Great Lakes platform helps connect green investors with regional projects

By Kari Lydersen

This story was first published on the Energy News Network and was republished here with permission.

A two-year-old economic development partnership is helping to draw attention — and investment dollars — to sustainability projects in the Great Lakes region.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

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Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/02/great-lakes-platform-green-projects/

Energy News Network

Interior Department approves $1B to clean up abandoned wells

By Drew Costley, Associated Press

The Department of Interior is spending $1.15 billion to cap abandoned oil and gas wells across the United States.

There are over 3 million abandoned oil and gas wells in the U.S., according to the Environmental Protection Agency. And Interior officials say that wells have been exposing millions of people to air and water pollution for decades.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

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Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/02/ap-interior-department-abandoned-wells/

The Associated Press

Minnesota cities hope climate emergency resolutions add urgency to responses

By Frank Jossi

This story was first published on the Energy News Network and was republished here with permission

St. Paul last week joined a growing list of Minnesota cities passing climate resolutions aimed at adding urgency to state and local climate actions.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

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Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/02/minnesota-cities-climate-resolutions/

Energy News Network

Biden’s First Year: An infrastructure win, but climate and justice plans struggle

In November 2020, shortly after President Joe Biden was elected, Great Lakes Now talked with University of Detroit Mercy  associate professor Nick Schroeck about the opportunities and challenges facing the president-elect. 

Schroeck is an environmental law attorney and urban policy expert who has a background in transboundary legal issues between the U.S.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/bidens-first-year/

Gary Wilson

103 years after National Geographic published its article on berries, Michigan is witnessing some changes due to climate change and invasive species.

The post Threats to the native berries amongst us first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.

Original Article

Great Lakes Echo

Great Lakes Echo

http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/01/27/threats-to-the-native-berries-amongst-us/

Guest Contributor

Wind Turbines: Where do they cluster around the Great Lakes?

Huge breezes are commonplace around the Great Lakes, which is part of why the region makes a good location for wind turbines.

Though wind power has been utilized for centuries, it has only been harnessed as a widespread alternative energy source as recently as the 1990s.

In 2016, the United States Geological Survey began tracking wind turbines.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

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Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/wind-turbines-great-lakes/

Alex Hill

Michigan governor releases plan draft for carbon neutrality

By Anna Liz Nichols, Associated Press

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan will build clean energy infrastructure and invest in green programs over the next 30 years with the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050 to confront climate change, a draft of a state plan says.

Gov.

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Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/ap-plan-draft-carbon-neutrality/

The Associated Press

On Record: Enbridge returns to court to try to get Line 5 permit

A new round of court proceedings commences in the long-running Enbridge Inc. Line 5 saga as Administrative Law Judge Dennis Mack oversees the cross-examination of a series of witnesses starting on Jan. 14.

The results of this cross-examination will play a role in the Michigan Public Service Commission’s decision on whether or not to grant Enbridge one of the key permits it needs to construct the Line 5 tunnel.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/enbridge-court-michigan-public-service-commission-line-5-permit/

Natasha Blakely

With art ranging in size from giant mobiles to miniature paintings, artists from across the country are collaborating to face the climate crisis with a new exhibit in metro Detroit.

The post New Detroit art exhibit addresses climate crisis with hope first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.

Original Article

Great Lakes Echo

Great Lakes Echo

http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/01/14/new-detroit-art-exhibit-addresses-climate-crisis-with-hope/

Guest Contributor

Environmental justice in spotlight as WH official departs

By Drew Costley, Associated Press

The White House’s top official on environmental justice is stepping down a year after President Joe Biden took office with an ambitious plan to help disadvantaged communities and overhaul policies that have historically hurt them.

The departure Friday of Cecilia Martinez, senior director for environmental justice at the Council for Environmental Quality, puts a spotlight on both the administration’s successes and promises yet to be fulfilled.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

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Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/ap-environmental-justice-official/

The Associated Press

Breeze Boost: What’s the connection between breezy Lake Michigan days and high ozone levels?

The day was like any other in summer on the Lake Michigan coast: hot. But Charles Stanier remembers the breeze.  

It was the summer of 2017, and he’d been working up a sweat in a trailer in Illinois Beach State Park. A professor of chemical and biochemical engineering at the University of Iowa, Stanier spent the morning checking instruments, climbing up and down ladders, and wondering if anything would come of all his team’s work.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

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Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/lake-michigan-ozone-levels/

Lina Tran

Bugs, Shorter Winters, Climate: Great Lakes vineyards face changing circumstances

The Erie County Ag Research Corporation facility started as a small building in northeast Pennsylvania near the Lake Erie shore in 1948. Pennsylvania State University bought it just four years later.  

Now, Penn State’s grape research center boasts 43 acres and has a joint program with Cornell University’s Grape Research Lab in New York.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

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Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/great-lakes-vineyards-changing/

Capri S. Cafaro

Adapting to Climate Change Will Only Get More Expensive

By Michael Allen, Hakai Magazine 

This story originally appeared in Hakai Magazine and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.

 

As the climate warms, the price of adapting homes and infrastructure to cope with increasing temperatures, heavier rainfalls, stronger storms, and rising seas will be staggering.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/adapting-climate-change-expensive/

Hakai Magazine

Year in Review 2021: Change is good, really, and proof is in the Great Lakes pudding

Not to overshare and get too personal, but I don’t deal well with change. 

Unfortunately, as evidenced by the past two years, unexpected change is unavoidable. 

What a lot of people – including me for a while – don’t seem to realize about change is that it isn’t temporary.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/12/year-in-review-2021-change/

Natasha Blakely

Minnesota lake ice shrinking as climate change warms winters

By Mohamed Ibrahim, Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota lakes have lost nearly two weeks of lake ice over the past 50 years as climate change diminishes the state’s winters, officials from Minnesota’s natural resources and pollution control agencies said Friday.

According to newly released data from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and Department of Natural Resources, the state has lost an average of 10 to 14 days of lake ice over the past 50 years — a change officials say is hurting local economies, the environment and the Minnesota way of life.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

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Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/12/ap-minnesota-lake-climate-change/

The Associated Press

You Can’t Beat Climate Change Without Tackling Disinformation

By Amy Westervelt, The Nation

This story originally appeared in The Nation and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.

 

In the past few months, climate disinformation has been making its way into the news more than usual.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

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Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/12/climate-change-disinformation/

The Nation

Study: Warmer summers worsen tick infestations for US moose

By John Flesher, Associated Press

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — It’s a ghastly sight: ticks by tens of thousands burrowed into a moose’s broad body, sucking its lifeblood as the agonized host rubs against trees so vigorously that much of its fur wears away.

Winter tick infestation is common with moose across the northern U.S.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/11/ap-study-warmer-summers-worsen-tick-infestations-moose/

The Associated Press

Say Goodbye to Your National Parks Road Trips?

By Tara Lohan, The Revelator

This story originally appeared in The Revelator and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.

 

Climate change is already shaking up the natural world, changing the timing of seasonal snow melts, flower blooms and animal migrations.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

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Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/11/goodbye-national-parks-road-trips/

The Revelator

Sustainable Shipping: The Port of Montreal’s role as the Great Lakes’ green gateway

Shipping companies and ports around the world and on the Great Lakes are launching sustainability efforts to lessen their environmental impact, combat climate change, and improve their efficiency and images. With support from the Solutions Journalism Network, Great Lakes Now Contributor Kari Lydersen is reporting the four-part series “Sustainable Shipping.”

Read them here:

Are voluntary efforts enough to improve port sustainability?

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

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Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/11/sustainability-shipping-port-montreal-green-gateway/

Kari Lydersen

Sustainable Shipping: At the Port of Milwaukee the wind blows toward a greener future

Shipping companies and ports around the world and on the Great Lakes are launching sustainability efforts to lessen their environmental impact, combat climate change, and improve their efficiency and images. With support from the Solutions Journalism Network, Great Lakes Now Contributor Kari Lydersen is reporting the four-part series “Sustainable Shipping.”

Read them here:

Are voluntary efforts enough to improve port sustainability?

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/11/sustainable-shipping-port-milwaukee-the-wind-green-energy/

Kari Lydersen

How the Ski Industry Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Climate Activism

By Jenessa Duncombe, Eos

This story originally appeared in Eos and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.

 

An interview with the president of the International Ski Federation, Gian Franco Kasper, made its way around the Internet faster than locals flocking to the first chair on a powder day.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/11/ski-industry-climate-activism/

Eos

Climate Change Grips Trout Streams Across the Nation: How Anglers Are Responding

By Laura Gersony, Circle of Blue

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/11/climate-change-trout-streams-nation-anglers/

Circle of Blue

Green Marine: Are voluntary efforts enough to improve port sustainability?

When zebra mussels emerged as a dire ecological and economic threat across the Great Lakes in the 1990s, it was a wakeup call that the existing patchwork of international, state and federal regulations were not protecting the delicate ecosystem, the source of drinking water for millions of people.

In response, some industry leaders came together to form a voluntary sustainability certification organization called Green Marine.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/11/green-marine-voluntary-improve-port-sustainability/

Kari Lydersen

UM researchers think tech could help cities better manage stormwater

By Lester Graham, Michigan Radio

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/11/researchers-tech-cities-manage-stormwater/

Michigan Radio

US Democratic governors to participate in U.N. climate talks

By Kathleen Ronayne, Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — U.S. governors want a seat at the table as international leaders prepare to gather in Scotland at a critical moment for global efforts to reduce fossil fuel emissions and slow the planet’s temperature rise.

At least a half dozen state governors — all Democrats — plan to attend parts of the two-week United Nations’ climate change conference in Glasgow, known as COP26.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/11/ap-democratic-governors-climate-talks/

The Associated Press

Majority in US concerned about climate: AP-NORC/EPIC poll

By Ellen Knickmeyer, Emily Swanson and Nathan Ellgren, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden heads to a vital U.N. climate summit at a time when a majority of Americans regard the deteriorating climate as a problem of high importance to them, an increase from just a few years ago.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/10/ap-majority-concerned-climate-poll/

The Associated Press

Pritzker to visit UK, tout climate-change efforts next week

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker will travel to the United Kingdom next week to discuss the state’s efforts to neutralize climate change while bolstering economic development, his office said Wednesday.

The Democrat and top staff members will travel to Britain and Scotland from Nov. 2-9 and attend the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/10/ap-pritzker-uk-climate-change/

The Associated Press

In Climate Talks, Plans to Keep Planet from Overheating Should Not Ignore Water

By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/10/climate-talks-planet-overheating-water/

Circle of Blue

Water Groups Lauded a Side Agreement at the Paris Climate Conference. Then It Languished.

By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/10/water-groups-agreement-paris-climate-conference/

Circle of Blue

Billions in environmental justice funds hang in the balance

By Drew Costley, AP Science Writer

Tens of billions of dollars for U.S. environmental justice initiatives originally proposed in a $3.5 trillion domestic spending package now hang in the balance as Democrats decide how to trim the bill down to $2 trillion.

Investments in a wide range of these projects were proposed in the Build Back Better plan, but Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona demanded that the bill be reduced, with Manchin asking for it to be cut by as much as half.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/10/ap-environmental-justice-funds-balance/

The Associated Press

What is COP26? Here’s how global climate negotiations work and what’s expected from the Glasgow summit

By Shelley Inglis, University of Dayton, The Conversation

 is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.

Over two weeks in November, world leaders and national negotiators will meet in Scotland to discuss what to do about climate change.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/10/cop26-global-climate-negotiations-glasgow-summit/

The Conversation

COP26 Coverage: What do you want to know about the U.N. climate change conference?

Climate change is one of the more pressing topics that Great Lakes Now has its eye on. Come Oct. 31, one of the largest global conferences will be convening to discuss that topic, so Great Lakes Now will be right there to help keep you up to date.

COP26 is the next annual UN climate change conference.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/10/cop26-questions-un-climate-change-conference/

Natasha Blakely

U.N. Climate Conference: Michigan’s role at the U.N.’s COP26 and in the U.S.’s climate future

Even when the topic is cars and climate change, in Michigan it still comes back to the Great Lakes.

“To me, really, the take home is always, always, always water,” said Liesl Clark, director of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. She appeared at an event in Detroit that previewed COP26.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/10/un-climate-conference-michigan-role/

Natasha Blakely

Biden appoints Debra Shore to lead EPA Midwestern office

By John Flesher, Associated Press

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday appointed Debra Shore, a wastewater treatment official in Chicago, to direct the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Midwestern office.

Shore will oversee EPA’s Region 5, which includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin, along with 35 indigenous tribes.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/10/ap-biden-debra-shore-epa-midwestern-office/

Mila Murray

Indigenous leaders face barriers to UN climate conference

By Mary Annette Pember, Indian Country Today

This story originally appeared in Indian Country Today and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.

 

Indigenous leaders are largely being excluded from participation in the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference as the world grapples with escalating problems from floods, fires, heat, drought and other disasters.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/10/indigenous-leaders-face-barriers-un-climate-conference/

Indian Country Today

Nearly Two Dozen Communities Awarded State Water Infrastructure Fund Grants

By Enrique Saenz, Indiana Environmental Reporter

Hundreds of Indiana municipalities applied for millions of dollars of state and federal money to fund much-needed water infrastructure projects, but only a few made the first cut.

The Indiana Finance Authority selected 22 municipalities out of more than 500 that applied to receive $63 million in grants from the first round of State Water Infrastructure Fund program funding.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/10/communities-awarded-state-water-infrastructure-fund-grants/

Indiana Environmental Reporter

For Nicole Ward, Wisconsin Sea Grant’s current J. Philip Keillor Great Lakes Fellow, returning to Madison for this opportunity has brought her academic journey full circle.

Keillor Fellow Dr. Nicole K. Ward (Submitted photo)

Ward earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison just over a decade ago, then left the Badger State for graduate studies in Idaho and Virginia. Yet Ward was eager to get back to the Upper Midwest and work on Great Lakes topics—making the Keillor Fellowship, which began June 1, an excellent fit for the newly minted Ph.D.

She is based at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Office of Great Waters, where she works closely with Madeline Magee, monitoring program coordinator, and Cherie Hagen, the Lake Superior Basin supervisor. Ward is also active in the Great Lakes Working Group of the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI).

Broadly speaking, her focus is on incorporating climate change resilience planning into the DNR’s Great Lakes projects. The three main projects she’s associated with are:

  • The WICCI Great Lakes Working Group report, expected to be published online in late September. The report summarizes climate change effects on Great Lakes ecosystems and covers some potential solutions.
  • Great Lakes coastal wetlands: assessing the condition and resiliency of Wisconsin’s coastal wetlands in the face of climate change. This, in turn, could inform the prioritization of wetlands for restoration or protection.
  • Developing climate adaptation resources and information for DNR Office of Great Waters staff to ensure climate resiliency is built into all projects involving the Great Lakes and Mississippi River.

The range of duties draws upon Ward’s passion for freshwater ecosystems, but also allows her to grow her skillset. “I’ve worked in multiple other types of freshwater ecosystems, like rivers, streams, lakes and reservoirs, but this will add to my repertoire through working on the Great Lakes and coastal wetlands,” she said.

Nicole K. Ward explores some of Wisconsin’s waters by canoe. (Photo: Titus Seilheimer)

A native of Rochester, Minnesota, Ward spent three years with the Minnesota DNR working on native mussels and stream ecology after earning her bachelor’s degree.

Those years with the Minnesota DNR set her future direction in motion: “It was while snorkeling and scuba diving in the streams and rivers of Minnesota that I began seeing the effects of land management and decision-making that were far removed from the stream itself,” she said. “I had an ‘aha moment’ while working there, when I decided I needed to learn more about how people make environmental decisions, and how those decisions may change in response to changing ecosystems. The ever-changing and complex Great Lakes Basin is really the perfect place to apply my skills in understanding feedbacks between ecosystem change and human decision-making.”

After a master’s degree at the University of Idaho in water resources, doctoral work in biological sciences at Virginia Tech followed. There, she examined land use and climate change over the course of 31 years in the Lake Sunapee watershed in New Hampshire.

During her time at Virginia Tech, she also worked with a local lake association to co-produce an online, interactive data visualization tool for communicating with landowners about lawn management practices. She collaborated with a social psychologist to develop the tool and gauge its effectiveness.

This points to another area of interest: science communication and finding effective strategies for connecting with varied audiences. One of the key things she learned from working with the psychologist, Ward said, was that “Simple messaging is better. While you see that in the literature, this experience was a really direct, personal reality check of just how simple you need to keep things if engaging with a particular audience for the first time about a topic.”

The human dimension of environmental decisions is a throughline in her work. Said Ward, “A foundational part of how I think about myself as a scientist is to fully recognize that people make environmental decisions based on much more than just scientific evidence. Water issues are never actually about the water, they’re about the underlying values and priorities of people, and people have more shared values than we often recognize.”

The post Keillor Fellow to integrate climate change planning into Great Lakes and coastal wetlands projects first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/keillor-fellow-to-integrate-climate-change-planning-into-great-lakes-and-coastal-wetlands-projects/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=keillor-fellow-to-integrate-climate-change-planning-into-great-lakes-and-coastal-wetlands-projects

Jennifer Smith

Q&A: Climate, equity and diversity top priorities for new national non-profit executive

Manish Bapna believes that, as a country, we are at a critical juncture with climate change and the time to act is now.

“We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to overcome the climate crisis and build a healthier, more equitable and more vibrant world,” Bapna said in a statement on his appointment in August as president and CEO of the non-profit Natural Resources Defense Council.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/09/natural-resources-defense-council-climate-equity-diversity-qna/

Gary Wilson

Bridge Over Warming Water: Grants fund fish habitat conservation projects around the Great Lakes

Rivers, streams and lakes are warming, casting a dark shadow on the future of coldwater fish in the Great Lakes region. To save them, state and federal agencies around the Great Lakes are investing millions in these fish.

Currently, the Great Lakes are home to coldwater fish like ciscoes, walleyes, suckers, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, brook trout, brown trout, rainbow trout, chinook salmon and coho salmon.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/09/warming-water-grant-programs-fish-habitat-conservation/

Rachel Duckett

Wisconsin’s Sea Grant’s “Lake Talks,” a series of informal science presentations, returns for the fall season with an event on Thursday, Sept. 23, from 7-8 p.m. Kicking off the new season is speaker Jackson Parr, the J. Philip Keillor Flood Resilience-Wisconsin Sea Grant Fellow. His talk is titled “Understanding Flood Resilience in Your Community.”

The virtual event will be held on Zoom. It is open to everyone, though registration is required. (Register for this event now.) The hour will include time for audience questions.

The Keillor Flood Resilience Fellowship is jointly supported by Wisconsin Sea Grant and the Climate and Health Program at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS), where the fellow is stationed. The goal of the position is to boost resilience to flooding events in communities around the state—particularly smaller ones that may have less capacity or fewer resources to devote to this issue than larger municipalities.

Jackson Parr (submitted photo)

Parr’s topic is a timely one, as flooding and other damage from Hurricane Ida has captured the concern of the nation. While Wisconsin does not face hurricanes, other severe weather events have caused damage and displacement here. For example, widespread and significant flooding in the southern portion of the state in 2008 led to 31 counties being declared disaster areas. According to the National Weather Service, more than 40,000 homes and 5,000 businesses were damaged, and state officials estimated the total damage at more than $1.2 billion.

In his talk, Parr will describe a tool called the Flood Resilience Scorecard, which helps communities assess their level of flood preparedness through three lenses: environmental, institutional and social. The tool also assesses readiness for dealing with the health impacts that often follow floods. Parr and colleagues at DHS and Sea Grant work with communities on completing the scorecard, and, based on the outcomes, they help those communities take action to boost their readiness.

Parr is well-versed in Wisconsin communities as both a former Door County journalist and a two-time graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He holds master’s degrees in public affairs and water resources management.

Future Lake Talks this fall will focus on Wisconsin shipwrecks (October); Great Lakes children’s literature by Native American authors (November); and a conversation with Minnesota-based poet Moheb Soliman, who draws upon his Great Lakes travels in his work, including his most recent poetry collection, HOMES (December). Those talks will also be delivered via Zoom.

For Lake Talks event and registration information, visit the Sea Grant website, or follow Wisconsin Sea Grant on Facebook or Twitter. You can register for Jackson Parr’s talk now.

For questions about this series, contact Wisconsin Sea Grant science communicator Jennifer Smith.

The post Series of informal science talks returns with a focus on flood resilience in Wisconsin communities first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

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News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

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Jennifer Smith

Adaptation vs. Mitigation: Canada’s national climate change adaptation strategy needs balance

Amid wildfires, heat waves, drought and catastrophic flooding, Canada is moving ahead with its first ever national adaptation strategy to help Canadians identify and deliver on meaningful ways of adapting to the worsening effects of the climate emergency.

First announced in December 2020 and updated in mid-August, the government aims to consult widely with Indigenous groups, youth and environmental organizations to create a framework for concrete actions that businesses, governments and individuals can take to ensure the resilience of their communities.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/09/adaptation-mitigation-canada-national-climate-change-strategy/

Andrew Reeves

Sensors provide a real-time glimpse at Chicago River quality

CHICAGO (AP) — Rowers, kayakers and other users of the Chicago River are getting a real-time look at one measure of water quality in the system that weaves through downtown and several neighborhoods.

Chicago nonprofit Current in 2019 installed three sensors in the river’s three main branches to continuously estimate the amount of bacteria from human and other warm-blooded animals’ waste.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/09/ap-sensors-chicago-river-quality/

The Associated Press

Rising Waters: Great Lakes lighthouse keepers fight to preserve history in the face of climate change

One evening in the late 1800s, a lighthouse keeper named John Herman was drinking, as he usually did, when he decided to play a prank on his assistant. Herman locked the assistant in the lantern room and left him there. 

When the assistant managed to get out of the room, he found himself all alone in the lighthouse.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/09/rising-waters-great-lakes-lighthouses-climate-change/

Rachel Duckett

Coastal Concerns: Communities lack skilled staff and funding to tackle erosion and flooding

Erosion, flooding and high water levels are some of the most concerning issues across the Great Lakes region, according to a recent survey.

But communities lack the funding, knowledgeable staff and support from government agencies to face these issues.

Water levels in the Great Lakes basin change naturally with recurring high and low water levels.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/08/coastal-resilience-communities-funding-erosion-flooding/

Taylor Haelterman

Fire on Michigan’s remote Isle Royale 15 percent contained

ISLE ROYAL, Mich. (AP) — A wildfire on Michigan’s remote Isle Royale has been about 15% percent contained and crews have saved some historic cabins from encroaching flames, an official said Wednesday.

The fire began Aug. 10, apparently sparked by a lightning strike on the drought-stricken wilderness island, said Liz Valencia, a spokeswoman for Isle Royale National Park.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/08/ap-fire-michigan-isle-royale-15-percent-contained/

The Associated Press

Trails, camps closed on Isle Royale after wildfire expands

ISLE ROYAL, Mich. (AP) — A wildfire that’s burned about 200 acres on Michigan’s remote Isle Royale has prompted the National Park Service to close some trails and campground areas on the wilderness island.

The park service said Sunday on the Isle Royale National Park’s Facebook page that the closures were necessary “to maintain public health and safety” after the fire on the Lake Superior island’s east end expanded over the weekend amid lingering drought conditions.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/08/ap-trails-camps-closed-isle-royale-wildfire/

The Associated Press

Scientists look for clues to Lake Superior algae blooms

By Dan Kraker, Minnesota Public Radio

A couple weekends ago, Cody Sheik was at a friend’s wedding on Duluth’s Park Point, sipping champagne down on the Lake Superior beach, when he spotted something unusual in the normally crystal clear water.

“It was definitely a bloom,” he recalled.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/08/scientists-clues-lake-superior-algae-blooms/

Dan Kraker

Minnesota wildfires disappoint travelers and outfitters

ELY, Minn. (AP) — Ely is typically teeming this time of year with visitors heading out on or returning from excursions into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. But about the only cars in the northeastern Minnesota town with canoes strapped to their tops this week are leaving.

Several fires inside and just outside the country’s most visited wilderness area led officials to close it last weekend, dealing a blow to those who spent months planning their trips there and to the outfitters and other businesses that depend on them.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/08/ap-minnesota-wildfires-disappoint-travelers-outfitters/

The Associated Press