By Terri Cook, Eos
This story originally appeared in Eos and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.
During the mid-1930s, in the wake of devastating Dust Bowl–era storms, the U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/big-benefits-from-experimental-watersheds/
Salt-speckled sidewalks, driveways and highways are synonymous with winter in the Great Lakes region. But while road salt is highly effective at deicing surfaces, the safety that salt provides for humans places a heavy burden on freshwater ecosystems.
“We have an unhealthy addiction to road salt,” said Claire Oswald, a hydrologist and associate professor at Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/road-salt-reducing-usage-great-lakes-freshwater-ecosystem/
Michigan and the Great Lakes region — with an abundance of fresh water, warming winters and less fire-prone forests — stand to attract millions of new residents in the coming years looking to escape flooded coastal areas and the parched land of the West.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/water-great-lakes-climate-refuge-prepared/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Yue Jiang, Great Lakes Echo
They glide over the lake, waiting for the best time to catch fish.
In the blink of an eye, they dive into the water without hesitation.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/u-s-canadian-researchers-birds-conservation-research/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Kalah Harris, Great Lakes Echo
Herring gulls are aquatic birds that feed at the water’s surface and so are restricted to feeding on prey fish at the surface and shallow nearshore waters.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/herring-gull-eggs-monitor-great-lakes-ecosystems/
The way J. Ellen Marsden remembers it, when she first suggested calling a new Great Lakes invasive species the quagga mussel, her colleague laughed, so the name stuck.
At the same time, it was no laughing matter. The arrival of a second non-native mussel, related to the already established zebra mussel, was a major complication in what was becoming one of the most significant invasive species events in American history.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/invasive-mussels-legacy-beyond-great-lakes/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
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/2021/02/michigan-thin-ice-climate-experts/
Polluting factories go uninspected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Leadership positions sit vacant at the U.S. Geological Survey’s climate science centers. And U.S. Department of Agriculture research into environmental issues important to farmers is unfinished.
The ranks of scientists who carry out environmental research, enforcement and other jobs fell in several agencies — sharply in some — under former President Donald Trump, federal data shows.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/ap-biden-environmental-challenge-vacant-scientist-jobs/
Since the late 1980s, four of the five Great Lakes have played host to an increasing number of invasive mussels. First came zebra mussels, followed shortly thereafter by quagga mussels, both members of the Dreissenid family whose native range includes the waters around Ukraine.
Today, the filter-feeders comprise more than 90% of the total animal biomass of the Great Lakes (barring Lake Superior, whose depth and water chemistry make it a less suitable habitat for the two species of mussel).
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/invasive-mussels-phosphorus-chemistry-great-lakes/
America’s rivers are changing color — and people are behind many of the shifts, a new study said.
One-third of the tens of thousands of mile-long (two kilometer-long) river segments in the United States have noticeably shifted color in satellite images since 1984.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/ap-one-third-of-americas-rivers-have-changed-color-since-1984/
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Monday approved the final federal permit for Enbridge Energy’s planned Line 3 crude oil pipeline replacement across northern Minnesota, bringing the project a step closer to construction.
In a release from its St.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/ap-army-corps-engineers-final-federal-line-3-permit/
Scientists at dozens of colleges and universities around the country are hoping early detection of COVID-19 infections can come from a not-so-glamorous sampling process.
With collection devices set up in campus sewer systems, researchers are sampling waste from residence halls and other buildings for evidence of the virus.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/campus-covid-19-sewage-testing-early-infections/
An estimated 9,887 metric tonnes (22 million pounds) of plastics make their way into the Great Lakes every year. Now a new project aims not only to suck out some of that plastic but stop it from getting into the lakes in the first place.
It began last summer with Toronto Harbour’s installation of three Seabins – devices that look like trash cans in the water but behave like vacuum cleaners, said Christopher Hilkene, CEO of Pollution Probe.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/seabins-trap-plastics-great-lakes-canada/
Even casual observers of Great Lakes issues are aware of the problems associated with algal blooms.
Perhaps they remember the headlines from August 2014 when Toledo went without drinking water for three days due to the threat of toxic blooms contaminating the city’s water supply. Or a day their favorite beach posted “No Swimming” signs because of toxic algal bloom threats.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/small-streams-impact-great-lakes-water-quality/
Early in October, scientists who pioneered a powerful gene-editing technology won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. That same technology is now being used to explore new ways to control invasive sea lamprey in the Great Lakes.
When researchers suggested earlier this year that it might be possible to eradicate sea lamprey from the Great Lakes, it was with developing gene-editing technology in mind.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/genetic-engineering-research-controlling-sea-lamprey/
In June 2017, when President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris Climate Accords, three states had an immediate reaction and plan.
New York, California and Washington announced formation of the United States Climate Alliance calling it a “coalition that will convene U.S. states committed to upholding the Paris Climate Agreement and taking aggressive action on climate change.”
With that action, New York led Great Lakes states in the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, establish clean energy plans and fund initiatives to meet carbon reduction goals.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/great-lakes-states-climate-change-carbon/
Lake Erie’s Western Basin didn’t do well on its first big test: a report card produced by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.
The report card gave it a mediocre score, an overall C+, based on a various factors regarding the lake’s condition. The watershed surrounding western Lake Erie scored a C.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/western-lake-erie-mediocre-score-report-card/
Canada is home to the third largest renewable supply of fresh water in the world, spread across a vast swath of lakes, rivers, aquifers and glaciers. Fresh water is critical to the country’s economy and health, and a key part of the nation’s identity – paddling a canoe through northern waterways is a rite of passage, and more than 30% of Canadians live surrounded by water in the Great Lakes region.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/canada-water-agency-government-consolidate-water-data-management/
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/2020/09/pfas-news-roundup-pfas-puts-pregnancies-at-risk-nestle-and-la-croix-among-waters-with-elevated-pfas/
By Kimberly M. S. Cartier, Eos
This story originally appeared in Eos and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.
As Chicago’s industries and population boomed in the late 1800s, city officials decided to reverse the course of the Chicago River so that it flowed away from Lake Michigan.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/09/chicago-wetlands-shrank-40-20th-century/
YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) — Eastern Michigan University will test campus wastewater for the COVID-19 virus and other signs of infectious diseases.
The testing, part of the school’s return-to-campus plan, is intended to track the presence of the coronavirus in wastewater flowing from residence halls and apartment complexes.
The monitoring might provide early detection of asymptomatic cases of the virus, according to the school.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/09/ap-emu-campus-wastewater-covid-19/
Sea lamprey control in the Great Lakes has been a success.
Compared to the 1950s, 90% fewer of the toothy, invasive, eel-like parasite are spawning.
Control efforts have been so successful that some researchers now suggest a more permanent solution: complete eradication of the pest from the Great Lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/09/sea-lamprey-invasive-species-research-eradication-great-lakes/
At any given moment about half the world’s population is wearing blue jeans or other denim clothing. And every time we launder our jeans, tiny string-like particles called microfibers come loose, flow out of our washing machines, down sewers and into lakes and oceans.
Now researchers at the University of Toronto say they have found denim microfibers in sediment taken from the Great Lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/09/researchers-denim-microfibers-great-lakes/
The teenagers and scientists searching for the 2017 meteorite in Lake Michigan found more than they had been looking for, representatives from the team reported yesterday.
In a live update on the Adler Planetarium’s YouTube channel, students and researchers shared two major finds from The Aquarius Project’s years-long attempt to find the meteorite: a sample that could be from that meteorite and a sample from a meteorite much, much older.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/09/aquarius-project-findings-update-meteorite-fragments-lake-michigan/
Three years after a meteorite crashed into Lake Michigan, the Adler Planetarium is giving a live virtual update on the search to find it.
Join at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT on Thursday, Sept. 10. Watch here:
In February 2017, a meteorite lit up the night sky before crashing into Lake Michigan off the Wisconsin shoreline.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/09/planetarium-update-lake-michigan-meteorite/
By Timberly Ferree, Indiana Environmental Reporter
Indiana University and Purdue University have each been awarded $1.6 million Environmental Protection Agency research grants to better understand the potential impacts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances on water quality and availability in rural communities and agricultural operations across the United States.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/09/indiana-universities-pfas-impact-water-quality/
As algal blooms flourish on the edges of the Great Lakes, lake management bodies look to cut down the flow of nutrients into the water that feeds the algae. But, as a recent report by the International Joint Commission explains, not all parts of the lakes suffer from too many nutrients — in fact, the deeper offshore waters aren’t getting enough.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/08/offshore-great-lakes-fish-populations-nutrient-levels/
By Jimmy Thomson, The Narwhal
This story originally appeared in The Narwhal and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.
This is the first part of Carbon Cache, an ongoing series about nature-based climate solutions.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/08/climate-change-carbon-canada-natural-landscapes/
ESCANABA, Mich. (AP) — A bald eagle launched an aerial assault on a drone operated by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy — known as EGLE — ripping off a propeller and sending the aircraft into Lake Michigan.
The attack happened July 21, when the drone was mapping shoreline erosion near Escanaba in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to document and help communities cope with high water levels, the department said in a statement.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/08/ap-bald-eagle-drone-lake-michigan/
Great Lakes Now is hosting a live chat about invasive species with the Belle Isle Conservancy on Friday, Aug. 7. Check out the event page here for more details.
Since the 1800s, at least 25 non-native fish species – like the sea lamprey, zebra mussel or round goby – have entered the Great Lakes, changing the Great Lakes ecosystem in a variety of ways.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/invasive-species-quiz-great-lakes/
Rich Americans produce nearly 25% more heat-trapping gases than poorer people at home, according to a comprehensive study of U.S. residential carbon footprints.
Scientists studied 93 million housing units in the nation to analyze how much greenhouse gases are being spewed in different locations and by income, according to a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/07/ap-rich-american-more-carbon-pollution-poor/
Scientists believe a dry spring in Lake Erie’s western basin watershed will help keep the annual harmful algal bloom in check this summer and early autumn.
The bloom’s biomass is expected to rank 4.5 on a scale of 10 in terms of severity, according to Rick Stumpf, oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/07/toxic-algae-2020-harmful-algal-bloom-forecast-lake-erie/
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/2020/07/pfas-michigan-wisconsin-legislation-foam-covid-19/
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:
When its water supply was running low in May, Andrews tapped into an unused well but was forced to shut it down again after the town found high levels of cancer-causing chemical vinyl chloride left over from a factory now owned by Raytheon Technologies.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/07/drinking-water-ohio-shutoffs-lead-exposure-private-wells/
Fatbergs — massive buildups of wipes and hygiene products congealed with greases and oils — make for a cringe-worthy topic. And the damage they cause to sewer systems can be a huge amount of trouble for the people in charge of those sewer systems.
That includes Candice Miller, the Public Works Commissioner in southeast Michigan’s Macomb County.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/07/legislation-flushable-wipes-court-law-fatberg/
In March, COVID-19 brought the Great Lakes economy and society in general to a grinding halt.
Three months later, it’s not yet business as usual and challenges remain.
That’s the consensus of a group of Great Lakes industries and scientific researchers Great Lakes Now first spoke with in April.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/06/covid-19-great-lakes-shipping-charter-boats-research/
The overall condition of the Great Lakes has been assessed as “fair and unchanging” in the 2019 State of the Great Lakes joint report by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Environmental and Climate Change Canada, published on June 3.
The lakes were assessed on nine indicators of ecosystem health as part of the 2012 Great Lakes Quality Agreement between the United States and Canada.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/06/state-great-lakes-stable-rollbacks-protection/
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.
A new study on cleaning up Great Lakes pollution hotspots published in the Journal of Great Lakes Research finds that investing in pollution prevention and restoration pays off in the long run.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/06/pollution-prevention-restoration-study/
The virus can be detected in infected people’s feces – sometimes even before they begin exhibiting symptoms.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/sewage-check-researchers-look-to-wastewater-for-data-on-covid-19/
The state agency that has to green light Enbridge Energy’s controversial pipeline in a tunnel project in the Straits of Mackinac hit the pause button on the process last week when it told the company it needs additional information.
The new pipeline would replace the 67-year-old existing Line 5 that runs through the bottom of the straits.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/permit-michigan-egle-enbridge-line-5/
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/2020/05/great-lakes-learning-younger-learners-2/
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/
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/
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/
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 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/
Anything that says “Flushable Wipes” is not flushable, commissioner says.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/03/flushable-wipes-coronavirus-covid-19-sewers/
While field research prep is delayed, the science itself hasn’t stopped as universities and researchers continue to work.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/03/great-lakes-delay-research-coronavirus-covid-19/
CHICAGO (AP) — Environmental groups in Illinois and Indiana have filed a federal complaint in hopes of forcing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to complete a review that could designate lake sturgeon as a federally endangered species.
Lake sturgeon are a prehistoric fish that were once plentiful in the Great Lakes but have been reduced to extremely low levels by pollution, overfishing and habitat destruction.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/03/ap-environmental-groups-sue-lake-sturgeon-status/
In this month’s column from Great Lakes Now writer John Hartig, he looks at how climate change is impacting birds around the Great Lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/03/black-terns-michigan-bird-climate-change/
