Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/tag/echo/page/44/)
The devastating spread of the emerald ash borer shows no sign of slowing and it is causing the pace of timber sales to quicken, as those in the timber sales industry race against the clock – and many dying trees.
According to a new report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 40 percent of the world’s population will live under severe water stress by 2050. While the Great Lakes region is water rich, the report suggest that even water wealthy areas should work toward adaptive policies to secure freshwater’s future.
A football stadium may have green grass but does it have green habits? Each week, Great Lakes Echo highlights a Big Ten football stadium’s attempts to do the most to impact the environment the least. All schools have information on the stadium’s diversion rate – the amount of waste recycled instead of put in a landfill. Stadium: Memorial Stadium, or “The Rock”
School: Indiana University
Built: 1960
Capacity: 52,929
2012 diversion rate: 54 percent
Scouting report: During the 2012 football season, Indiana University achieved their goal of increasing their 37 percent diversion rate to 54 percent. Volunteers also handed out recycle bags in tailgate areas to keep the waste down.
Michigan lawmakers are looking to create a new wildlife council to educate the public about the outdoors and the role of hunters, anglers and trappers – using money from hunting and license fees.
Ontario Power Generation plans to store radioactive waste in an underground cavern near Lake Huron.
The storage site’s proximity to the lake has raised concern across the Great Lakes basin.
Freshwater snorkeling is opening a window on Tennessee’s river biodiversity.
Could a similar effort in the Great Lakes region build a consitutency for conserving aquatic species here?
Nationwide, there are 1,320 final sites on the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Priority List of waste sites that have released or can release hazardous contaminants. They are either awaiting or undergoing cleanup. Sites can be deleted from the list when “no further response is required to protect human health or the environment,” according to the EPA. Each site is scored through the Hazard Ranking System on a scale from 0-100. The higher the score, the greater threat they represent.
For a long time, botulism didn’t much affect loons, but the bacteria has been taking its toll recently on the population in northern Michigan.
Combined with a high mortality rate for offspring, experts are worrying about the future of this iconic bird.
We all need an occasional wake-up call.
Hopefully that’s what Canadian author and activist Naomi Klein provided recently to “Big Green” environmental groups.
Klein says Big Green groups have adapted to the “rise of corporatist government”… and now believe that working through corporate partnerships should be a big part of the solution.
