Water
Plastics in your face? There’s an app for that
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It lets you scan bar codes of personal hygiene products to see if they contain microbeads of plastic, an increasing pollution concern in the Great Lakes and elsewhere.
Nearshore
Artificial wetland in Ohio filters runoff, fights algae
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Ohio officials have built an artificial wetland to help prevent blooms of toxic algae in Grand Lake St. Marys by filtering runoff from a nearby creek.
Water
Drugs found in Lake Michigan, miles from sewage outfalls
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Prescription drugs are contaminating Lake Michigan two miles from Milwaukee’s sewage outfalls, suggesting that the lake is not diluting the compounds as most scientists expected.
Echo
Twenty years after fatal outbreak, Milwaukee leads on water testing
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In 2004, Milwaukee Water Works began monitoring drinking water for estrogen and testosterone, flame retardants, pesticides, explosives and pharmaceuticals.
Water
Miami’s Pangaea Explorations launches research journey into Great Lakes
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The summer, anyone from senior citizens to students can assist in hands-on research in the Great Lakes. Florida organization Pangaea Explorations launches its first expedition into the Great Lakes, to conduct research on plastic pollution in the Great Lakes. Currently sailing in Bermuda, the expedition yacht Sea Dragon will travel to Cape Cod, Massachusetts in late June to kick off the Great Lakes expedition. Throughout the course of the trip, there will be eight separate legs, where the different “citizen science” groups will switch off to assist in hands-on research focused primarily on plastics in the Great Lakes. The groups include undergraduate students, senior citizens, teachers and more.
Echo
International Joint Commission issues Great Lakes report card
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Lana Pollack, chair of the International Joint Commission’s U.S. delegation, discusses past victories and future challenges of cleaning up the Great Lakes.
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.
Water
Concerns grow about hormone disrupters in Wisconsin water
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Chemicals that act like hormones have entered waters in the Great Lakes region and elsewhere. They are in soaps, plastics, industrial solvents, pesticides, herbicides and medicines.
Water
Algal blooms the new norm for Lake Erie
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Harmful algal blooms are likely to persist on Lake Erie, primarily due to climate change, land use, invasive species and farming practices.
An active storm season this May and June may be a contributing factor.
Water
Toxic chemicals turn up in Great Lakes plastic pollution
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Toxic chemicals clinging to plastics could cause health problems for fish and other organisms in the Great Lakes.
Researchers are studying if plastic particles may distribute the chemicals which otherwise accumulate in sediments.