, according to a recent poll conducted by Lansing-based Public Sector Consultants. Here’s what else the poll revealed:

Only 13.5 percent of Michigan potential voters went to every lake during the past five years. Almost 21 percent visited one lake. Almost 19 percent visited two lakes. A little more than 16 percent visited three lakes.

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.

Energy

Michigan voters favor changing energy mix – especially if it doesn’t cost anything

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More than 42 percent of Michigan potential voters think the state should dramatically reduce its reliance on electricity generated from coal over the next 25 years as technology improves and costs decrease for other sources, according to a recent poll by Public Sector Consultants. But only 13 percent favor a dramatic drop in coal-produced electricity over the next 10 years, even if it means electricity rates were to increase, according to the poll of 600 likely voters done by the Lansing public policy company and Denno Research. Poll respondents were told before answering:

“Michigan produces 57 percent of its electricity from coal, 11 percent from natural gas, 22 percent from nuclear, and 10 percent from renewable energy sources. Of these sources, coal is the source that produces the greatest amount of carbon emissions, a component of climate change. As you think about balancing Michigan’s energy needs with the price of electricity on one hand, and the environment on the other, which of the following statements comes closest to your beliefs?”

Nearshore

Photo Friday: June dawn at Middle Bass Island

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Have an environmental image you’ve taken somewhere within the Great Lakes region and that you’d like to submit for Echo’s Photo Friday series? Send it to greatlakesecho@gmail.com along with the photographer’s name and town of residence, approximate date it was taken, where it was taken and a little bit of description of what we’re looking at. Context such as how you happened to take it, whether there were physical or technical challenges in capturing it or any other “story behind the picture” is also helpful.