MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A bipartisan task force that brought together environmentalists, the energy industry and others released its recommendations Wednesday for how Wisconsin might bolster its economy while addressing climate change.
The report from the task force, which was led by Lt.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/ap-wisconsin-climate-task-force-recommendations/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI125F7602E4B8.LakeshoreFloodAdvisory.125F76206E70WI.GRBCFWGRB.7c8cd631c9fe0687885a65a67b439033
The U.S. Coast Guard wants to retire its oldest cutter on the Great Lakes, the 57-year-old cutter Buckthorn.
The post Oldest Coast Guard cutter with smallest crew and largest Great Lakes responsibility needs replacing first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/12/11/oldest-coast-guard-cutter-with-smallest-crew-and-largest-great-lakes-responsibility-needs-replacing/
It has been a long time coming, but We the People of Detroit is pleased that Mayor Mike Duggan is taking a step in the right direction with his announcement today regarding the creation of a water affordability plan on behalf of the residents of Detroit. This is an important first step in safeguarding public health and delivering water affordability for all Detroit residents. We must thank all of the Water Warriors who have been fighting for water equity and justice in Detroit for more than a decade. We also thank Dr. Abdul El-Sayed for his leadership in working with water justice advocates and Detroit city administrators. He has been a true champion for public health and water security. Lastly, we thank Governor Gretchen Whitmer for her bold leadership toward water equity and for implementing an Executive Order in March to end water shutoffs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
New research from We the People of Detroit Community Research Collective this year showed a strong link between the number of COVID-19 cases and the areas of our city impacted by water shutoffs. The impact of COVID-19 on Detroit’s most vulnerable populations serves as a stark reminder of how essential water access is for public health. The pandemic has made it impossible to deny that water shutoffs are a public health hazard.
We the People of Detroit continues to advocate for policies that make water affordability a reality for all. We are building a diverse coalition dedicated to training and mobilizing the citizens of Detroit and beyond to improve their quality of life. Ensuring that all communities have a seat at the table as our city combats water injustice is essential to safeguarding the future of all residents. We look forward to working with the City Council, the Administration, the Governor’s office, and other Water Warriors to usher in clean, safe, affordable access to water and sanitation for Detroiters and Michiganders.
Blog – Freshwater Future
https://freshwaterfuture.org/drinking-water/mayor-duggans-detroit-water-affordability-plan-announcement/
Thanks for all you did to support and protect the Great Lakes this year. We made progress together during what was for many of us our most difficult year ever.
Here are a few highlights:
You organized Adopt-a-Beach cleanups on all 5 Great Lakes despite challenging logistics related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Events were held on beaches as well as in neighborhoods and parks this year, recognizing that litter anywhere in the region can end up in the lakes.
You got involved during the 2020 elections, using our nonpartisan Great Lakes Voter Toolkit to ask candidates questions about clean water issues and our Great Lakes Voter Information Center to get state-specific voting information to help safely cast your ballot.
You supported our efforts to halt drinking water shut-offs that disproportionately hit low-income communities and communities of color across urban and rural parts of the Great Lakes region. With partners in Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit, and elsewhere, the Alliance focused on the essential connection between clean water and health, especially in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
You joined hundreds of parents and teachers who used our new H.O.M.E.School curriculum. As families and students stayed home due to COVID-19, online lessons helped kids in K-8th grade learn about the Great Lakes, from food webs to watersheds.
Your strong voices helped secure critical bipartisan Congressional support for stopping invasive Asian carp. Legislation in Congress authorized the first steps toward construction of new Asian carp protections and funding to support the project.
Last but certainly not least, the Alliance for the Great Lakes celebrated our 50th anniversary this fall.
Looking back to our founding in 1970, I’m proud to report that the Great Lakes are far healthier and better protected than they were 50 years ago. Plus, more people like you support the Alliance today than ever before in our history. To me that is no coincidence.
Thank you for all you did to help the Great Lakes in 2020, a year that we can say without exaggeration is unlike any other we’ve experienced.
Together, you and the Alliance have big opportunities to advance safe and clean water for the Great Lakes in 2021. I’m looking forward to it!
The post 2020 Accomplishments – Thanks to Our Supporters appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
News – Alliance for the Great Lakes
News – Alliance for the Great Lakes
https://greatlakes.org/2020/12/2020-accomplishments-thanks-to-our-supporters/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
In this edition: Environmentalists in Wisconsin sue EPA over regulation rollback favoring coal plants, bankruptcy plan for Ohio nuclear power company upheld by appeals court, Prairie Island tribe prepares for massive investment in renewable energy, and Ford Motors to invest millions for electric vehicle construction in southeast Michigan
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Michigan:
Across the United States, tribal treaties are becoming more and more influential in shaping legislative policy while also seeing greater recognition in courthouses, potentially reshaping the entire landscape of environmental justice.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/great-lakes-energy-michigan-tribal-green-mine/
As 2020 winds down, we asked staff members at Wisconsin Sea Grant what their favorite project was this year. Although work was a bit more challenging than usual due to our altered work circumstances, everyone managed to stay productive, and even find fulfillment.
Our editor, Elizabeth White’s favorite project is her work on a story hour lesson plan for Anne Moser and the Wisconsin Water Library titled, “Can Water Be Sticky?”
Elizabeth said, “It was quite a challenge explaining properties of water such as cohesion, adhesion and surface tension to a young audience. Freelance designer Kristen Rost’s illustrations did a lot of the work. I hope it’s not a bad thing that I learned a lot from curriculum for ages 3-9!”
One of Rost’s designs is below. The Wisconsin Water Library has many other lesson plans and activities available for teachers, parents and librarians at this link.
The post Sea Grant staff project faves, Elizabeth White first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.
Blog – Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/sea-grant-staff-project-faves-elizabeth-white/
NOTE: The report will formally be presented in English at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday, Dec. 10. A French session will follow at 3:30 p.m. For more details about how you can watch or ask questions, click here.
Public concern about climate change is escalating in the Great Lakes region, according to a new report issued by a binational group that manages and protects the Great Lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/public-concern-climate-change-runoff-chemicals-ijc/
If you read the International Joint Commission’s 2020 Triennial Assessment of Progress Report or
watched the webinar where the IJC announced and discussed the findings, you might be curious about some of the other reports and documents referenced.
For the 2020 triennial report, go to the IJC’s website.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/index-international-joint-commission-2020-triennial-assessment-of-progress-report/
Ducks Unlimited has joined with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and more than 40 other organizations to implement H2Ohio, a data-driven water quality plan to reduce harmful algal blooms, improve wastewater infrastructure and prevent lead contamination across Ohio. Read the full story by Richland Source.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201210-h2ohio
The Ohio Senate voted unanimously this week to strip away a House-approved, long-term funding plan for cleanup of Lake Erie and other waterways. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201210-ohio-senate-bill
The small Michigan regulatory panel charged with deciding whether to let Enbridge build a tunnel-encased pipeline under the Mackinac Straits is shifting gears, announcing that it has ordered a rehearing for Enbridge’s application now that the company’s 1953 easement has been revoked by the state. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201210-enbridge-permit
Michigan lawmakers planned to begin swiftly passing a plan to borrow $600 million to fund the state’s proposed settlement with the residents of Flint, who sued after their municipal water supply was contaminated with elevated levels of lead for 18 months. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201210-flint-water-settlement
The U.S. House voted to authorize the Brandon Road Lock & Dam project in Illinois as part of the final Water Resources and Development Act, an infrastructure bill that’s among several major year-end pieces of legislation moving right now through Congress. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201210-carp
Farmers use underground systems to manage rainwater, including many located where a massive swamp once made up the Ohio landscape. All those farms face challenges managing fertilizers and water in their fields with drainage systems. The level of success at managing those challenges can be seen in the size and severity of the yearly harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201210-field-tiles
The Great Lakes Water Authority will unveil a long-range, 40-year plan aimed at keeping more of the unmentionable stuff we flush out of our waterways while also keeping a lid on water and sewer rates. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201210-detroit-sewage
Flint has taken important steps toward resolving the lead contamination crisis that made the impoverished Michigan city a symbol of the drinking water problems that plague many U.S. communities, officials said earlier this week. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201210-flint-water-crisis
A decision is near on whether the monarch butterfly, an iconic and beloved pollinator that migrates through the Great Lakes region each year, warrants listing as an endangered species in the U.S. as its population counts dwindle due to habitat loss. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201210-monarch-butterfly
If the permitting and development go just right, the site of a former iron ore mine closed in 1981 could be generating enough solar power by 2023 to power 4,000 homes. Read and listen to the full story by WXPR Rhinelander.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201210-redeveloped-mine
With the announcement earlier this fall that Ontario’s Prince Edward County’s South Shore could be designated as a conservation reserve, the South Shore Joint Initiative (SSJI) hosted the first of a new webinar series where people learned not only what a conservation reserve is, but also what it’s not, and how it differs to a conservation area and a nature reserve. Read the full story by Countylive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201210-convservation-webinar
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin will resume its wolf season next November after the animal is dropped from the federal endangered species list, the state announced Friday.
The Department of Natural Resources said wolf season will begin Nov. 6. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced last month that it would delist gray wolves, citing thriving populations in the western Great Lakes region, Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/ap-wisconsin-wolf-season-next-november/
ANN ARBOR, MICH. (December 9, 2020) – The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Water Resources Development Act of 2020 yesterday, paving the way for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers investments to keep invasive Asian carp out of the Great Lakes and to prevent flooding in communities through nature-based solutions. The bill (S. 1811) also prioritizes better consultation with local communities—especially those that have historically borne the brunt of pollution, such as minority, low-income and indigenous communities—when carrying out projects. The bill does not re-authorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the successful program that has been cleaning up toxic pollution, restoring wildlife habitat, and reducing runoff pollution.
Laura Rubin, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, said:
“This bill advances important priorities for the Great Lakes and the millions of people who depend on them for their drinking water, health, jobs, and quality of life. We support many provisions in this bill and look forward to final passage by the Senate. However, we are disappointed the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act was left out of the final package. We look forward to working with bipartisan members of Congress to ensure that we re-authorize this important program that is producing results for the environment and economy. Serious threats remain, and it’s important to address these problems now, before they get worse and most expensive to solve.”
The bill now heads to the Senate for final passage. It includes several provisions that are important to Great Lakes communities, including:
The Healing Our Waters – Great Lakes Coalition sent a letter to House and Senate leaders, supporting Great Lakes priorities in the bill, while urging Congress to enact the full five-year reauthorization for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative via some other method, as previously proposed and passed, with incremental increases to its original funding level of $475 million.
Since 2004, the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition has been harnessing the collective power of more than 160 groups representing millions of people, whose common goal is to restore and protect the Great Lakes. Learn more at www.healthylakes.org or follow us on Twitter @healthylakes.
The post U.S. House Passes Water Infrastructure Bill with Great Lakes Priorities appeared first on Healing Our Waters Coalition.
Healing Our Waters Coalition
https://healthylakes.org/u-s-house-passes-water-infrastructure-bill-with-great-lakes-priorities/
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan lawmakers on Wednesday planned to begin swiftly passing a plan to borrow $600 million to fund the state’s proposed settlement with the residents of Flint, who sued after their municipal water supply was contaminated with elevated levels of lead for 18 months.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/ap-michigan-borrow-600m-flint-water-settlement/
A plan to create a corridor of multimodal industrial hubs along the Welland Canal took its first step last week with a partnership between the Hamilton Oshawa Port Authority and Bioveld Canada Inc. Read the full story by the Welland Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201209-multimodal-hub
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced the Niagara River ice boom installation is planned to begin December 10. Each winter, the Lake Erie-Niagara River Ice Boom has been installed near the outlet of Lake Erie to reduce the amount of ice entering the Niagara River. Read the full story by WKBW-TV- Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201209-ice-boom
New York’s two U.S. senators joined the call for faster outflows from Lake Ontario Tuesday, as the International Joint Commission met to discuss whether to grant permission to send more water down the St. Lawrence River. Read the full story by the Buffalo News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201209-ontario-outflows
A crowd of 50 people were up bright and early Tuesday morning, prepared to stop heavy equipment from removing a part of Sauble Beach’s sand dunes, which are located alone Ontario’s Lake Huron shoreline. Read the full story by CTV News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201209-sauble-beach
After setting or tying multiple records for high water marks in 2019, Lake Superior in 2020 retreated somewhat from levels that have caused erosion and damaged shoreline infrastructure. Read the full story by Thunder Bay News Watch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201209-water-level
The state of Michigan has begun its emergency work to partially breach the Edenville Dam’s Tobacco River spillway following the catastrophic dam failure in May. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201209-dam-repair
In Michigan, the Superior Watershed Partnership Land Conservancy will be protecting and restoring a 4–mile stretch of the Sturgeon River, after being awarded $2.1 Million from the Michigan Natural Resource Trust Fund Board. Read the full story by WBUP-TV- Marquette, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201209-sturgeon-river
Duluth is expecting an improved but slower than normal tourism economy in 2021 as the prospect of the pandemic’s gradual end gives more certainty visitors will eventually flock to the region at previous levels. Read the full story by the Duluth Star-Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201209-duluth
After four years in the making, a set of maps has been created to show what lies underneath the water in the Milwaukee Harbor and what restoration efforts could help get the harbor removed from the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration’s list of heavily contaminated Areas of Concern. Read the full story by the Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201209-milwaukee-harbor
The U.S. House voted Tuesday to authorize construction of the long-studied waterway project that lawmakers hope will halt the progress of Asian carp toward the Great Lakes. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201209-carp
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/NOAA-FTP-Transition
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news//news/NOAA-FTP-Transition
By Amy Diaz, Flint Beat, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
Flint, MI– Lorraine Taylor remembers when she first started having to fit bottled water into her already tight $20 weekly grocery budget.
She remembered thinking about how blessed she was to have a car so she could drive to the grocery store.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/what-should-justice-look-like-for-flint-after-the-water-crisis-residents-weigh-in/
The watersheds that feed the Western Basin of Lake Erie are home to thousands of crop and livestock farms. Those farmers use underground systems to manage rainwater, including many located where a massive swamp once made up the Ohio landscape.
All those farms face challenges managing fertilizers and water in their fields with drainage systems.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/field-tiles-drainage-systems-pose-problems-lake-erie/
Flint has taken important steps toward resolving the lead contamination crisis that made the impoverished Michigan city a symbol of the drinking water problems that plague many U.S. communities, officials said Monday.
A total of $120 million in federal and state funding has helped Flint replace more than 9,700 lead service lines, which carry water from main pipes into homes, said Kurt Thiede, administrator of the U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/ap-officials-flint-makes-progress-toward-ending-water-crisis/
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/humans-ncei-georgianna-zelenak
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news//news/humans-ncei-georgianna-zelenak
After four years in the making, a set of maps has been created to show what lies underneath the water in the Milwaukee Harbor and what restoration efforts could help get the harbor removed from the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration’s list of heavily contaminated Areas of Concern.
The post New maps for the Milwaukee Harbor shows what lies beneath the surface first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2020/12/09/new-maps-for-the-milwaukee-harbor-shows-what-lies-beneath-the-surface/
By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue
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/2020/12/biden-administration-water-policy-expert-roundtable/
As 2020 winds down, we asked staff members at Wisconsin Sea Grant what their favorite project was this year. Although work was a bit more challenging than usual due to our altered work circumstances, everyone managed to stay productive, and even find fulfillment.
Our designer, Yael Gen’s favorite project is her work on our 2018-2020 Biennial Report.
She said, “In the past, we commissioned a photographer to create the images based on a theme. But because of the pandemic, that couldn’t happen. Communications Coordinator Moira Harrington came up with the idea of using signal flags, and after a few minutes of researching the flags, I could visualize the entire report in my head. All I had to do was get it down on ‘paper.’ After such a disorienting year, it was gratifying to see how much our program accomplished.”
The report is at the printers and is not posted online yet, but here’s a sneak preview of the cover and inside spread.
The post Sea Grant staff project faves, Yael Gen first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.
Blog – Wisconsin Sea Grant
https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/sea-grant-staff-project-faves-yael-gen/
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/national-climate-202011
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news//news/national-climate-202011
Groups are collaborating, for example, in the Algonquin to Adirondacks area, from Ontario through the state of New York, to protect forest and wetlands considered the best remaining potential for wildlife movement across the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence system. Read the full story by the Windsor Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201208-st-lawrence-wildlife
The U.S. Coast Guard wants to retire its oldest cutter on the Great Lakes, the 57-year-old, Sault Ste. Marie-based buoy tender Buckthorn, but it may take several years. A new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service says the Coast Guard is waiting for Congress to approve its proposal to replace up to 35 aging cutters, which average 56 years old. Read the full story by the Mining Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201208-coast-guard-ship
The Trump administration recently announced that it will remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list in the lower 48 states. The gray wolf population in those states, including Michigan, has reached more than 6,000 and has met recovery goals that make it unnecessary for protection, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Read the full story by The Mining Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201208-endangered-wolf-protection
Ducks Unlimited Canada celebrates an announcement by the Province of Ontario, which renews their longstanding conservation partnership. The Wetlands Conservation Partner Program will provide $6 million this year for wetland projects in the Lake Ontario and Lake Erie drainage basins. View the full story by Globe Newswire.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201208-wetlands-ontario
Port Milwaukee is entering into a lease agreement with Pearl Seas Cruises to give the company priority docking rights for its cruise ships at Pier Wisconsin, the downtown dock immediately east of Discovery World museum. Read the full story by The Maritime Executive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20201208-wisconsin-cruises
