Over the last two decades, Milwaukee's Walnut Way neighborhood has gradually transformed from lifeless parcels to green space and become a model for others.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/rust-resilience-milwaukee-climate-resilience-green/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
In this edition: Indiana residents are worried about insufficient measures being taken to address pollution during coal ash pond closure; Yale University study could help Ohio homeowners connect water contamination to shale gas and coal industry; Ohio EPA approves Athens County mine despite protests; Supreme Court ruling adopts new standard for Clean Water Act; and states and municipalities might not have the resources to make up for the federal government backing down on enforcement.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/energy-coal-ohio-indiana-enforcement/
The contested case of the Icebreaker Wind Farm has implications for renewable energy in the region.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/rust-resilience-lake-erie-wind-farm/
An administrative law judge ruled this week in favor of Nestle in the long-running dispute over whether the company would be allowed to increase its withdrawals of groundwater to support its water bottling operation in Michigan.
Grassroots activists challenged the 2018 decision by Michigan’s then Department of Environmental Quality under former Gov.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/nestle-prevails-law-judge-sides-with-water-bottler-in-water-withdrawal-case/
Warmer waters, heavier storms and nutrient pollution are a triple threat to Great Lakes cities' drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/rust-resilience-climate-change-drinking-water-quality/
Lake Erie fishing charters reel from stay at home orders, and lake freighters idle due to industry shutdowns.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/covid-19-coronavirus-fishing-freighters-great-lakes-industries/
Perched on the western shore of the world’s greatest lake, an inland port city offers lessons for resilience in uncertain times.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/rust-resilience-climate-change-duluth/
As the author of Great Lakes Now’s Collection of Lesson Plans, educational consultant Gary Abud Jr. is now providing more support for parents, teachers and caregivers who want to incorporate Great Lakes learning into their time with children and students. His series of writings can be found HERE along with the lesson plans and a Virtual Field Trip.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/great-lakes-learning-toxic-algae-harmful-algal-blooms/
A big storm can overwhelm a treatment plant’s capacity, leading to storm and wastewater bypassing the plant and ending up untreated in the lake.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/rust-resilience-sewer-wastewater-infrastructure/
As the author of Great Lakes Now’s Collection of Lesson Plans, educational consultant Gary Abud Jr. is now providing more support for parents, teachers and caregivers who want to incorporate Great Lakes learning into their time with children and students. His series of writings can be found HERE along with the lesson plans and a Virtual Field Trip.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/great-lakes-learning-population-dynamics-invasive-species/
There has been a growing climate movement in Duluth, a city that advertises itself as an outdoor haven with access to fresh air, clean water and Lake Superior.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/rust-resilience-minnesota-climate-refuge-utility/
The Port of Duluth-Superior is one of the largest ports in the U.S., and its second largest commodity is coal.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/rust-resilience-coal-port-minnesota/
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/2020/04/pfas-wurtsmith-remediation-wisconsin-new-york-michigan/
Increasing erosion on the Great Lakes shoreline is threatening beaches, parks and other recreation areas used by people across the region.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/rust-resilience-climate-change-shoreline-erosion/
As climate change makes heat waves more frequent across the region and the nation, cities will need more tools to protect their residents.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/rust-resilience-climate-extremes-weatherization/
This year’s Earth Day is a special one, and not just because it’s the 50th anniversary of the event.
With stay home orders and heavy social distancing recommendations in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the usual large gatherings of people to show support, clear trash and do more to help the planet just aren’t plausible.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/earth-day-2020-participate-from-home/
When you ask well-intentioned government officials about environmental justice issues and why they are so difficult to remedy, the response usually goes like this:
“Some of the challenges we see as environmental problems are really rooted in decades of disinvestment in parts of our urban communities,” Liesl Clark, director of Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy told Great Lakes Now in a 2019 interview.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/environmental-justice-during-covid-19-coronavirus/
The city has begun short-term erosion mitigation measures along Chicago’s shoreline.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/rust-resilience-flood-chicago-climate-change/
Great Lakes Now is sharing work from our partners in a project on what climate change means for Great Lakes cities. Here is the initial piece in the series.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/rust-resilience-climate-change-great-lakes-cities/
DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has signed a $2.9 million agreement to remediate contaminated sediment along Detroit’s east riverfront.
The cleanup will allow for further expansion of the popular Detroit Riverwalk.
Work will be funded through a Great Lakes Legacy Act cost-sharing partnership with the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/ap-project-cap-contaminated-sediment-detroit-river/
In honor of Earth Week, Great Lakes Now programs are re-airing on Detroit Public TV. All of these shows have some learning activities coordinated with them, so we thought we’d bring them to you in one place. And you’re in that place. Whether you’re interested in recreation on the lakes, “fatbergs,” water pollution or fish populations, here are the links to episodes and their coordinated lesson plans and activities you can do at home with your children:
Episode 1006: Waters Restored
Floating islands on the Chicago River are creating habitats for fish, turtles and birds inside the city waterway, while up north in Lake Superior, scientists are working to protect a rocky reef from legacy mining pollution.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/earth-week-great-lakes-now-learning-activities/
Wayne Brusate started a commercial diving company in the two-car garage of his home in Marysville, Michigan.
Ten years later, his business was contracted to maintain all the water intake systems at Detroit Edison’s power generating facilities in southeastern Michigan. Power generating plants require a massive volume of water to operate, Brusate said.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/blasting-zebra-mussels-invasive-species/
As the author of Great Lakes Now’s Collection of Lesson Plans, educational consultant Gary Abud Jr. is now providing more support for parents, teachers and caregivers who want to incorporate Great Lakes learning into their time with children and students. His series of writings can be found HERE along with the lesson plans and a Virtual Field Trip.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/great-lakes-learning-clean-up-oil-spill/
Residents and locals aren't happy with the number of non-residents coming to town to fish without adhering to social distancing measures.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/covid-19-coronavirus-complaints-anglers-out-of-towners/
PETOSKEY, Mich. (AP) — A portion of a popular paved trail along a Lake Michigan bay has collapsed due to erosion from high water.
The trail, called the Little Traverse Wheelway, is “falling into the lake as the wind continues and is very dangerous,” Petoskey Parks and Recreation Department said Monday on Facebook.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/ap-trail-collapse-erosion-lake-michigan/
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio fishery has been charged with wildlife violations after investigators observed abuse and waste of game fish, officials said.
Investigators from the state Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife recorded employees from Szuch Fishery Inc. intentionally injure a rare trophy-size fish after it was removed from a commercial fishing net in western Lake Erie on March 31, the Dayton Daily News reported Sunday.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/ap-ohio-fishery-charged-abusing-wasting-game-fish/
Even as the federal government is spending trillions of dollars to boost the economy shut down by the COVID-19 virus, Congress has moved to increase funding for the Great Lakes.
The U.S. EPA announced last week that an additional $20 million has been allocated to restore the lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/epa-glri-extra-20-million-state-funding-at-risk/
Spring in the Great Lakes region brings blooming tulips, pollinating bees, biting sunfish and the threat of spreading invasive species.
As residents head outdoors to freshen backyard ponds and launch fishing boats, state and provincial resource managers are urging everyone to keep a few simple guidelines in mind to keep the Great Lakes safe.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/states-stop-spread-aquatic-invasive-species/
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — An invasive grass carp capable of reproducing has been discovered in a Lake Huron tributary, Michigan officials said Friday.
The state Department of Natural Resources said the fish was found March 17 during a routine survey of the Tittabawassee River below the Dow Dam in Midland County.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/ap-invasive-grass-carp-lake-huron-tributary/
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/2020/04/pfas-indiana-wisconsin-testing-covid-19/
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Enbridge Inc. applied Wednesday for state and federal authorization to construct an oil pipeline tunnel beneath the Michigan waterway that connects two of the Great Lakes.
The Canadian company wants to build a roughly 4-mile-long (6.4-kilometer-long) tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/ap-enbridge-permits-great-lakes-oil-pipeline-tunnel/
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Just weeks ago, cities and even states across the U.S. were busy banning straws, limiting takeout containers and mandating that shoppers bring reusable bags or pay a small fee as the movement to eliminate single-use plastics took hold in mainstream America.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/ap-covid-19-plastic-bag-bans-plastic-reduction/
Here’s a collection of Great Lakes Now work – and other references – to help water become a fun, fascinating at-home lesson.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/great-lakes-learning-groundwater/
Travel may not be an option for people right now with the ongoing spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, but there are many ways to still take in the sights – including through photos of hard-to-find views of the massive freighters that cross the Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes Seaway Partnership is a nonprofit initiative that is a collaboration between U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/freighter-photos-great-lakes-seaway/
Events around the lakes are being canceled, postponed or put on hold until more information comes out.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/covid-19-coronavirus-sports-recreation-events-canceled/
Oil companies successfully request lighter oversight amid coronavirus pandemic. Farmers support the move.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/epa-suspends-enforement-covid-19-coronavirus/
How about dinner “on” Mackinac, Washington or Drummond islands? All while helping your family learn more about the Great Lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/great-lakes-learning-island-destination-dinner/
Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig shares his own memories of the first Earth Day and the changes he’s noticed in the nature around him since then.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/great-lakes-moment-earth-day-turns-50/
In this web exclusive, Great Lakes Now looks at Michigan’s PFAS Action Response Team.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/episode-1012-web-extra-pfas-mpart/
In this web exclusive, two residents from Kent County, Michigan, share about their struggles with PFAS.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/episode-1012-web-extra-pfas-families/
Education Consultant Gary Abud Jr. has four helpful tips to make the most of online discussions with your students and children as lessons and activities move to the home.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/great-lakes-learning-tips-student-conversation/
By Kaye LaFond, Interlochen Public Radio
Enbridge Energy will not delay submitting permits for its controversial Great Lakes Tunnel Project because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tribal governments that oppose the project want Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to slow the process down. They say it’s impossible to prepare for public comment and official tribal consultations when most tribal staff are sheltering in place.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/enbridge-move-forward-tunnel-permitting-covid-19/
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/great-lakes-energy-coronavirus-covid-19-nuclear-solar/
Great Lakes Now and Detroit PBS KIDS takes you along on a Virtual Field Trip.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/great-lakes-now-virtual-field-trip/
Michigan EGLE said the ban is intended to prevent manure from flowing into waterways. Manure is a leading polluter of the Great Lakes, inland lakes and streams.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/ap-michigan-ban-manure-croplands-winter/
Cruise season is expected to continue as normal for the Great Lakes region, even as ports and cruise lines grapple with how to protect passengers and crew.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/coronavirus-covid-19-cruises-continue/
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Drinking water fountains and taps at public and private schools in Indiana will be required to be tested for lead contamination by 2023 under a new state law.
The law requires schools’ drinking water equipment to be tested by Jan. 1, 2023, and take action if results show lead at higher than 15 parts per billion.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/03/ap-new-law-indiana-schools-test-lead-contamination/
In this lesson, help kids understand what not to flush down the toilet and do a fun at-home science experiment at the same time.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/03/url-great-lakes-remote-learning-fatberg-experiment/
DETROIT (AP) — The advice is simple and universal: Washing your hands with soap and water is one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of the coronavirus. But for millions of people across the country, that’s not simple at all: They lack running water in their houses due to service shutoffs prompted by overdue bills.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/03/ap-michigan-water-shutoffs-coronavirus-outbreak/
All over the United States, mayors and other officials fed up with residents who ignore social distancing guidelines have been shutting down parks, beaches, marinas and other public areas.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/03/ap-covid-19-closure-parks-trails-chicago/
