This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Daniel Schoenherr, Great Lakes Echo
The Great Lakes region’s more than 300 bird species may provide valuable mental health benefits.
A recent study from Carleton University in Ontario shows there are fewer mental health-related hospitalizations in Michigan areas with high bird diversity.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/10/bird-songs-may-ease-the-blues/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/10/in-warming-great-lakes-climate-triage-means-some-cold-waters-wont-be-saved/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois
Illinois wants Spire to show it shouldn’t be held in contempt over its embattled pipeline — St.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/10/energy-news-roundup-vision-green-energy-underserved-communities-nationwide-burst-clean-energy-jobs/
By John-Paul Chalykoff, Algoma University
is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.
Language is foundational to Indigenous communities, including my own, and a vital connection to our cultures.
It is well documented how residential schools in Canada and boarding schools in the U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/10/im-working-to-revitalize-an-indigenous-language-and-bring-it-into-the-future/
Out of three locations around the world, the Great Lakes region was chosen to host a new Department of Defense study. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, or DPAA, is actively engaged in the Missing in Action Recovery and Identification Project. Its goal is to locate and repatriate the remains of military personnel in conflict areas to provide closure to their families.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/10/tracing-for-human-remains-on-shipwrecks-with-environmental-dna/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
For over 100 years the Detroit River was perceived as a working waterway that supported industry and commerce.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/10/great-lakes-moment-detroits-new-ralph-wilson-park-will-provide-habitats-for-a-healthy-ecosystem/
The Great Lakes region is known for its abundance. Vineyards flourish near the shores of lakes Erie and Michigan. Maple trees flow freely with sap that is made into syrup every spring. And of course, Great Lakes’ freshwater fish like perch, walleye and whitefish make their way onto our dinner plates.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/09/book-review-saving-our-changing-menu-in-great-lakes-region-and-beyond/
By Izzy Ross, Interlochen Public Radio
This coverage is made possible through a partnership with IPR and Grist, a nonprofit independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer released the MI Healthy Climate Plan last year.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/09/michigan-legislature-tackles-ambitious-climate-legislation/
By Todd Richmond, Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Great Lakes’ frigid fresh water used to keep shipwrecks so well preserved that divers could see dishes in the cupboards. Downed planes that spent decades underwater were left so pristine they could practically fly again when archaeologists finally discovered them.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/09/ap-historians-race-to-find-great-lakes-shipwrecks-before-quagga-mussels-destroy-the-sites/
Waves of Change is a new series all about highlighting the diverse faces involved in the environmental justice movement throughout the Great Lakes region.
The first guest in our inaugural episode of Waves of Change is Justin Onwenu, an organizer with extensive experience in environmental organizing, specifically protecting the water and air quality for people living in and around Detroit.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/09/waves-of-change-community-organizer-justin-onwenu/
This article was republished here with permission from Planet Detroit.
By Nina Ignaczak, Planet Detroit
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is expected to sign bills requiring doctors to test children for lead exposure at one and two years old following the Michigan Legislature’s Tuesday approval of the two-bill package.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/09/michigan-toddlers-to-receive-universal-lead-testing-under-new-legislation/
“Nibi Chronicles,” a monthly Great Lakes Now feature, is written by Staci Lola Drouillard. A Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe direct descendant, she lives and works in Grand Marais on Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior. Her two books “Walking the Old Road: A People’s History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe” and “Seven Aunts” were published 2019 and 2022, and the children’s story “A Family Tree” will be released in May, 2024.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/09/nibi-chronicles-the-art-of-ojibwe-linoleum/
The EPA’s Chris Korleski gets excited when speaking about cleaning up the Great Lakes region’s decades-old, contaminated sediment sites like the Detroit River.
He talks about the “tremendous effort” that’s been rekindled in the past two years under the Biden administration. And how “motivated” the people who work to advance the cleanup are and the value of the partnerships that facilitate restoration.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/09/great-lakes-epa-office-reaffirms-2030-cleanup-goal-for-detroit-river-other-contaminated-sites/
I Speak for the Fish is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor Kathy Johnson, coming out the third Monday of each month. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/09/i-speak-for-the-fish-mesmerized-minnows/
A 150-year-old schooner that sank in 1881, was finally discovered in Lake Michigan. On July 15, maritime historians, Brendon Baillod and Bob Jaeck located the old shipwreck off the coast of Algoma, Wisconsin. The Trinidad was on their radar for more than twenty years, as the ship was a strong candidate for research; the captain and his eight crew members all survived (except their trusted Newfoundland), providing a good description of where the vessel sank.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/09/behind-shipwreck-discovered-lake-michigan/
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois
Farmer Claiming PFAS Pollution From Mine Sent to Arbitration — Bloomberg Law News
An Illinois appellate court on Friday ordered a dispute between a farmer and a mining company over alleged water pollution from firefighting foam used to extinguish a fire at a mining operation be settled in arbitration, reversing a lower court decision.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/09/pfas-news-roundup-impact-pfas-farming-proposed-cuts-epa/
The Great Lakes are facing an era of challenges and opportunities that will require new stewardship principles, and leaders who are able to work across disciplines including science, policy, economics and social science.
That is the message from an ad hoc collaborative of University of Michigan researchers in a recent paper titled Leadership for the next generation of Great Lakes stewardship.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/09/researchers-current-great-lakes-stewardship-ill-equipped-handle-future-challenges/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois
Will County solar boom not entirely welcomed — Herald-News
Some Illinois local officials say a recent state law limits their ability to block commercial solar developments amid landowner opposition.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/09/energy-news-roundup-opposition-solar-development-illinois-excessive-heat-detroit/
By Julie Arbit, Brad Bottoms and Earl Lewis, University of Michigan
is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.
Southeast Michigan seemed like the perfect “climate haven.”
“My family has owned my home since the ‘60s.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/09/looking-for-a-us-climate-haven-away-from-heat-and-disaster-risks-good-luck-finding-one/
Eighty percent of Canadians live in urban areas, and most are disconnected from nature. To help address this, Canada is creating a network of national urban parks not only to conserve nature, but to connect people with it, and advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
Now, the University of Windsor has become a partner by creating the first university-based National Urban Park Hub.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/09/great-lakes-moment-university-windsor-build-capacity-canada-national-urban-parks/
Points North is a biweekly podcast hosted by Daniel Wanschura and Morgan Springer about the land, water and inhabitants of the Upper Great Lakes.
This episode was shared here with permission from Interlochen Public Radio.
It was 2016 and Samantha Tank was digging around in Michigan’s Pere Marquette River.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/09/points-north-dirty-laundry-invasive-species-and-the-limitations-of-knowledge/
The Great Lakes, holds within its terrain a secret — rocks that possess stories as ancient as time itself. These unassuming formations are not just ordinary rocks; they are envoys of a bygone era, of continental shifts and testaments to the Earth’s ever-evolving narrative.
In this interview with geologist Kevin Kincare, we unravel the mystery behind why rocks in the Great Lakes are so unique.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/why-the-great-lakes-region-is-unique-for-rockhounds/
Eat Your Heartland Out is a Taste Awards nominated program about the intersection of food and culture in the American Midwest. The show is produced by the Heritage Radio Network, a leader in culinary audio storytelling and distributed on the Public Radio Exchange (PRX), which provides content to public radio affiliates across the United States.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/eat-your-heartland-out-can-be-galley-steward/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/pfas-news-roundup-pfas-likely-present-water-supplies-court-rules-against-restrictions-michigan/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois
Wind, solar training facility opens in Bloomington — Pantagraph
Officials unveil a new technical training center in Bloomington, Illinois, that will train at least 100 people annually for wind and solar jobs.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/energy-news-roundup-climate-action-plan-illinois-offshore-wind-lake-erie/
Science Says What? is a monthly column written by Great Lakes now contributor Sharon Oosthoek exploring what science can tell us about what’s happening beneath and above the waves of our beloved Great Lakes and their watershed.
A tiny lake just an hour’s drive from Toronto made headlines earlier this summer as the best place in the world to illustrate the dawn of a new geological epoch – the Anthropocene.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/science-says-what-weight-world-rests-small-canadian-lake/
I Speak for the Fish is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor Kathy Johnson, coming out the third Monday of each month. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/i-speak-for-the-fish-giddy-up-sucker/
Nearly 90 percent of water samples taken from the Great Lakes over the last ten years exceed safe levels for wildlife. Researchers from the University of Toronto and the Winnipeg-based International Institute for Sustainable Development came to this conclusion after conducting a comprehensive review of microplastics studies.
At the levels surveyed, the researchers say fish and other aquatic wildlife are at risk of ingesting enough microplastics to fill their guts, diluting their regular food and its nutritional value.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/great-lakes-microplastics-concentrations-exceed-safe-levels-for-wildlife/
Editor’s Note: “Nibi Chronicles,” a monthly Great Lakes Now feature, is written by Staci Lola Drouillard. A direct descendant of the Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe, she lives and works in Grand Marais on Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior. Her two books “Walking the Old Road: A People’s History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe” and “Seven Aunts” were published 2019 and 2022, and she is at work on a children’s story.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/nibi-chronicles-beaver-named-annabelle-her-kin-us/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois
Home Water Quality Testing Kits For Lead, Copper And PFAS To Debut In Chicago — Forbes
The National Science Foundation is backing a pilot study by Northwestern University to develop and distribute water quality testing kits to Chicago-area residents.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/pfas-news-roundup-clermont-county-village-lawsuit-forever-chemicals-testing-kits-debut-chicago/
Love staring at a map and discovering something interesting? Then “Mapping the Great Lakes” is for you. It’s a monthly Great Lakes Now feature created by Alex B. Hill, a self-described “data nerd and anthropologist” who combines cartography, data, and analytics with storytelling and human experience.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/mapping-the-great-lakes-who-is-looking-out-for-the-great-lakes/
Points North is a biweekly podcast hosted by Daniel Wanschura and Morgan Springer about the land, water and inhabitants of the Upper Great Lakes.
This episode was shared here with permission from Interlochen Public Radio.
Joyce Fetrow has hobbies to enjoy year-round.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/points-north-rock-rehab/
Making a film about water came naturally for award-winning documentary filmmaker dream hampton, though water and the environment has not traditionally been her emphasis.
hampton made Freshwater after coming off a hectic schedule in 2018 and 2019 during which she made three films. It was, she decided, a time to shift her focus, a time to be still and reflect.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/filmmaker-looks-detroit-through-lens-water-life-events-justice/
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
While watching civilization expand into the countryside in the 1800s, the great American author and naturalist Henry David Thoreau recommended every town have a forest of 500 to 1,000 acres for conservation instruction and outdoor recreation.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/great-lakes-moment-nature-right-outside-school-door/
From fishing to enjoying a summer day at the beach, the Great Lakes provide enjoyment, comfort and a sense of home to the region. But these bodies of water were not always secure, as the lakes and connecting rivers were considered dangerous due to high pollution spots.
The Great Lakes region has seen some of the most historic river fires.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/amendment-to-clean-water-act-improves-great-lakes-through-critical-observation-collaboration/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois
Chicago Mayor Receives Blueprint for ’Green New Deal’ to Address Environmental Justice — Inside Climate News
Advocates deliver Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson a local “Green New Deal” proposal that aims to tackle energy affordability, clean energy job opportunities, and environmental justice curricula in schools.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/energy-news-roundup-improvements-coming-to-michigans-power-grid-congress-climate-spending/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/pfas-news-roundup-legislation-introduced-in-michigan-reduce-exposure/
By Ashley Zhou, Bridge Michigan
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/michigan-tribes-fight-long-odds-to-restore-wild-rice-their-history/
Science Says What? is a monthly column written by Great Lakes now contributor Sharon Oosthoek exploring what science can tell us about what’s happening beneath and above the waves of our beloved Great Lakes and their watershed.
On July 26, 2010, people living along Talmadge Creek in Marshall, Michigan awoke to a sharp, sickening smell.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/science-says-what-lessons-learned-from-a-deliberate-dilbit-spill/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/workers-needed-to-fulfill-americas-infrastructure-goals/
Ford Motor Company is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2050, as reiterated by Cynthia Williams last week.
Williams took to the stage to expand on how Ford is accomplishing this, highlighting their latest releases in electric vehicles (EV). Williams is the global director of sustainability at Ford.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/ted-countdown-ford-global-director-of-sustainability-cynthia-williams-on-making-detroit-a-hub-for-climate-solutions/
Editor’s Note: “Nibi Chronicles,” a monthly Great Lakes Now feature, is written by Staci Lola Drouillard. A direct descendant of the Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe, she lives and works in Grand Marais on Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior. Her two books “Walking the Old Road: A People’s History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe” and “Seven Aunts” were published 2019 and 2022, and she is at work on a children’s story.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/nibi-chronicles-portal-burt-lake-bands-violent-expulsion/
Tunde Olaniran is a musician and multidisciplinary artist from Flint. Last year, their first exhibition premiered at Cranbrook Art Museum, featuring a short horror film — Made a Universe — inspired by their life growing up in Flint.
They were asked to perform one of their latest works for the TED Countdown Summit at the Fillmore Detroit on Thursday, July 13.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/ted-countdown-musician-tunde-olaniran-from-flint-michigan-on-the-role-of-art-in-the-climate-crisis/
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/pfas-news-roundup-firs-market-pfas-annihilator-michigan-42-4-million-claims-wisconsin-city/
Laprisha Berry Daniels is the Executive Director at Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice. Daniels is a public health social worker who is interested in focusing on harm-reduction when dealing with the climate crisis. She specializes in developing interventions to help to improve the health and wellbeing of communities.
In her talk on Wednesday, July 12, Daniels said she was inspired by her family’s move to Detroit during the Great Migration.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/ted-countdown-detroiters-working-for-environmental-justice-executive-director-laprisha-berry-daniels-on-supporting-communities-preparing-for-the-future/
With nearly 125 million buildings across the United States, all these spaces account for about 30 percent of the country’s emissions. In 2014, Donnel Baird created BlocPower to get these spaces off fossil fuels by changing out old water systems, gas ovens, gas and oil furnaces and air conditioning units with electric equipment, like air source heat pumps, which are compatible with renewable energy options.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/ted-countdown-blocpower-ceo-donnel-baird-greening-americas-buildings-improving-communities/
I Speak for the Fish is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor Kathy Johnson, coming out the third Monday of each month. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/i-speak-for-the-fish-facing-wrath-crayfish/
We are at a choice point when it comes to our relationship with water, says noted water expert Peter Gleick.
We can continue on our current path, which has evolved over centuries and includes unsustainable water use and ecological destruction. Both further worsened as we grapple with the effects of climate change.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/book-review-water-scientist-offers-positive-vision-avoid-dystopian-future/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois
Byron nuclear station, 12 taxing bodies reach settlement on EAV — Ogle County News
The owner of an Illinois nuclear plant reaches an agreement with surrounding taxing entities on how much it owes in property taxes, settling years of ongoing appeals.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/energy-news-roundup-sulfur-smell-indiana-minnesota-power-solar-project/
Eat Your Heartland Out is a Taste Awards nominated program about the intersection of food and culture in the American Midwest. The show is produced by the Heritage Radio Network, a leader in culinary audio storytelling and distributed on the Public Radio Exchange (PRX), which provides content to public radio affiliates across the United States.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/eat-your-heartland-out-great-wine-great-lakes/
