Echo

Another college bans bottled water sales

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Chicago’s Loyola University became the latest university in the region to ban campus bottled water sales, the Chicago Sun Times recently reported. The paper said that a student group notes: “We consider the sale of bottled water on campus in conflict with the Jesuit tradition and Loyola’s mission ‘to be in service of humanity through learning, justice and faith.”

Great Lakes Echo recently wrote how campus bottled water bans – and the establishment of water bottle filling stations – appear to be increasing regionally and nationally. At the same time, bottled water manufacturers are pushing back, noting that bans restrict the freedom to choose an alternative to less healthy drinks that continue to be sold on campuses.

Echo

Photo Friday: Super mooning the Great Lakes

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Miss the super moon last Saturday? You know, that’s when the moon appeared 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than other full moons this year. That’s when it’s orbit brought it closest to Earth at about the same time it appeared its fullest. Super moons appear about once a year, according to NASA. This one got a lot of play on YouTube.

Echo

No quick drug cure expected for obesity

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By Wei Yu

Capital News Service

LANSING — Two new obesity drugs are awaiting approval from the Food and Drug Administration, but federal advisers say Qnexaand Lorcaserin should undergo clinical trials to ensure there are no heart-risks. According to the Michigan Department of Community Health, the state has the 10th highest rate of obesity in the U.S. Thirty percent of adults were obese and about one in six children aged 2 to 5 were obese or overweight in 2010. “It is necessary to initiate clinical trials of the new drugs,” said Tom Rifai, medical director of metabolic nutrition and weight management at St. Joseph Mercy Oakland in Pontiac, Mich. “Large, placebo-controlled, prospective trials would be ideal for any type of drug like this,” Rifai said.

Echo

Just what’s in those insect-repellent clothes? You’ll know soon

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Avoiding the threat of mosquitoes, ticks and other pests by wearing insect-repellant clothing sounds ideal, but there may be some hidden costs. On April 25, the EPA found that pesticide-treated clothing sold by the Columbia Sportswear Company lacked a proper ingredient statement, a warning, a proper storage and disposal statement and was missing the required EPA pesticide registration number. Until Columbia fixes the labeling and tells customers what ingredients are in them, it can no longer sell the pesticide-laden clothes. It also has to pay a fine of $22,880. So although it’s nice to have a day in the woods without constant insect buzzing, I’d appreciate knowing what pesticides are keeping them away.

Echo

Beachmaker crushes zebra mussel leftovers

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A new weapon has emerged in the war against invasive zebra mussels. Put it on the shelf next to the BioBullets, Zequanox, the mussel-killing cocktail and the Mobile Decontamination Machine. Introducing, the Beachmaker. The Beachmaker sucks up zebra mussel shells and crushes them until they look like sand particles. It was invented by a Wisconsin man who wanted his kids to be able to play on the beach without wearing shoes.

Echo

Photo Friday: Lake Erie contest

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If you’re an Ohioan itching to share your pictures of the Lake Erie watershed, the Ohio Lake Erie Commission wants to hear from you. The commission is opening up its 2012 Life on Lake Erie photo contest, looking for pictures that display sustainable use, development or protection of Lake Erie’s resources. The photos can’t be digitally altered.  Winning images will be displayed online on the commission’s website and Facebook page. You can submit entries by sending a printed photo or CD and entry form to the Ohio Lake Erie Commission in Sandusky, Ohio, or online by contacting the commission office. Check out the winning 2011 photos here.

Echo

Flash Point: Peter Scott Eide’s favorite Great Lakes shots

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We asked Great Lakes photographers to send us their favorite Great Lakes shots. Peter Scott Eide sent us these photos of Lake Superior. Native Feather

This image was taken using Kodak black-and-white film. It was shot in the early spring when the water levels tend to be at their lowest. This particular spring they were at historically low levels, and sections of shoreline became exposed that normally lay buried beneath the sand and water.

Echo

Name International Wolf Center pups

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Now’s your opportunity to pass on your Polish grandfather’s traditional name, or finally name a boy Sue. The International Wolf Center in Ely, Minn., is hosting the Name the Wolf Pups contest, where you can enter to name wolf pups that will be part of the center’s ambassador wolf pack. The two pups up for naming this year are temporarily nicknamed Bolts and Peanut. Bolts is an inquisitive yet camera-shy male, and Peanut is a vocal, robust female. You can see the pups on the center’s Youtube Channel, or in live action on the Wolf Watch Cam.

Echo

Wisconsin boasts nation’s best hunting and fishing town

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The Great Lakes region got some recognition this month when Outdoor Life magazine named Appleton, Wis., the best hunting and fishing town in the United States. With Lake Winnebego, Fox River and Green Bay nearby, there are plenty of fishing opportunities. And 52,000 acres of nearby public hunting land doesn’t hurt either. “You don’t have to get far out of Appleton to hunt, fish, trap and do other outdoor activities,” said Kay Brockman-Mederas, wildlife biologist in Shawano, Wis., with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. And according to Outdoor Life, area deer hunters do pretty well for themselves, with record-winning bucks shot within 50 miles of downtown Appleton in the last five years.