Are Great Lakes cities ready for climate migrants?

This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.

By Kayla Nelsen, Great Lakes Echo

A California woman on “The Daily Show” recently swapped her sandals for snowshoes after moving to Duluth to escape her state’s wildfires.

The Comedy Central show featured Duluth as a climate haven, an ideal place to live to avoid wildfires, droughts, hurricanes and extreme flooding.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/03/are-great-lakes-cities-ready-for-climate-migrants/

Great Lakes Echo

Smart buoys help brace Great Lakes for environmental challenges

This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.

By Daniel Schoenherr, Great Lakes Echo

Lake Erie is the first of the Great Lakes getting connected to the internet with a series of offshore “smart” buoys.

And it’s not just for sending texts on the water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/smart-buoys-help-brace-great-lakes-for-environmental-challenges/

Great Lakes Echo

PFAS News Roundup: Legislation introduced in Michigan, Ways to reduce your exposure

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/pfas-news-roundup-legislation-introduced-in-michigan-reduce-exposure/

Kathy Johnson

TED Countdown: BlocPower CEO Donnel Baird on greening America’s buildings, improving communities

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/ted-countdown-blocpower-ceo-donnel-baird-greening-americas-buildings-improving-communities/

Lisa John Rogers

What are wetlands for, anyway?

On May 25, the Supreme Court ruled 9 to 0, changing wetland protection in The Clean Water Act. The Sackett family, who took on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), were being fined $40,000 a day for building their Idaho property too close to an unnamed tributary. That tributary feeds into a creek, and that creek feeds into Priest Lake.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/what-are-wetlands-for-anyway/

Lisa John Rogers

PFAS News Roundup: U.S. Military proposes health benefits to veterans, How to identify contaminated foam

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/pfas-news-roundup-u-s-military-proposes-health-benefits-to-veterans-how-to-identify-contaminated-foam/

Kathy Johnson

Michigan under statewide advisory as Canada wildfire smoke hits Midwest

By Irena Li, 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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/06/michigan-under-statewide-advisory-as-canada-wildfire-smoke-hits-midwest/

Bridge Michigan

A deep dive into disposing waste from East Palestine’s derailment

Some residents in Vickery, including Ohio State Rep. Gary Click, were upset to learn that hazardous wastewater from a Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern derailment was being sent to their area for disposal. But the reality is that Vickery Environmental (VE), a Class 1 deep well injection site about five miles from Sandusky Bay, has been receiving and disposing liquid waste for nearly a half century.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/04/deep-dive-disposing-waste-east-palestine-derailment/

James Proffitt

PFAS News Roundup: Questions about the EPA’s nationwide PFAS rule, answered

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/03/pfas-news-roundup-questions-about-the-epas-nationwide-pfas-rule-answered/

Kathy Johnson

Energy News Roundup: Gas stove debate, electric vehicle expansion

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

  • ComEd seeks record-high $1.5 billion rate hike over next 4 years — Chicago Sun-Times

ComEd says that’s the cost of bolstering the region’s electric grid in a statewide effort to phase out carbon emissions and to protect the system from severe weather damage that’s becoming more common due to climate change.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/01/energy-news-roundup-gas-stove-debate-electric-vehicle-expansion/

Kathy Johnson

Mapping the Great Lakes: Snowfall in the snowbelt

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/01/mapping-great-lakes-snowfall-snowbelt/

Alex Hill

PFAS News Roundup: New requirements taking effect in 2023 to protect consumers from ‘forever chemicals’

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/01/pfas-news-roundup-requirements-2023-protect-consumers-forever-chemicals/

Kathy Johnson

Buffalo legislator calls for bill of rights protection for the Great Lakes

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/buffalo-legislator-calls-for-protection-for-great-lakes/

Gary Wilson

Get Out There: New trails and parks make nature more accessible for neurodiverse people

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/new-trails-and-parks-make-nature-accessible-for-neurodiverse-people/

Kari Lydersen

US officials say 2 more places will test sewage for polio

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/ap-officials-say-more-places-will-test-sewage-polio/

The Associated Press

Drinking Water News Roundup: Illinois EPA invests over $70M in drinking water projects, students receive funding for Ohio water quality research

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 EPA invests over $70M in wastewater, drinking water projects – Daily Journal

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/drinking-water-news-roundup-illinois-drinking-water-projects-students-ohio-water-quality-research/

GLN Editor

5 deaths at NYC nursing home blamed on Legionnaires’ disease

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/ap-deaths-nyc-nursing-home-legionnaires-disease/

The Associated Press

PFAS News Roundup: Ongoing Upper Peninsula industrial fire raises “forever chemical” concerns, PFAS medical monitoring programs to begin in New York

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/pfas-news-roundup-upper-peninsula-industrial-fire-forever-chemical-concerns-medical-monitoring-programs-new-york/

Kathy Johnson

Know Your State Foods

Do you know if your state has an official food or drink? If you live in the Great Lakes region, chances are your state boasts multiple official foods, drinks and even crops. Some of them – not all – a part of the region’s water-related culture, history and traditions.

Each state chooses their respective official delicacy for a variety of reasons.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/know-your-state-foods/

Capri S. Cafaro

Mapping the Great Lakes: Where do you live?

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/mapping-the-great-lakes-where-do-you-live/

Alex Hill

The Catch: Historic land transfer

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 on the return of 100 acres to the Onondaga Nation.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/the-catch-historic-land-transfer/

GLN Editor

Drinking Water News Roundup: New water infrastructure funding, projects, programs

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:

  • Water renovation project extends municipal water access to hundreds – The Indiana Gazette

Prior to the approximately $12 million project that connected Plumville and Crooked Creek water treatment plants, most residents in the area as well as the school district relied on well water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/drinking-water-news-roundup-new-water-infrastructure-funding-projects-programs/

GLN Editor

The Catch: Bitcoin mining and coal ash

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 stories from “Poisonous Ponds: Tackling Toxic Coal Ash,” a collaborative project featuring the reporting work of students at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications on Great Lakes Now and Energy News Network programs and websites.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/the-catch-bitcoin-mining-coal-ash/

GLN Editor

In the Finger Lakes, a bitcoin mining plant billed as ‘green’ has a dirty coal ash problem

The village of Dresden is nestled amid charming vineyards and the placid blue waters of Seneca Lake, the largest of Upstate New York’s Finger Lakes. 

Wineries, breweries, dairy farms, and state parks dot the lake’s shoreline, making it a picture-perfect vacation destination.

But for local residents, the three auburn-colored smokestacks of Greenidge Generation’s plant towering above the trees are an unnerving reminder that their natural resources are at risk.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/08/bitcoin-mining-plant-dirty-coal-ash-problem/

Sruthi Gopalakrishnan

PFAS News Roundup: Eliminating “forever chemicals,” reporting obligations broadening

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/08/pfas-news-roundup-eliminating-forever-chemicals-reporting-obligations/

Kathy Johnson

Energy News Roundup: Green jobs, solar farms and the value of trees

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

Solar, storage projects set to bring jobs, tax revenue to Illinois coal communities — Energy News Network

Six retired coal plants in downstate Illinois will soon receive solar panels and become renewable energy storage sites.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/energy-news-roundup/

Kathy Johnson

Industries and public water supplies top list of main consumers of Great Lakes water

Overall water usage in the Great Lakes is dropping, largely due to water conservation and management efforts, according to the Great Lakes Commission’s most recent water use report.

The GLC compiles annual water use data, a stipulation outlined in the 2008 regional water use agreement known as the Great Lakes Compact.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/industries-public-water-consumers-great-lakes-water/

John McCracken

Mapping the Great Lakes: How old are our cities?

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/mapping-great-lakes-cities/

Alex Hill

Drinking Water News Roundup: Flooding poses risk to well water, Indiana drinking water report shared, EPA grants for Ohio

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 Encourages Customers to View their 2021 Community Water Quality Report – Business Wire

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/drinking-water-news-roundup-flooding-risk-epa-grants-ohio/

Tynnetta Harris

Landmark bill to limit cryptomining passes NY Legislature

By Michael Hill, Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York lawmakers have passed a milestone environmental measure designed to tap the brakes on the spread of cryptocurrency mining operations that burn fossil fuels.

Both supporters and opponents say that the closely watched bill, approved early Friday by the state Senate, is the first of its kind in the U.S.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-landmark-bill-limit-cryptomining/

The Associated Press

Energy News Roundup: Illinois 6th in clean energy capacity, debate over Michigan risk of brownouts, the world’s potential impending energy crisis

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:

  • Keeping Illinois nuclear plants open is saving some customers $237 a year on average – CNBC

In September, Illinois lawmakers passed a watershed clean energy law which established the state as a leader for its efforts to decarbonize.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/energy-news-roundup-impending-energy-crisis/

Natasha Blakely

PFAS News Roundup: New York bill bans PFAS in clothes, Ohio city files lawsuit, Wisconsin struggles to set standards

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/pfas-news-roundup-new-york-clothes-ohio-lawsuit-wisconsin-standards/

Tynnetta Harris

Drinking Water News Roundup: $3M invested in Illinois water system, coal ash rule means safer water in Indiana

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 Announces Investment of Over $3 Million in Sterling Water System During National Infrastructure Week – Business Wire

Illinois American Water is investing over $3 million to replace over 8,600 feet or 1.6 miles of water main throughout the Sterling Water System.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/drinking-water-news-roundup-illinois-water-system-coal-ash-indiana/

Tynnetta Harris

FRESH: EPA Recommends Against Minnesota Mining Permit

Fresh is a biweekly newsletter from Circle of Blue that unpacks the biggest international, state, and local policy news stories facing the Great Lakes region today. Sign up for Fresh: A Great Lakes Policy Briefing, straight to your inbox, every other Tuesday.

— Laura Gersony, Fresh Editor

This Week’s Watersheds

  • The U.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/fresh-epa-minnesota-mining-permit/

Circle of Blue

Water executive tells cities to “get creative” when it comes to replacing lead service lines

Lynn Broaddus has little patience for cities who focus on the reasons why they can’t replace lead service lines.

She understands that finances are a big part of the problem but says too often cities focus on the barriers, instead of what’s possible.

Broaddus is the recent past-president and now a trustee with the international group Water Environment Federation, a non-profit focused on increasing the awareness of the impact and value of water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/water-executive-creative-replacing-lead-service-lines/

Gary Wilson

Energy News Roundup: Numerous Great Lakes states grapple with outages and rising rates

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:

  • Warnings of summer brownouts downstate spur scrutiny of Pritzker’s energy law – Crain’s Chicago Business

Electricity costs will soar beginning in June in central and southern Illinois, due to inadequate power supplies following coal-fired plant closures.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/energy-news-roundup-numerous-great-lakes-outages-rising-rates/

Natasha Blakely

PFAS News Roundup: 20M acres of farmland polluted, PFAS found in ‘nontoxic’ children’s clothes and car seats

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/pfas-news-roundup-farmland-polluted-pfas-childrens-clothes/

Natasha Blakely

Nonprofit report points to outdated Clean Water Act for the miles of polluted rivers across the U.S.

In 1972, the federal Clean Water Act proclaimed an ambitious goal – “fishable, swimmable” waters across the U.S. by 1983. Today, just over half of assessed river and stream miles across the U.S. remain too polluted for swimming and recreation, aquatic life, fish consumption, or as drinking water sources.

That assessment comes from a newly released report from the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), a non-profit group founded in 2002 by former EPA enforcement attorneys.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/outdated-clean-water-act-polluted-rivers/

Sharon Oosthoek

16 states that want to electrify USPS fleet file lawsuits

By David Sharp, Associated Press

California and 15 states that want the U.S. Postal Service to electrify its mail delivery vehicles are suing to halt purchases of thousands of gas-powered trucks as the agency modernizes its delivery fleet.

Three separate lawsuits, filed Thursday by the states and environmental groups in New York and California, ask judges to order a more thorough environmental review before the Postal Service moves forward with the next-generation delivery vehicle program.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/ap-states-electrify-usps-lawsuits/

The Associated Press

PFAS News Roundup: PFAS in face masks, McDonald’s and Burger King sued for PFAS in packaging

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/pfas-news-roundup-face-masks-fast-food-chains-sued/

Natasha Blakely

EXPLAINER: Can climate change be solved by pricing carbon?

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — As climate change bakes the planet, dozens of nations and many local governments are putting a price tag on greenhouse gas emissions that are increasing flooding, droughts and other costly catastrophes.

Pennsylvania on Saturday becomes the first major fossil fuel-producing state in the U.S.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/climate-change-pricing-carbon/

The Associated Press

FRESH: Wisconsin Judge Strikes Down Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’ Cleanup Rule

Fresh is a biweekly newsletter from Circle of Blue that unpacks the biggest international, state, and local policy news stories facing the Great Lakes region today. Sign up for Fresh: A Great Lakes Policy Briefing, straight to your inbox, every other Tuesday.

— Laura Gersony, Fresh Editor

This Week’s Watersheds

  • A court ruling out of Wisconsin hamstrings the state’s cleanup of toxic “forever chemicals.”
  • Quebec becomes the first jurisdiction in North America to ban fossil fuel extraction.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/wisconsin-judge-forever-chemicals-cleanup/

Circle of Blue

Earth Day 2022: What can you do and where?

In-person events are back as people slowly reintroduce themselves to dining in, large gatherings and a return to the office.

But even as indoors becomes less taboo, let’s not forget the great outdoors, which served us well over the past two years. And what better time to show your gratitude to the parks than Earth Day.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/earth-day-2022/

Natasha Blakely

Drinking Water News Roundup: Best tasting water in the world in Ohio, nation’s worst waterways in Indiana

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:

  • Gladstone warns residents of water nitrate levels, says infants younger than 6 months should not drink it—WQAD8

The Village of Gladstone is warning residents with infants younger than 6 months of high levels of nitrate in the town’s drinking water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/drinking-water-news-roundup-best-tasting-water-ohio-worst-waterways-indiana/

Maya Sundaresan

PFAS News Roundup: Indiana PFAS property transfers, Lake Superior rainbow smelt advisory, new Ohio PFAS regulation bill

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/pfas-news-roundup-indiana-new-ohio-pfas-regulation-bill/

Maya Sundaresan

Drinking Water News Roundup: Illinois Well Inspections, New York Water Funding

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 EPA invests over $65.6 Million in wastewater and drinking water projects in second quarter of FY22 – WAND TV

Three of the loan recipients qualified for a total of more than $3 million in principal forgiveness.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/drinking-water-news-roundup-illinois-new-york/

Natasha Blakely

The 2022 Great Lakes shipping season sets sail after COVID-19 hurdles

If you notice your packages arriving much faster than they did at the start of the pandemic, it isn’t just a minor coincidence – rather, it could be the Great Lakes shipping industry making a comeback after weathering the effects of COVID-19’s spread.

“(This) has been a bounce-back season from the COVID-induced lows of 2020,” said Jason Hron, director of communication and marketing for the Duluth Seaway Port Authority.

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Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/2022-great-lakes-shipping-season-infrastructure-improvements-covid-19/

Maya Sundaresan

New national authority for Great Lakes region proposed by Ohio Congresswoman

Steadier federal funding instead of annual appropriations coming out of debates, direct investment for local communities to meet federal mandates, a dual focus on environmental clean up and economic development. 

Those would be three benefits of a Great Lakes Authority, according to Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) who spoke today during the Great Lakes Week session organized by the Great Lakes Commission.

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Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/great-lakes-authority-proposed-ohio-congress-marcy-kaptur/

Sandra Svoboda

EPA to test, measure longtime Buffalo River cleanup efforts

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The lengthy effort to clean up the Buffalo River could pay off in the next few years.

The Buffalo News reported Sunday that the federal Environmental Protection Agency has told a local U.S. representative that the winding waterway could lose its status as an environmental danger zone, or “area of concern,” by 2025.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/12/ap-buffalo-river-cleanup-efforts/

The Associated Press

Banned decades ago, PCBs still posing threat to wildlife

By Michael Casey, Associated Press

HOLDERNESS, N.H. (AP) — Navigating her boat toward a wooden platform floating in an idyllic New Hampshire lake where “On Golden Pond” was filmed, biologist Tiffany Grade spotted what she had feared.

An olive brown loon’s egg with black speckles was sitting on an nest, abandoned by its parents and with no chance to hatch.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/12/ap-pcbs-threat-wildlife/

The Associated Press