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.
Want to head out to the Great Lake Erie Birding Trail?
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/the-catch-lake-erie-birding/
Two Great Lakes cities are among “The World’s 50 Greatest Places of 2022” as compiled by Time magazine.
Detroit and Toronto made the list along with destinations on all the continents and in outer space. The magazine said the list came from its “international network of correspondents and contributors, with an eye toward those (destinations) offering new and exciting experiences.”
What puts these key Great Lakes cities in such company?
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/detroit-toronto-time-50-greatest-places/
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.
In Milwaukee, officials are working to eliminate combined sewage overflows that can pour pollution into local waterways including Lake Michigan.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/the-catch-pollution-problems/
Poor housing conditions can have an effect on people’s health both mentally and physically by posing a threat to the family or individual living there, especially for young children and babies.
The health and wellbeing of residents are impacted especially in areas where there’s both industry and older housing.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/home-hazards-what-can-you-do/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Cameryn Cass, Great Lakes Echo
The Great Lakes Basin draws millions of anglers each year to fish in its lakes, rivers and streams.
In addition, millions more of the region’s residents consume those fish.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/great-lakes-residents-advisories-eating-fish/
By Harm Venhuizen, Associated Press/Report for America
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Conservatives on the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled June 30 that a conservation group couldn’t challenge an agency’s decision to sell state park land for the construction of a high-end golf course along the shores of Lake Michigan.
Opponents said the ruling will make it much harder for the public to challenge decisions of state agencies.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/ap-wisconsin-court-kohler-golf-course/
After 100 years of coordinated effort, 98% of all the sea lamprey in the Great Lakes have been eliminated, according to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, the organization tasked with the management of the invasive species within the basin.
Unfortunately, the remaining 2% is enough to start the cycle all over again if left unchecked, and current technology “does not make complete eradication possible,” said Marc Gaden, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission communication director and legislative liaison.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/modern-sea-lamprey-control-pits-technology-against-the-invaders/
By Lester Graham, Michigan Radio
Bipartisan legislation to help cities get money to fix their water systems has been signed by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
A lot of Michigan’s drinking water systems are in bad shape.
“We have been very behind in maintaining and upgrading our infrastructure across the state,” Charlotte Jameson with the Michigan Environmental Council.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/new-laws-community-access-water-infrastructure/
By Christopher Parker, National Newspaper Association Foundation News Fellows Program
Great Lakes Now is publishing this story in conjunction with the National Newspaper Association Foundation’s News Fellows Program. In March, during NNA’s Community Newspaper Leadership Summit, a group of student journalists met with experts and policy leaders in Washington D.C.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/laws-tech-hydroelectricity-energy-indiana/
By Kyla Russell, National Newspaper Association Foundation News Fellows Program
Great Lakes Now is publishing this story in conjunction with the National Newspaper Association Foundation’s News Fellows Program. In March, during NNA’s Community Newspaper Leadership Summit, a group of student journalists met with experts and policy leaders in Washington D.C.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/indiana-changing-tone-toward-wind-energy/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/2022-forecast-harmful-algal-blooms-forecast-lake-erie/
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.
Native freshwater mussels have experienced dramatic population declines in the Great Lakes due to habitat degradation, water pollution and the introduction of invasive species like zebra and quagga mussels.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/great-lakes-moment-mussels-detroit-river/
Great Lakes Now episodes often explore the human element of the Great Lakes along with the critters residing in the waters.
In “Homes, Invaders,” learn about how sea lampreys are an invasive and dangerous species and the efforts that are being done to control the sea lamprey population in the Great Lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/homes-invaders-episode-quiz/
By Christopher Bonasia, The Energy Mix
This story originally appeared in The Energy Mix and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.
The sudden rise in fertilizer prices since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could have implications for global emissions by reducing how much of it farmers use in their fields.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/soaring-fertilizer-prices-emissions-farmers/
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/2022/06/borrow-free-camping-gear-michigan/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/bird-flu-killed-threatened-caspian-terns/
This month of The Catch features a look at shoreline shipwrecks in Michigan.
Author and editorial director of MichiganTrailMaps.com Jim DuFresne published a “Landlubbers Guide to Shoreline Shipwrecks,” and takes Great Lakes Now on a virtual tour of some of his favorites which include wrecks on the shores of Sleeping Bear Dunes and Isle Royale National Park.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/the-catch-shoreline-shipwrecks/
A lakeside view and twittering morning avian chorus make for a great combination, and all along the Great Lakes there are plenty of great locations to experience both those things.
Installing a bird feeder is an easy way to enjoy birds right outside your door, but county parks and birding walks are a great way to learn about birds too, Kimberly Kaufman said in an interview with Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/trails-for-best-view-of-birds/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Kurt Williams, Great Lakes Echo
Editor’s note: This is the last in a series of stories about profound ecological changes that test our ability to manage the Great Lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/history-future-human-impact-great-lakes-ecology/
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/2022/06/mapping-great-lakes-cities/
New research into Great Lakes water levels looks farther into the future to predict how much climate change will increase lake levels in four of the five Great Lakes.
The predictions for the levels between now and 2050 show average increases from 2010-2019 levels of Lake Superior rising 19 centimeters (7.5 inches), Lake Erie 28 centimeters (11 inches) and lakes Michigan and Huron by 44 centimeters (17.3 inches).
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/great-lakes-water-levels-increase-next-few-decades/
Climate change-fueled weather such as extreme storms will provide a direct threat to contaminated waste storage sites, nuclear power plants and industrial facilities at multiple sites on the shores of Lake Michigan, according to a new report.
The 63-mile corridor from Gary, Indiana, through Illinois to the Wisconsin border is particularly at risk.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/extreme-weather-hazardous-waste-sites/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/endangered-piping-plovers-need-human-help/
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/2022/06/not-all-lampreys-are-killers/
By Tracy Samilton, 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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/environmental-group-pfas-advisory/
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/2022/06/pfas-news-roundup-epa-standards-firefighting-foam/
By Mylène Ratelle, University of Waterloo, and Jessie Yakeleya, Sahtu Renewable Resources Board, The Conversation
is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.
In Indigenous communities that have lacked access to safe water for years, getting access to a safe water supply is crucial.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/northern-indigenous-communities-drinking-water/
By Darby Hinkley, The Alpena News
This article is part of a collaboration between The Alpena News and Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television to bring audiences stories about the Great Lakes, especially Lake Huron and its watershed.
ALPENA — In her experience picking up litter along the Lake Huron shoreline, Meag Schwartz has seen a whole lot of cigarette butts.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/keeping-waters-clean/
By Steve Schulwitz, The Alpena News
This article is part of a collaboration between The Alpena News and Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television to bring audiences stories about the Great Lakes, especially Lake Huron and its watershed.
ALPENA – Aquatic invasive species continue to spread and threaten the ecosystem in the waterways near Alpena, local environmental professionals say.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/group-battles-invasive-species/
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:
Illinois American Water is encouraging customers to view the company’s 2021 water quality reports to learn more about the source and quality of their drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/drinking-water-news-roundup-flooding-risk-epa-grants-ohio/
In February 2021, Detroit’s Michelle Martinez was excited like she hadn’t been in years about the potential of progress on core environmental and climate justice issues.
President Donald Trump, who took the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accords and was rolling back Obama-era environmental protections, was out of office.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/michigan-gov-plan-action/
By Mitchell Beer, The Energy Mix
This story originally appeared in The Energy Mix and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.
The Ontario Energy Board sent minor shock waves through the province’s energy regulatory and municipal energy communities earlier this month with its refusal to approve the final phases of a $123.7-million pipeline replacement project in Ottawa proposed by Enbridge Gas.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ontario-regulator-refuses-pipeline-enbridge-gas/
By Diana Kruzman, Grist
This story was originally published by Grist. You can subscribe to its weekly newsletter here.
Joe Mosyjowski has watched a decade-long boom in oil and gas drilling unfold in the region surrounding his 50-acre farm in northeast Ohio.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ohio-residents-radioactive-oil-gas-waste-roads/
By Diana Kruzman, Grist
This story was originally published by Grist. You can subscribe to its weekly newsletter here.
Northeastern Minnesota’s Iron Range has been a major mining hub since the 1860s. Nestled among thick forests and many of the state’s famed “10,000 lakes,” open-pit mines there produce low-grade iron ore that’s shipped to steel mills around the country.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/minnesota-polymet-mine-renewable-energy-tribes/
One of the latest updates in Enbridge’s ongoing Line 5 court cases is a report from Neil Earnest, president of an energy consultancy firm, filed by Enbridge.
In the report, Earnest estimates that in the event of a Line 5 shutdown, gas, jet fuel and diesel prices would increase by half a cent per gallon in Michigan and Wisconsin, and 5 cents per gallon in Ontario.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/line-5-shutdown-gas-prices-half-cent-increase/
One by one, netted fish arrived onto the boat: smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, common carp, gizzard shad, longnose gar.
They lay on their sides, briefly stunned by the electricity that was coursing from rods on the boat’s bow and then scooped on board the 21-foot vessel on a cloudy spring day on Lake Erie.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/african-scientists-great-lakes-international-exchange/
By Kathiann M. Kowalski, Energy News Network
This story was first published on the Energy News Network and was republished here with permission.
Ohio cities are using new data mapping tools to identify and respond to disparities in energy burdens, climate risks, and pollution impacts.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/mapping-tools-ohio-environmental-justice/
By Enrique Saenz, Indiana Environmental Reporter
Citizens Energy Group announced it would begin a multi-year program to replace thousands of lead service lines owned by its customers.
The company said it received an order from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission granting it permission to launch a five-year, $22.7 million effort to replace customer-owned lead service lines at about 2,500 homes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/citizens-energy-lead-service-line-program/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/harmful-algal-blooms-lake-erie/
By Briana Rice, 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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/detroit-incinerator-demolished-complaints/
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.
The practice of rewilding is frequently carried out in wilderness areas, but cities like Detroit are beginning to reintroduce native species of plants and animals to enhance biodiversity and reap all the benefits of making nature part of everyday urban life.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/great-lakes-moment-rewilding-metropolitan-detroit/
This month of The Catch features stories from our partners in the Great Lakes News Collaborative. The collaborative’s investigation of the cost of water in the Great Lakes region was the focus of the latest episode.
In Chicago, journalist Laura Gersony is rolling out a new biweekly offering from Circle of Blue called Fresh: A Great Lakes Policy Briefing.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/the-catch-policy-news-great-lakes-region/
By Zahra Ahmad, 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/2022/06/michigan-great-lakes-summer/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/toxic-hot-spots-michigan-great-lakes-states/
Despite overwhelming public opposition based on public comments received by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the agency approved a water withdrawal and consumptive use permit for Massachusetts-based Aquabounty on March 14.
The permit will allow operators to pull about 28 million gallons from the Michindoh Aquifer to fill tanks at its state-of-the-art Atlantic salmon rearing facility in Pioneer, Ohio.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/salmon-farm-ohio-dnr/
This month of The Catch features stories from our partners in the Great Lakes News Collaborative. The collaborative’s investigation of the cost of water in the Great Lakes region was the focus of the latest episode.
Michigan Radio‘s Lester Graham discusses a story he’s been following in northern Michigan on Elk Lake, where plant life and E.Coli are showing up in previously crystal-clear water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/the-catch-septic-systems/
By Enrique Saenz, Indiana Environmental Reporter
Final results of the first phase of statewide community water system testing confirmed the presence of PFAS chemicals in the treated drinking water of nearly a dozen Indiana communities.
The presence of PFAS chemicals in drinking water could be exposing thousands of Hoosiers to a series of adverse health conditions ranging from increased risk of kidney and testicular cancers to high cholesterol levels.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/testing-confirms-forever-chemicals-water-systems/
Great Lakes Now episodes are packed with important information on current topics.
In “Water’s True Cost,” learn about the aging infrastructure problem in Michigan and how many households struggle to pay their water bills. And in “The Catch” we look at the same problem in Ontario, the problem of Michigan’s lacking sewer regulations, and a new series on Great Lakes policy.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/waters-true-cost-the-great-lakes-now-episode-quiz/
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/2022/05/pfas-news-roundup-new-york-clothes-ohio-lawsuit-wisconsin-standards/
After a big announcement in January celebrating $479 million directed to fully fund the construction of a new lock, the Army Corps of Engineers has had to walk it back, according to a report by The Detroit News.
The billion-dollar project, authorized by Congress at $922 million in 2018, is now estimated to be “somewhere between two times and three times” the cost, Sen.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/soo-locks-project-no-longer-fully-funded/
