By Julie Riddle, 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 – An Alpena company will snag a piece of more than $241 million in grants awarded to upgrade U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/02/grant-aid-lafarge-port-upgrades/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/02/great-lakes-platform-green-projects/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/02/minnesota-cities-climate-resolutions/
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:
Legislators in Illinois are looking favorably upon a bill that may improve water quality for a large portion of the nation.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/02/water-quality-bill-mine-wetland/
By Tim Lydon, 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.
In July 2021 federal agents in New Orleans abruptly ordered the 600-foot cargo ship Pan Jasmine to leave U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/cargo-invasive-species/
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:
Aiming to increase diversity in wind and solar jobs, a proposed measure in the Illinois General Assembly would require more transparent reporting on the level of participation of minority-owned businesses in clean energy jobs.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/energy-news-roundup-nuclear-bill-natural-gas/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/bidens-first-year/
As the Great Lakes experience more harmful algal blooms due to climate change, real time monitoring of drinking water for toxins is becoming increasingly urgent.
Warm water temperatures, increased rainfall and fertilizer run-off from farm fields are providing fuel for blooms that can taint water.
This spring, a floating sensor for monitoring drinking water drawn from the Detroit River will begin giving real-time data on potentially toxic blue-green algae, along with other water quality data such as temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/detroit-river-algal-bloom-threat/
Go right to the list of lighthouses here.
For Patrick McKinstry, his love of lighthouses began when he was 4 or 5 years old.
He was on a family trip at the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse in Mackinaw City, Michigan, and asking his mother what it was and if he could go in.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/visit-a-lighthouse/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Danielle James, Great Lakes Echo
Even as community water systems are praised by the state for maintaining fluoride levels, others are still holding out.
Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by about 25% in children and adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/communities-michigan-fluoridation/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/wind-turbines-great-lakes/
If you’re new to Great Lakes Now, find our latest episode below and ALL our monthly shows here.
If you’re a regular viewer of our monthly program on your local PBS station or our YouTube channel, thanks!
If you were looking for our show on Detroit Public Television on Wednesday, Jan.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/our-latest-episode/
By Timberly Ferree, Indiana Environmental Reporter
A new Duke University-led study has found that the anti-fogging sprays and cloths used to prevent condensation on eyeglasses contain toxic PFAS chemicals.
Researchers tested five top-rated anti-fogging cloths and four top-rated anti-fogging sprays sold on Amazon and found all the products to contain fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) and fluorotelomer ethoxylates (FTEOs).
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/elevated-levels-pfas-sprays-cloths/
The project to construct a new Soo Lock has been fully funded as of Wednesday, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its Fiscal Year 2022 budget, which included $479 million directed to the new lock.
“In Michigan, we know how vital the Locks are to our economy and our national defense,” Sen.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/army-corps-millions-great-lakes-coastal-resiliency-soo-locks-invasive-carp/
Recently released Ohio Department of Natural Resources yellow perch hatch results indicate more of the same: overall mediocrity, leaning toward the not-so-good side.
That’s the result of an average hatch in the Western Basin and a very poor hatch in the Central Basin from Huron, Ohio, to Conneaut, Ohio.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/2022-perch-outlook/
By 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/2022/01/low-ice-coverage/
Just like serious birders and all manner of naturalists, many divers keep a life list of the species they have seen. Typically, the more elusive the species, the more coveted the sighting. Size also plays a role in desirability, whether it’s a condor or a blue whale.
When it comes to impressively large and elusive freshwater species, a couple come to mind.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/meeting-mysterious-muskie/
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/2022/01/pfas-news-lake-superior-fish-michigan-superfund-list/
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:
Indiana:
The increasingly warm air and heavy rain showers have caused a rise in toxic algae blooms, which has led to fish sickness, beach closures, and drinking water pollution.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/drinking-water-news-roundup-toxic-algae-blooms/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/enbridge-court-michigan-public-service-commission-line-5-permit/
For Professor Nancy Langston, our intransigence in protecting struggling species like caribou and others is a puzzle. These species exist in our memories and culture, and we’ve invested in protecting them, so why do their populations continue to crash?
That’s the question at the core of Langston’s latest book, “Climate Ghosts: Migratory Species in the Anthropocene”.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/climate-ghosts-author/
By Lindsay Campbell with photography by Johnny C. Lam, The Narwhal
This story first ran on The Narwhal, a non-profit news organization that publishes in-depth stories about Canada’s natural world.
Those who choose a life in commercial fishing on the Great Lakes are granted a front row seat to the natural world.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/lake-ontario-lake-erie-families-fisheries/
By Lindsay Campbell with photography by Johnny C. Lam, The Narwhal
This story first ran on The Narwhal, a non-profit news organization that publishes in-depth stories about Canada’s natural world.
Those who choose a life in commercial fishing on the Great Lakes are granted a front row seat to the natural world.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/lake-ontario-lake-erie-families-fisheries/
Inadequate regulations, infrastructure failures and developments, water quality and quantity, and climate migration were just some of the many pressing Great Lakes issues covered collectively by the Great Lakes News Collaborative over the past year.
With timely stories set to a backdrop of visually compelling photos and video, the goal for the Great Lakes News Collaborative was to give voice to what residents all over the region are already seeing at their doorsteps.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/combined-effort-sierra-club-to-award-great-lakes-news-collaborative/
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/2022/01/red-bellied-snake-endangered/
By 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/2022/01/flint-water-crisis-settlement-claims/
For 20 years, the mystery behind what was killing coho salmon in Seattle’s urban creeks seemed unsolvable.
Every time it rained, fish would begin swimming in circles, floating belly up just a few hours later. Scientists looked at heavy metals, various chemical contaminants, water temperature and oxygen levels, but none of these things were the problem.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/great-lakes-fish-populations-tires/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/lake-michigan-ozone-levels/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/great-lakes-vineyards-changing/
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/2022/01/road-salt-michigan-lakes/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/adapting-climate-change-expensive/
Once living on the brink of extinction, the Kirtland’s warbler is now thriving thanks to collaborative conservation efforts.
The Kirtland’s warbler is one of the largest and rarest songbirds in North America. This handsome yellow-and-gray warbler is named for Dr. Jared Kirtland, on whose farm near Cleveland, Ohio, the first specimen was collected in 1851.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/great-lakes-moment-warblers/
Walking my 90-pound shepherd a few days after Christmas in our suburban neighborhood, the jangling bell on his collar seemed a festive touch, one of the neighbors told us.
But it was more of a reminder of our August trip to Drummond Island than some holiday décor.
My 11-day summer vacation this year involved throwing my dog, some swimsuits and a lot of sunscreen in my car and heading up to visit generous friends with houses along Grand Lake (north of Alpena) and Lake Huron.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/12/year-in-review-2021-canine-adventures/
A year ago, I wrote a year-end summary of our 2020 TV coverage that highlighted the obvious theme for that terrible year: poop.
I ended that story with these words: “There will probably be more poop in the news in 2021, and if there is, we’ll bring it to you.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/12/year-in-review-2021-creaturesl/
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/2021/12/environmental-groups-algal-blooms/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/12/year-in-review-2021-change/
For me personally, I’ll always remember 2021 as the year I achieved one of my greatest accomplishments – graduating from Zoom University back in May and eventually becoming a part of Great Lakes Now’s growing team in October.
I’m only about two months into my role as the new digital content coordinator for Great Lakes Now, but I’ve already learned a lot – and I’ve already gotten to see the team achieve a lot of great accomplishments in just the one-sixth of a year I’ve been on board.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/12/year-in-review-2021-new-beginnings/
Like many people, I made some really big changes to my life in 2021. One of the more significant changes was leaving my former role at WDET, Detroit’s NPR station, and joining the team at Great Lakes Now as associate producer.
Having joined the GLN team in October, it still feels like a brand new experience for me as the calendar year comes to a close, but so far, I’m learning a lot from Supervising Producer Rob Green and our fearless Program Director Sandra Svoboda.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/12/year-in-review-2021-summer-flooding/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Hannah Brock, Great Lakes Echo
Researchers are studying a long-vanished village near southern Lake Michigan that a World War II arsenal helped preserve.
A recent study by archaeologists sought to learn about those who lived at what is now the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in Illinois.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/12/wwii-armory-preserves-indigenous/
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/2021/12/pfas-news-roundup-water/
By Kari Lydersen
This story was republished with permission from Energy News Network.
Coal ash will remain in the ground at the site of a closing coal plant on the shores of Lake Michigan in Waukegan, Illinois.
Owner NRG explained its plans on Dec.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/12/historic-coal-ash-concerns/
Everyone loves Monty and Rose – and Great Lakes Now featured the charming piping plover pair earlier this year.
Now Monty and Rose have chicks and even grand-chicks, many of whom are thriving as they fly south for the winter.
Chicago-based filmmaker Bob Dolgan has documented the progress of Monty and Rose and their offspring over the years.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/12/monty-rose-chicago-plovers/
By Lindsey Smith, 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/2021/12/benton-harbor-residents-pay-water/
Big waves pounding Midwestern city waterfronts are common images around the Great Lakes, which means communities are dealing with the impacts of storms that are increasing in frequency and severity.
One of those cities has been making strides in improving its resiliency while preserving its culture – Duluth, Minnesota.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/12/superior-stewardship-duluth/
Earlier this month, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared December 2021 as “Christmas Tree Month” in Michigan.
It’s a move that makes sense — the Christmas tree industry provides jobs and bolsters the national and state economy.
“Michigan’s integrated network of family farmers, processors, wholesalers and retailers, work together to ensure a quality product that is enjoyed by millions throughout our state and country,” Whitmer said in a statement.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/12/christmas-tree-environmentally-friendly/
The sucker maybe not be a popular recreational fish, but the Great Lakes native works hard to contribute to the ecosystems of all five Lakes as well as the creeks and streams feeding into them.
In the summer of 2021, Great Lakes Now covered some of Karen Murchie’s research into this Great Lakes fish.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/12/community-sucker-science-shedd-aquarium-fish-researcher/
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/2021/12/high-costs-benton-harbor-water/
In the spirit of yuletide reminiscing, I recently found myself looking back at my journey to bringing more freshwater fish content to PBS audiences. One particularly poignant and mildly terrifying turning point was the first time I stepped onto a really big stage to speak on behalf of freshwater fish.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/12/center-stage-steelhead-trout/
Denia Djokić first got interested in nuclear engineering because of climate change. That was nearly two decades ago when she was a college student at UC Berkeley and learned how energy issues were central to create a more sustainable planet.
“When we’re 21, we want to go out and save the world,” she said.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/12/nuclear-waste-great-lakes-region/
The seemingly endless process of crafting, negotiating and passing the infrastructure legislation is over.
The bill topped out at a trillion dollars, and $1 billion of that funding is coming to the Great Lakes region for continued restoration of the lakes. That’s in addition to the ongoing federal funding of over $300 million annually the lakes have received since 2010.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/12/epa-toxic-sediment-funding/
