Land

Real Christmas trees go green, fakes won’t decompose

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By EMILY LAWLER
Dec. 21, 2009

LANSING, Mich. — One way to “go green” may be to chop down a real Christmas tree this year. There is debate nationally over whether artificial or natural trees are better for the environment, but some experts say that real trees are always the answer in Michigan. “In terms of carbon balance, using real trees would be more environmentally friendly,” said Alan Rebertus, a biology professor at Northern Michigan University.

Echo

Special Report: Cleaning Coal

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The Great Lakes states are home to 155 coal-fired power plants that discharge wastewater into local lakes and streams.  That wastewater can carry heavy metals and other dangerous contaminants, and has gone largely unregulated for the past 27 years.  Now the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to step in with new rules to fend off environmental concerns. Join the Great Lakes Echo for a four-day series unpacking the problems with power plant wastewater in the Great Lakes. Day 1. Great Lakes states spotty on coal limits; some water contaminants ignored. Day 2.

Echo

Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota consider fire retardant ban

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By HYONHEE SHIN
Dec. 10, 2009

LANSING, Mich. — A Michigan lawmaker wants to phase out the use of a controversial fire retardant used in electronics and home furnishings. Soil scientists say deca-BDE and two related fire retardants are toxic, persistent and bioaccumulative. They build up in fish and water and can harm the human body and breast milk, as well as water quality.

Echo

Michigan considers statewide ban on phosphorus fertilizer; Minnesota already has one

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By HYONHEE SHIN
Dec. 8, 2009

LANSING, Mich. — Some Michigan lawmakers are seeking to protect streams and lakes by restricting phosphorus lawn fertilizer use. Under a bill by Rep. Terry Brown, D-Pigeon, property owners wouldn’t be able to use lawn fertilizers containing phosphorus unless a soil test concludes the existing level of phosphorus is too low or they’re growing new turf. Allegan, Ottawa, Muskegon, Van Buren, Bay and Saginaw counties have adopted a ban, as has Ann Arbor, according to the Department of Agriculture.

Echo

Was it worth it? One Asian carp found

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(IL) Treehugger An emergency operation to stop invasive Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes used more than 2,000 gallons of rotenone to poison six miles of a canal near Chicago this week. Tens of thousands of fish were killed. Just one Asian carp, the target of the poisoning, was found. An estimated 100 tons of dead fish will be taken to a landfill. Studies have shown that Asian carp tend to sink to the bottom when they die.

Echo

Scientists: Mayflies may amplify oxygen and algae problems, but don’t blame the bugs

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By Jeff Gillies
Dec. 3, 2009

Lake Erie’s pollution in the ’60s and ’70s killed off its mayflies, insects that spend most of their lives underwater before flying off in huge hatches that carpet coastal towns. But the bugs have returned in a big way. “I’ve seen people out there with snow blowers, blowing them around,” said Justin Chaffin, a doctoral student in the University of Toledo’s biology department. “If you walk down the sidewalk or a parking lot it’s like you’re walking on bubble wrap.”

Echo

Nominate Great Lakes videos, win prizes

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We’re looking for the best of the best Great Lakes videos on the web. And you can help.  Send us a nomination and explain why it is worthy of recognition. The Great Lakes Echo staff will narrow the nominees to 10. Then we’ll ask readers to vote on their favorite of the finalists. It’s sort of like American Idol, but wetter.

Water

Book tells tale of tragic Lake Huron freighter sinking

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By Eric Freedman
Nov. 30, 2009

LANSING — The Edmund Fitzgerald is the best-known of the Great Lakes’ doomed ships, but the freighter’s demise with its entire crew off Whitefish Point in the Upper Peninsula is by no means the state’s only such maritime disaster. Andrew Kantar, a Ferris State University professor, tells another such story, that of the ill-fated freighter Daniel J. Morrell. It sank in 1966 off the tip of the Thumb in Lake Huron, northwest of Harbor Beach. “Each of the Great Lakes has its own tragic history, and Lake Huron’s violent moods have become legendary,” Kantar writes in “Deadly Voyage: The S.S. Daniel J. Morrell Tragedy” (Michigan State University Press, $16.95).

Water

Lawmakers want to lift pesticide ban to battle bedbug blast; Ohio, Michigan among hardbitten

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By Emily Lawler
Nov. 28, 2009
LANSING, Mich. — Forget letting the bedbugs bite – even having them in your home is a danger. The entire United States is dealing with a resurgence of these pesky parasites, which feed on human blood. “They can cause red itchy lesions,” said Kim Signs, a zoonotic disease epidemiologist with Michigan’s Department of Community Health.

Echo

Old fish makes new Great Lakes comeback

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By Mehak Bansil
Nov. 27, 2009

LANSING–Lake sturgeon, one of the oldest surviving species from prehistoric times, is making a small comeback in the Great Lakes region. “They’ve increased about a couple of percent since their lowest numbers, but at least the populations aren’t going down anymore,” said Bruce Manny, a fishery biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Great Lakes Science Center in Ann Arbor. The increase is due in part to a spawning project in Black Lake, an inland lake in Cheboygan County. According to a report in the Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 40 percent of the lake sturgeon released into Black Lake as part of the project survived their first winter, but Manny said, there are no estimates on the actual number due to a lack of comprehensive studies.