Ontario weakens watershed protections (again) as natural resources minister gets new powers

By Fatima Syed, The Narwhal

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal 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/2024/03/ontario-weakens-watershed-protections-again-as-natural-resources-minister-gets-new-powers/

The Narwhal

Great Lakes Moment: University of Windsor to build capacity for Canada’s national urban parks

Eighty percent of Canadians live in urban areas, and most are disconnected from nature. To help address this, Canada is creating a network of national urban parks not only to conserve nature, but to connect people with it, and advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.

Now, the University of Windsor has become a partner by creating the first university-based National Urban Park Hub.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/09/great-lakes-moment-university-windsor-build-capacity-canada-national-urban-parks/

John Hartig

Science Says What? The weight of the world rests on a small Canadian lake

Science Says What? is a monthly column written by Great Lakes now contributor Sharon Oosthoek exploring what science can tell us about what’s happening beneath and above the waves of our beloved Great Lakes and their watershed.

A tiny lake just an hour’s drive from Toronto made headlines earlier this summer as the best place in the world to illustrate the dawn of a new geological epoch – the Anthropocene.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/science-says-what-weight-world-rests-small-canadian-lake/

Sharon Oosthoek

Wildfire smoke can harm human health, even when the fire is hundreds of miles away – a toxicologist explains why

By Christopher T. Migliaccio, University of Montana

 is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.

Smoke from more than 100 wildfires burning across Canada has been rolling into North American cities far from the flames. New York City and Detroit were both listed among the five most polluted cities in the world because of the fires on June 7, 2023.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/06/wildfire-smoke-harm-human-health-even-when-hundreds-miles-away/

The Conversation

Folk singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot dies at 84

TORONTO (AP) — Gordon Lightfoot, the folk singer-songwriter known for “If You Could Read My Mind” and “Sundown” and for songs that told tales of Canadian identity, died Monday. He was 84.

Representative Victoria Lord said the musician died at a Toronto hospital. His cause of death was not immediately available.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/ap-folk-singer-songwriter-gordon-lightfoot-dies/

The Associated Press

I Speak for the Fish: Eyeballing Walleye

I Speak for the Fish is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor Kathy Johnson, coming out the third Monday of each month. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television. 

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/04/i-speak-for-fish-eyeballing-walleye/

Kathy Johnson

I Speak for the Fish: Eyeballing Walleye

I Speak for the Fish is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor Kathy Johnson, coming out the third Monday of each month. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television. 

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/04/i-speak-for-fish-eyeballing-walleye/

Kathy Johnson

Science Says What: How worried should we be about microplastic pollution?

Science Says What? is a monthly column written by Great Lakes now contributor Sharon Oosthoek exploring what science can tell us about what’s happening beneath and above the waves of our beloved Great Lakes and their watershed.

Microplastic pollution has been building up in the Great Lakes since at least the 1970s.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/02/science-says-what-how-worried-should-we-be-about-microplastic-pollution/

Sharon Oosthoek

Science Says What? Climate change, deluges and snow days

Science Says What? is a monthly column written by Great Lakes now contributor Sharon Oosthoek exploring what science can tell us about what’s happening beneath and above the waves of our beloved Great Lakes and their watershed.

The Great Lakes contain a whopping 5,500 cubic miles of freshwater, making them one of largest sources of freshwater in the world – large enough in fact to influence the region’s weather which impacts the 40 million people living around the lakes.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/01/science-says-what-climate-change-deluges-snow-days/

Sharon Oosthoek

Great Lakes Moment: Detroit’s benefits of a national urban park in Windsor

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.

National parks serve as pilgrimage sites because they provide spaces that provide a degree of solitude and access to unique natural resources.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/great-lakes-moment-detroits-benefits-of-national-urban-park-in-windsor/

John Hartig

Great Lakes Moment: New video game teaches watershed management

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.

Today, many educators are experimenting with unique forms of instruction to increase student engagement in the classroom and encourage critical thinking.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/11/great-lakes-moment-video-game-teaches-watershed-management/

John Hartig

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

Finders, Keepers: The Great Lakes Now Episode Quiz

Great Lakes Now tries to make every episode interesting and educational.

In “Finders, Keepers,” join researchers as they uncover details about the bottom of the Great Lakes, head to Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum to learn how scientists are using a natural history collection to understand changes to global biodiversity, and tune into The Catch for more news about the lakes you love.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/finders-keepers-the-great-lakes-now-episode-quiz/

Anna Sysling

Fish scientists: From childhood aspirations to Amazonian expeditions

Most professions offer a range of subspecialties to choose from.

Want to be a doctor? What kind? Surgeon, pediatrician, neurologist…?

Want to work construction? What kind? Plumer, electrician, carpenter…?

The study of fishes is different only in that the subspecialties are far less familiar to people outside the field.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/fish-scientists/

Kathy Johnson

I Speak for the Fish: A Fish’s Shelf Life

I Speak for the Fish is a new monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor Kathy Johnson, coming out the third Monday of each month. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television. 

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/i-speak-for-the-fish-a-fishs-shelf-life/

Kathy Johnson

Detroit and Toronto among Time Magazine’s “50 Greatest Places”

Two Great Lakes cities are among “The World’s 50 Greatest Places of 2022” as compiled by Time magazine.

Detroit and Toronto made the list along with destinations on all the continents and in outer space. The magazine said the list came from its “international network of correspondents and contributors, with an eye toward those (destinations) offering new and exciting experiences.”

What puts these key Great Lakes cities in such company?

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/detroit-toronto-time-50-greatest-places/

Sandra Svoboda

The Catch: Current issues in Canadian water infrastructure

This month of The Catch features stories from our partners in the Great Lakes News Collaborative. The collaborative’s investigation of the cost of water in the Great Lakes region was the focus of the latest episode.

Toronto-based journalist Andrew Reeves discusses a piece he wrote for Great Lakes Now about the history and current issues in Canadian water infrastructure.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/the-catch-canadian-water-infrastructure/

GLN Editor

Even in Canada, where water prices are low, aging infrastructure and rising costs are a problem

This is part one in a two-part series looking at the cost of water in Ontario. Find the Great Lakes News Collaborative’s series on cost of water in Michigan here.

Canadians living in the Great Lakes basin have perhaps become spoiled at the seemingly endless availability of water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/canada-aging-infrastructure-rising-costs/

Andrew Reeves

Great Lakes Moment: Similarities between the Don and Rouge rivers, and one big difference

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.

There are many similarities between Toronto’s lower Don River and metropolitan Detroit’s Rouge River.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/great-lakes-moment-don-rouge-rivers/

John Hartig

What’s missing from Doug Ford’s proposed expansion of the Ontario Greenbelt

By Emma McIntosh, The Narwhal

This story first ran on The Narwhal, a non-profit news organization that publishes in-depth stories about Canada’s natural world.

When the Doug Ford government first announced plans to expand Ontario’s Greenbelt, it called the move a “once in a generation opportunity.”

The initial concept, presented by Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark in February 2021, involved ambitious plans to include waterways under the Greenbelt’s protection and stretch its boundaries to encompass a large swath of land west of Toronto.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/04/doug-fords-expansion-ontario-greenbelt/

The Narwhal

Surfing the Great Lakes: ‘What? People do that here?’

On a cool fall day in 2007, Robin Pacquing slipped on a wetsuit, grabbed a surfboard and headed into Lake Ontario.

As a teenager, Pacquing had been a huge Baywatch fan and learned to love surfing during a family trip to Hawaii. As an adult, she went on to surf the waves off Tofino, British Colombia, never dreaming she might do the same just outside her door.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/03/surfing-great-lakes/

Sharon Oosthoek

Fresh, local and forgotten: On Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, families fight to save their 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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/lake-ontario-lake-erie-families-fisheries/

The Narwhal

Fresh, local and forgotten: On Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, families fight to save their 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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/lake-ontario-lake-erie-families-fisheries/

The Narwhal

The next source of trouble for Great Lakes fish populations: tires

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/01/great-lakes-fish-populations-tires/

Sharon Oosthoek

Drinking Water News Roundup: Indiana iron spill, Michigan lead reduction plan, potential nuclear accident in Ontario

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/10/drinking-water-indiana-iron-michigan-lead-nuclear-ontario/

Maya Sundaresan

Adaptation vs. Mitigation: Canada’s national climate change adaptation strategy needs balance

Amid wildfires, heat waves, drought and catastrophic flooding, Canada is moving ahead with its first ever national adaptation strategy to help Canadians identify and deliver on meaningful ways of adapting to the worsening effects of the climate emergency.

First announced in December 2020 and updated in mid-August, the government aims to consult widely with Indigenous groups, youth and environmental organizations to create a framework for concrete actions that businesses, governments and individuals can take to ensure the resilience of their communities.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/09/adaptation-mitigation-canada-national-climate-change-strategy/

Andrew Reeves

Depleted wetlands impact freshwater turtles in Toronto

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

By Chioma Lewis, Great Lakes Echo

Freshwater turtles have become less abundant in coastal areas of Greater Toronto that have significantly decreased wetlands.

That’s according to researchers in Toronto who conducted a study to assess the turtle communities in coastal wetlands of Lake Ontario.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/08/depleted-wetlands-freshwater-turtles-toronto/

Great Lakes Echo

Duckling Docks: Toronto installs floating docks to save drowning birds

Ducklings struggling to stay afloat in Lake Ontario’s Toronto harbor now have a safe place to rest with the installation of low, floating plywood docks.

PortsToronto installed duckling docks at water level in four shipping areas in June after reports of drowned waterfowl unable to climb out of the water to rest.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/08/duckling-toronto-floating-docks/

Sharon Oosthoek

Tokyo Time: How to watch the Great Lakes sailors in Olympic competition

Six sailors from Ontario, along with three from Wisconsin and one from Illinois are in Japan and ready for the Olympic sailing competition.

Great Lakes Now Host Ward Detwiler spoke with three of them in advance of their travels:

Here’s how to watch and follow these Great Lakes sailors in the Games:

Reports from World Sailing

US Sailing Olympic Homepage

Sail/Voile Canada Olympic Homepage

Links to Live Coverage:

CBC Streaming Schedule for Sailing Events: https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/sailing/streaming-schedule

NBC Olympics Streaming Site for Sailing Events:

https://www.nbcolympics.com/schedule/sport/sailing

Events and Schedules for the Great Lakes Sailors – start times for sailing events are 11 p.m.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/07/watch-great-lakes-sailors-2021-olympics/

GLN Editor

See the Sturgeon: The many ways to see, touch and appreciate sturgeon around the region

When the Milwaukee River Lake Sturgeon Reintroduction Project began 16 years ago, success wasn’t immediately apparent.

Having a solid scientific foundation for the project wasn’t the problem: sturgeon were raised in the Milwaukee River so they would return there to spawn when the time came. The problem was that lake sturgeon don’t return to a river to spawn for around 15 years.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/07/ways-see-touch-appreciate-sturgeon-great-lakes-region/

Noah Bock

New anglers could depress Great Lakes fish populations more than invasive species

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

By Brandon Chew, Great Lakes Echo

More fishing trips could cause more damage to native fish populations in the Canadian portion of the Great Lakes than aquatic invasive species, according to a recent study.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/new-anglers-great-lakes-fish-populations-invasive-species/

Great Lakes Echo

Sarah Douglas: From Lake Ontario to the Tokyo Olympics

Canada has nine sailors heading to the Olympics, six of which hail from the Great Lakes. Sarah Douglas is one of them.

“I’m excited, you know, I’m trying to treat it like any other competition,” Douglas said, “I think with the restrictions that we have, it’s going to be easier, the less distractions, but I’m just going out there to race.”

Douglas, a Toronto native who grew up in Barbados, will be competing in the Laser class in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/douglas-lake-ontario-tokyo-olympics/

GLN Editor

Chemical Impact: Microplastic pollution more complex than we think, says new research

Microplastics act like a chemical sponge, soaking up contaminants such as persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/chemical-impact-microplastic-pollution/

Sharon Oosthoek

Salt Levels: The effects of wintertime de-icing linger in Toronto-area rivers in the summer

As spring comes to the Great Lakes region and icy roads and sidewalks become a distant memory, a new study shows the salt we apply over the winter can linger in summertime rivers at alarming levels.

The University of Toronto study measured chloride in four Greater Toronto Area rivers and found it was high enough in many locations to put at least two-thirds of aquatic life at risk during early stages of their development.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/salt-levels-wintertime-de-icing-toronto-rivers-summer/

Sharon Oosthoek

Great Lakes Gift Guide 2020: Remember that road trip, boat ride, microbrew or sweatshirt you should’ve bought with this list

Want to give your loved ones a holiday gift that connects to that summer trip up north or the fall color tour you took together? 

Or maybe you have a trip planned for after the COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed and want to give them something to remind them they have something to look forward to. 

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/great-lakes-gift-guide-2020-list/

Natasha Blakely

Plastic Trap: New project pulls plastics out of the lakes, one floating garbage can at a time

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/seabins-trap-plastics-great-lakes-canada/

Sharon Oosthoek

Great Lakes produce new record for waterspouts in one week

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

By Audrey Porter, Great Lakes Echo

The Great Lakes produced a new high record in its number of 232 waterspouts from Sept. 28 through Oct. 4.

It tops the previous highest waterspout outbreak of 88 waterspouts in the month of  August.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/11/great-lakes-record-waterspouts/

Great Lakes Echo

Blue Jeans Blues: Researchers find denim microfibers in 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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/09/researchers-denim-microfibers-great-lakes/

Sharon Oosthoek

Drinking Water News Roundup: Ohio Resumes Water Shutoffs, Lead Exposure More Likely from Private Wells

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:

  • Andrews Residents Told Drinking Water Is Safe, But Issues Remain – Indiana Public Media

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/07/drinking-water-ohio-shutoffs-lead-exposure-private-wells/

Emily Simroth

Great Lakes Energy News Roundup: Hydrogen-from-nuclear plants, coal tar and diesel fuel barge beached, Line 3 in Minnesota

Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.

In this edition: Federal grant launches pilot program for nuclear plants to produce hydrogen for fuel cells; Canadian barge loaded with fuel, coal tar runs aground near where Lake Superior meets Soo Locks and Lake Huron; Minnesota regulators approve new contested case hearing over Enbridge Line 3 permit, delaying project; and First Nations and university educators in Ontario demand halt to further mining exploration during pandemic.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/06/great-lakes-energy-line-3-indigenous-mining-nuclear/

Ian Wendrow

Shuttered Canada-US border highlights different approaches to the pandemic – and differences between the 2 countries

By Daniel Baldwin Hess, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York and Alex Bitterman, Alfred State College of Technology, The State University of New York, The Conversation

 is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.

The United States and Canada have long enjoyed a stable relationship.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/06/shuttered-canada-us-border-highlights-different-approaches-to-the-pandemic-and-differences-between-the-2-countries/

The Conversation

COVID-19 Next Steps: Great Lakes outdoor recreation begins move toward normalcy

After nearly two months of reduced access, various levels of restrictions and outright closures, thousands of national, state, provincial and municipal parks, boating ramps, wildlife areas and other outdoor recreation areas are making their return from COVID-19.

Officials are hoping the move will help push life closer to normal for millions of people.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/coronavirus-covid-19-great-lakes-outdoor-recreation-reopening/

James Proffitt

Great Lakes Moment: River otters return to western Lake Erie

Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.

Most people know river otters from zoos or YouTube videos as endearing playful creatures that can put a smile on anyone’s face.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/river-otters-western-lake-erie/

John Hartig

Single Systems: Great Lakes cities’ sewer designs mean waste in the waters

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. 

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/rust-resilience-sewer-wastewater-infrastructure/

Dave Rosenthal

Earth Day 2020: How to participate from the safety of your home

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.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/earth-day-2020-participate-from-home/

Natasha Blakely