Echo

Film explores Great Lakes region’s relationship with ice

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The Great Lakes formed thousands of years ago when a glacier moved across the region and melted. The film “Project:Ice” depicts the important role ice continues to plays in the Great Lakes Basin. The documentary’s director and executive producer Bill Kleinert joined, WKAR’s Current State to discuss “Project: Ice.” To read more about the film, you can check out an article we published earlier this year about the documentary. Film explores Great Lakes region’s relationship with ice by EmanueleB

Land

Re-leaf Duluth seeks to restore the environment

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By Daniel Badhwa

The city of Duluth, Minn. has launched a new program to restore and plant more trees in urban neighborhoods. Trees have disappeared from Duluth due to higher energy costs, pollution and unhealthy growing environments. The city of Duluth established the Re-Leaf program three years ago after setting aside a $5,000 annual budget to re-leaf the city. Urban trees provide shade for houses and businesses and soak up rainwater to lessen polluted runoff into lakes and streams. To many people though, urban trees simply provide a more pleasant living environment.

Nearshore

Experts discuss health of Great Lakes beaches

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This is the second of four Great Lakes Now broadcasts exploring the major environmental challenges facing the Great Lakes and produced by Detroit Public Television and The Nature Conservancy. It looks at the safety and health of the beaches, low lake levels and the threats of E. Coli, sewage and algae. The special features two panel discussions hosted by MiWeek‘s Christy McDonald. Panel 1: How Safe Are Our Beaches? Katherine Kahl, Ph.

Echo

Endocrine disrupters: What can I do?

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By Kate Golden
Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism
Advice from experts. To limit BPA exposure, be careful with plastics used with food. Heat food in glassware and carry stainless steel bottles. Discard scratched plastic, and don’t buy used plastic containers. Consider eating less canned food, since can liners may contain BPA.

Echo

Duluth business owners address clothing pollution

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By Rosemary Bray

The impact of clothing pollution

The clothes you buy may have a negative impact on the environment, and local businesses in Duluth, Minn. are educating shoppers on clothing pollution. Clothing pollution is “the environmental cost of how we are consuming clothing,” according to Mindy Granley, sustainability coordinator at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Many people fail to consider the environmental cost that consumers are causing when they go shopping, said Mindy Granley,

“We should care about our environment,” she said. “Each choice we make has an impact beyond our wallet.”

Yet, the impact that shopping has on the environment can be relieved through clothing sustainability, Granley said.

Echo

Photo Friday: Spring flow in the Great Lakes

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This photo was taken from the International Space Station by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, commander of Expedition 35. He posted several photos on May 5 to his Twitter account showing how the springtime water flows in the Great Lakes. Lakes Huron, Erie and Ontario are featured in the photo above.

Wildlife

Volunteers needed to monitor endangered piping plovers

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If you enjoy birdwatching, you may be able to use your hobby to help protect an endangered Great Lakes shorebird. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is relying on volunteers to monitor the critically endangered piping plover during its nesting season this summer, from May 1st to July 15th. Patrols have already been established in Michigan national forest and state parks, including Sleeping Bear Dunes lakeshore. Most remaining breeding pairs nest in Michigan — with the intensive patrol programs, the number of Great Lakes nesting plovers rose from 17 pairs in 1986 to 59 pairs in 2005, according to the National Park Service. But numbers have dropped in recent years: 25 pairs in 2009, 23 pairs in 2010 and 18 pairs in 2011.

Echo

Lake St. Clair best in nation for bass; Lake Erie in top 10

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Lake St. Clair was recently named the best bass lake in the country by Bassmaster Magazine. Many bass anglers considered St. Clair to be the underdog, but according to Bassmaster editor James Hall, an emerging largemouth fishery helped it secure the top spot. “It is truly amazing how much a fishery can change in the span of 12 months,” Hall said in a release.

Nearshore

Beach hygiene for a new water cycle

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High bacteria levels plague Great Lakes beaches by EmanueleB

 

Climate and infrastructure both play a role in beach health. Extreme weather events and old sewage systems are enabling bacteria to pollute Great Lakes beaches. According to a 2012 report by the Natural Resources Defense Council, bacterial levels measured in 2011 of Great Lakes beaches exceeded national recommended health standards more than beaches in any other region. Dr. Joan Rose is the  Nowlin Endowed Chair of Water Research  at Michigan State University. She joined Current State’s  Mark Bashore to discuss beach health.  

 

Echo

Historic St. Lawrence River lighthouse up for sale

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Ever dream of owning a National Landmark?  For $539,900, that dream could become a reality. One of the oldest lighthouses on the St. Lawrence River is up for sale, according to the Watertown Daily Times. Crossover Island rests in the St.