By Nina Ignaczak, Planet Detroit
This story is part of a collaborative series from the Institute for Nonprofit News, Planet Detroit, Tostada Magazine, Energy News Network, The Land, and Borderless Magazine examining climate resilience across the Great Lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/01/detroit-restaurants-tackling-climate-change-kitchen/
By John Flesher, Associated Press
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — The Great Lakes have endured a lot the past century, from supersized algae blobs to invasive mussels and bloodsucking sea lamprey that nearly wiped out fish populations.
Now, another danger: They — and other big lakes around the world — might be getting more acidic, which could make them less hospitable for some fish and plants.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/01/ap-atmospheric-carbon-lakes-more-acidic/
By John Flesher, AP Environmental Writer
A large plume of toxic chemicals produced by a plant that manufactures firefighting foam has seeped through groundwater to Lake Michigan’s Green Bay, scientists said Tuesday.
The chemicals belong to a family of compounds known as PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which are used widely in consumer products ranging from nonstick cookware and water-repellent sports gear to stain-resistent carpets.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/01/ap-pfas-chemical-plume-detected-green-bay/
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/2023/01/michigan-democrats-aiming-erase-business-friendly-environmental-laws/
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.
Have you ever gone for a peaceful walk along a creek or lake and been spooked by the sound of what you think is a pterodactyl?
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/01/great-lakes-moment-great-blue-herons-stony-island/
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/2023/01/pfas-news-roundup-3m-stop-forever-chemicals-2025-global-problem-remains/
In “Shrinking Winter,” scientists work to understand the causes and potential effects of less ice cover on the Great Lakes, a documentary photographer and three longtime ice anglers reflect on changes to the winter fishing season, and a competitive speed skater reflects on the joys of “wild ice.”
This episode originally aired in February and was one of the team’s favorites this year, so we brought it back around for the holiday season with updates.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/shrinking-winter-update-ice-coverage-great-lakes-life/
By Michael Phillis, Associated Press
President Joe Biden signed a large defense bill on Friday that includes a water bill that directs the Army Corps of Engineers on major infrastructure projects to improve navigation and protect against storms worsened by climate change.
The biggest project by far this year is a $34 billion Texas coastal barrier featuring massive floodgates and other structures to protect the Houston region with its concentration of oil refineries and chemical plants, at risk during major hurricanes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/ap-bidens-signature-advances-major-projects-water-bill/
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/2022/12/michigan-tribes-state-reach-tentative-deal-great-lakes-fishing-access/
Since 2020 when Democrats swept into power by winning the presidency and taking control of both chambers of Congress, Great Lakes programs have had a tailwind of funding support from Washington.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provided a $1 billion windfall for the region to accelerate clean up of the multiple toxic sites known as Areas of Concern that remain from the peak industrial period in the 1950’s and 1960’s.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/smooth-sailing-or-choppy-waters-for-great-lakes-programs/
Editor’s Note: “Nibi Chronicles,” a monthly Great Lakes Now feature, is authored 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/2022/12/nibi-chronicles-beach-at-nishkwakwansing-returned-to-tribal-trust/
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 ranks 16th nationally in a new energy efficiency scorecard behind Midwest top performers Minnesota and Michigan.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/energy-news-roundup-renewable-natural-gas-ontario-solar-projects-michigan/
Broadcasting in our monthly PBS television program, The Catch is a Great Lakes Now series that brings you more news about the lakes you love. Go beyond the headlines with reporters from around the region who cover the lakes and drinking water issues. Find all the work HERE.
This month, The Catch features a conversation with Staci Lola Drouillard, a new Great Lakes Now contributor.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/the-catch-meet-the-author-behind-nibi-chronicles/
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/2022/12/i-speak-for-the-fish-favorite-fish-books/
Broadcasting in our monthly PBS television program, The Catch is a Great Lakes Now series that brings you more news about the lakes you love. Go beyond the headlines with reporters from around the region who cover the lakes and drinking water issues. Find all the work HERE.
This month, The Catch features a story about high tech helpers studying and removing plastic pollution.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/the-catch-robots-tackle-shoreline-trash/
Broadcasting in our monthly PBS television program, The Catch is a Great Lakes Now series that brings you more news about the lakes you love. Go beyond the headlines with reporters from around the region who cover the lakes and drinking water issues. Find all the work HERE.
This month, The Catch features a story about Enbridge Energy.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/the-catch-latest-on-enbridge-line-3/
Editor’s Note: Look for coverage of Great Lakes recreation and adventure in this new monthly feature. The author, Ian Solomon, founded Amplify Outside, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing access and representation by Black people in the outdoors, starting in the Great Lakes region. Find more about him HERE.
Life slows, that’s what I’ve come to love most about the changing seasons especially in the Great Lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/drummond-island-summer-recap-as-winter-gets-here/
Should natural resources like the Great Lakes have the same legal right to protection from harm as a person has? Including the right to be free from exploitation as a commodity for financial gain?
New York state Assemblyman Patrick Burke thinks so and has introduced formal legislation that would provide for those rights.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/buffalo-legislator-calls-for-protection-for-great-lakes/
Multiple studies and countless anecdotal accounts document the calming and healing effects of spending time in nature.
But for people with autism spectrum disorder, the great outdoors can be full of dangers and stressors, from unpredictable and rough hiking trails to the overwhelming stimuli of people and animals to the risky allure posed by water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/new-trails-and-parks-make-nature-accessible-for-neurodiverse-people/
This lesson will explore the phenomenon of venomous fish in the Great Lakes by learning about the Northern Madtoms. Students will learn about the species, learn about how scientists make decisions to classify species like the Northern Madtom, and create an infographic about the species to inform others about it.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/episode-2211-venomous-fish-lesson-plan/
Great Lakes Now tries to make every episode interesting and educational.
In this episode, Michigan DNR researchers document the northern madtom – a tiny, endangered catfish that’s venomous. Then take a cinematic journey through Earth’s largest freshwater ecosystem – the Great Lakes watershed – with a preview of a new documentary series.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/great-lakes-wildlife-the-great-lakes-now-episode-quiz/
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
At a central Illinois feed mill, electricity was exceeding grain costs as its biggest operating expense.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/energy-news-roundup-lawsuit-possible-in-illinois-wind-farm-controversy-anti-wind-group-grows-in-ohio/
By John Flesher, AP Environmental Writer
DETROIT (AP) — In a bustling metro area of 4.3 million people, Yale University wildlife biologist Nyeema Harris ventures into isolated thickets to study Detroit’s most elusive residents — coyotes, foxes, raccoons and skunks among them.
Harris and colleagues have placed trail cameras in woodsy sections of 25 city parks for the past five years.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/ap-extinctions-shrinking-habitat-spur-rewilding-in-cities/
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/2022/12/pfas-news-roundup-forever-chemicals-may-pose-bigger-risk-health-scientists/
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/2022/12/pfas-news-roundup-forever-chemicals-may-pose-bigger-risk-health-scientists/
By Keith Schneider, 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/2022/12/opposition-to-cafos-mounts-across-nation/
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.
National parks serve as pilgrimage sites because they provide spaces that provide a degree of solitude and access to unique natural resources.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/great-lakes-moment-detroits-benefits-of-national-urban-park-in-windsor/
From lead pipes to PFAS, drinking water contamination is a major issue plaguing cities and towns all around the Great Lakes. Cleaning up contaminants and providing safe water to everyone is an ongoing public health struggle.
Keep up with drinking water-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois:
This fall, the towns and rural farmsteads along the Mississippi River received alarming news about their drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/drinking-water-news-roundup-report-michigan-water-affordability-strategy-191-million-target-minnesota-water-projects/
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/2022/12/michigan-hunters-say-252000-deer-killed-firearms-season-new-rules/
By Mike Stobbe, AP Medical Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Philadelphia and Oakland County, Michigan, are joining the small list of U.S. localities that are looking for signs of polio infections in sewage, U.S. health officials said Wednesday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the communities will test for polio in sewage for at least four months.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/ap-officials-say-more-places-will-test-sewage-polio/
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal judge has ordered energy company Enbridge Inc. and an American Indian tribe to come up with an emergency plan to prevent potential spills from an aging oil pipeline running across the tribe’s reservation.
The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa sued Enbridge in federal court in 2019 to force the company to remove a section of the Line 5 pipeline that runs across the tribe’s reservation in northern Wisconsin, arguing the nearly 70-year-old line poses an unreasonable risk to health and safety.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/ap-judge-orders-enbridge-tribe-form-emergency-plan/
By Steve Karnowski, Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court will hear arguments on an attempt by environmental groups to cancel a key permit for a long-stalled copper-nickel mine.
Opponents of PolyMet Mining Corp.′s project say state regulators should have included “end-of-pipe” limits on discharges of mercury, sulfates and other pollutants in the water quality permit.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/ap-mine-opponents-minnesota-supreme-court-void-permit/
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/2022/11/why-line-5-likely-remain-open-despite-democratic-control-lansing/
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/2022/11/mapping-the-great-lakes-pumpkin-production/
COVERT, Mich. (AP) — The federal government has turned down a request for financial aid to restart a nuclear power plant in southwestern Michigan, the owner said.
Holtec International said it was notified Friday by the U.S. Energy Department.
The Palisades plant along Lake Michigan, formerly owned by Entergy, was shut down last spring after generating electricity for more than 50 years.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/no-federal-aid-to-restart-michigan-nuclear-power-plant/
I Speak for the Fish is a new 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/2022/11/i-speak-for-the-fish-these-catfish-have-something-to-say/
Elections have consequences, the saying goes, and for the Michigan Democratic party, the election last week resulted in a sweep of the race for governor and the legislature.
Now comes their opportunity to deliver on long-stalled environmental initiatives.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was re-elected and for the first time in almost 40 years, Democrats will be the majority in the legislature.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/advocates-want-action-on-justice-climate-stronger-leadership-gov-whitmer/
By Matthew Daly, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a major action to address toxic wastewater from coal-fired power plants, the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday ordered an Ohio utility to stop dumping dangerous coal ash into unlined storage ponds and speed cleanup of the site.
The order to the Gen.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/ap-epa-orders-ohio-power-plant-stop-dumping-coal-ash/
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/2022/11/uncertainty-michigan-rivers-residents-consumers-reconsiders-13-dams/
MONACA, Pa. (AP) — Years in the works, a massive petrochemical refinery in western Pennsylvania fed by the vast natural gas reservoir underneath Appalachia became fully operational Tuesday, oil and gas giant Shell plc said.
The refinery, built on the site of a former zinc smelter along the Ohio River some 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of Pittsburgh, will produce 3.5 billion pounds (1.6 billion kilograms) of polyethylene annually when it ramps up to full production by the second half of 2023, Shell said.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/ap-shell-ethane-cracker-starts-up/
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/2022/11/pfas-news-roundup-states-take-on-forever-chemicals-with-bans-and-lawsuits/
While Great Lakes fish populations are constantly in a state of flux, one species has declined precipitously in the last decade: lake whitefish. But Great Lakes leaders and fisheries managers are looking ahead in planning to do more with less.
And in the case of whitefish, a lot more.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/great-lakes-iceland-connection-through-whitefish-effort/
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/2022/11/michiganders-lobby-state-on-possibility-of-a-hunt/
From lead pipes to PFAS, drinking water contamination is a major issue plaguing cities and towns all around the Great Lakes. Cleaning up contaminants and providing safe water to everyone is an ongoing public health struggle.
Keep up with drinking water-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois:
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency will make more than $70.6 million in water infrastructure loans to local governments and sanitary districts for the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2023.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/drinking-water-news-roundup-illinois-drinking-water-projects-students-ohio-water-quality-research/
NEW YORK (AP) — Five people died of Legionnaires’ disease over the summer at a New York City nursing home that had been cited repeatedly for improper maintenance of the cooling towers where the Legionella bacteria can spread, The New York Times reported.
The outbreak at Amsterdam Nursing Home, a 409-bed facility in upper Manhattan, was the city’s worst since 2015 when a cooling tower in the Bronx was blamed for an infection that caused 16 deaths.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/ap-deaths-nyc-nursing-home-legionnaires-disease/
Broadcasting in our monthly PBS television program, The Catch is a Great Lakes Now series that brings you more news about the lakes you love. Go beyond the headlines with reporters from around the region who cover the lakes and drinking water issues. Find all the work HERE.
This month, The Catch features a story about a canoe that is thought to be made by ancestors of the Ho-Chunk Nation.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/the-catch-secrets-of-lake-mendota/
DETROIT (AP) — Sailors who lost their lives in shipwrecks on the Great Lakes and Michigan waterways will be remembered at a historic church in downtown Detroit.
The annual Great Lakes Memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday and will be livestreamed from Mariners’ Church along the Detroit River.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/ap-detroit-church-to-remember-sailors-lost-on-great-lakes/
Broadcasting in our monthly PBS television program, The Catch is a Great Lakes Now series that brings you more news about the lakes you love. Go beyond the headlines with reporters from around the region who cover the lakes and drinking water issues. Find all the work HERE.
This month, The Catch features a story about cruising the Great Lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/the-catch-cruising-the-great-lakes/
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)
Daniel Merino, The Conversation and Gemma Ware, The Conversation
(THE CONVERSATION) Humans do a lot of different things to the environment, and there aren’t many natural processes – aside from an asteroid impact or the like – that can rival the scale of change brought on by human activity.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/humans-now-a-driver-of-evolution-in-the-natural-world/
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.
Today, many educators are experimenting with unique forms of instruction to increase student engagement in the classroom and encourage critical thinking.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/great-lakes-moment-video-game-teaches-watershed-management/
