Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/tag/echo/page/147/)
Phosphorous fertilizers will soon be restricted in Michigan as the state addresses one of the ways the nutrient infiltrates waters and spurs the creation of zones of low oxygen that harm aquatic life.
Great Lakes shorelines may pose s challenges for soft shoreline engineering–use of natural materials to control erosion and many states encourage its use but don’t require it.
State agencies are striving to prepare Michigan’s recreational areas for the upcoming summer.
In many Great Lakes states, countless soda bottles are tossed aside, never to see a recycling bin. The same goes for used medicine containers, juice bottles and food containers that are otherwise doomed for a landfill.
When stormwater and municipal wastewater overwhelm treatment plants, cities get overwhelmed with overflows that can close Great Lakes beaches, threaten drinking water supplies and prove too expensive and time-consuming to fix.
Jan. 21, 2013
Urban flooding a regional dilemma
Getting a handle on the problem is difficult as property owners often don’t want to talk about sewage spilling into their homes.
April 5, 2011
Milwaukee pioneers innovative stormwater controls
Milwaukee built some of the region’s first sewers to carry untreated wastewater into rivers and the lake. But today the city is a national leader in reducing stormwater runoff.
One way to keep an arm’s length from the vapid Earth Day sales pitches, TV ads and junk mail circulating this month is to remember that the Great Lakes not only had a role in the creation of that event – but a role in the entire modern environmental era.
Preserving historic barns does more than maintain the beauty of the state’s rural landscape – it has economic benefits as well, preservation experts say.
It often creates new businesses, agritourism destinations and jobs.
Sable Points Lighthouse Keepers Association maintains three lighthouses: Big Sable Point and the Ludington North Breakwater Light in Ludington, Mich.; and Little Sable Point, in Shelby, Mich.
Working Bugs, an East Lansing based company, is doing big things with small microorganisms. It is a small part of a growing biomanufacturing industry hoping to replace petroleum in plastics, clothing, fuel and other products.
To submit an image to Great Lakes Echo Photo Friday, send your photo, a caption and your name to greatlakesecho@gmail.com.