Climate

Ice forming along Chicago River

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The Chicago River just west of where it enters Lake Michigan with what is known as  brash ice, floating fragments of ice usually less than two meters across. Image: Greg Monahan

Waste

Big Ten’s Eco Efforts: University of Michigan

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In the spirit of our “Green Gridirons” series (but just in case college football wasn’t your thing), the “Big Ten’s Eco Efforts” series highlights creative off-the-field sustainability efforts. In January, the University of Michigan launched an online certification program to promote sustainable behaviors and culture. Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to join the Planet Blue Ambassadors by completing brief modules about energy, food, waste, water and community. “Ambassadors earn points per sustainable pledge they complete on their dashboard and earn badges the more pledges they complete,” said Dana Elger, media relations representative at the Office of Public Affairs. “The program is designed to educate the campus on the various ways they can assist in creating a culture of sustainability and motivate them to act.

Land

Landscope: Southfield explosion

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Now a booming suburb of Metro Detroit, Southfield has come a long way from a small agricultural town.

The city grew from around 18,500 residents in 1950 to more than 78,000 residents in 2000 before declining to 71,758 residents by 2010.

This increase was due to the growth of suburbs, where fresh air and having your own backyard was advertised by real estate agencies, as opposed to city living, where housing was crowded and dense.

Water

Mr. Great Lakes: Algae pics, Clean Energy Roadmap and Asian carp comments

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Mr. Great Lakes (Jeff Kart) reports from Bay City, Michigan’s Delta College Q-90.1 FM.  
Jan. 10, 2014 – Mr. Great Lakes (Jeff Kart) – Friday EDITION – Q-90.1 FM Delta College Public Radio by jeffkart

This week, Kart discusses a project to gather algae photos, Michigan’s Clean Energy Manufacturing Roadmap project and a study about Asian carp. Text at Mr. Great Lakes

Climate

Photo Friday: Warm Great Lakes clash with frigid air to produce steam fog

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This color-enhanced picture from the NASA Earth Observatory shows how the cold air moving across warmer waters of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior during this week’s arctic storm transformed water vapor into steam fog. NASA says one of its satellites on  Jan. 6 captured the data used here to illustrate the difference between snow (bright orange), water clouds (white), and mixed clouds (peach). Here’s what steam fog looked like near Chicago and from the ground view.