Pipelines could be coming down the pike as a coalition of farmers, industry experts, and local politicians are attempting to construct an irrigation network across Niagara to stave off the worsening effects of climate change. Read the full story by Niagara This Week.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221019-irrigation-niagara-waterscarcity
The Swim Drink Fish Great Lakes protection project was launched September 26 in Niagara on the Lake with a number of First Nations leaders from Manitoulin Island as key participants. Read the full story by the Manitoulin Expositor.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221019-manitoulinfirstnations-swimdrinkfishproject
Great Lakes shipping is down 5.63% so far this year, but a strong September brought the total closer to its 2021 level. Read the full story by NWITimes.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221019-greatlakesshipping
Milwaukee has launched the Water Current Tour, a self-guided walking tour that showcases how the city manages its natural water resources in a sustainable and resilient way. The Water Current tour is part of Milwaukee’s Water Centric City Initiative. Read the full story by WITI-TV- Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221019-milwaukee-watercurrenttour
Saved from recent high-water levels that threatened its very foundation, Fishtown in Leland, one of Northern Michigan’s most iconic tourist attractions is working to help with a save of its own: preserving the state’s fading commercial fishing heritage. Read the full story by Traverse Magazine.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221019-fishtown-mifadingfishingheritage
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the City of Lorain dedicated the Martin’s Run Wetland And Stream Restoration Project in Lorain County on Oct. 18, as a part of Gov. Mike DeWine’s H2Ohio initiative. Read the full story by Spectrum News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221019-odnr-newwetland-loraincounty
A study soon to be released reveals that due to the COVID-19 pandemic forcing limited treatment control on sea lamprey, there was an increase in the invasive species numbers throughout the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Manitoulin Expositor.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221019-pandemic-negativeimpacts-invasivespeciescontrol-greatlakes
This summer was a record-breaking cruising season along the Great Lakes: 52 cruise ships visited Detroit in 2022, more than double the last cruising season in 2019. Read the full story by WXYZ-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221019-cruiseships-detroit
The U.S. Supreme Court may decide next week whether to hear an appeal filed by three lake-adjacent property owners in the town of Porter who have been unsuccessful in their attempts to claim ownership of a private beach on Lake Michigan. Read the full story by Northwest Indiana Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221019-ussupremecourt-lakemi-beachowners
Enbridge Energy, the owner and operator of the Line 3 pipeline project in northern Minnesota, will pay more than $11 million after investigations identified water quality violations and three aquifer breaches related to the pipeline’s construction. Read the full story by WIZM – La Crosse, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221019-minnesota-pipelineviolations
For Elizabeth Kolbert, the path to writing a book on our penchant to control nature started with a guided tour on the infamously reversed Chicago River.
Kolbert wanted to get a close look at the Asian carp issue and talk to the people on the front lines of efforts to repel the carp advance to the Great Lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/great-lakes-chicago-river-asian-carp-elizabeth-kolbert/
Lake Superior State University is surveying river habitats to learn how to rescue native mussels threatened by hydropower dams. The project is funded by WE Energies which put money into a mitigation fund as part of a settlement agreement.
The post University researchers rescue mussels from dams first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/10/19/university-researchers-rescue-mussels-from-dams/
Molly Flanagan joined the Alliance for the Great Lakes staff in April 2015 as Vice President for Policy after seven years as senior program officer at the Joyce Foundation. Molly is responsible for leading all aspects of the Alliance’s strategic policy, advocacy, and reform efforts to protect and restore the Great Lakes.
As the Alliance’s Cleveland Local Partnerships Manager, Jennifer Lumpkin leads the local partnerships work in Cleveland, focusing on cultivating relationships with decision makers and local leaders to advance water affordability and lead service line replacement campaigns.
Resources
The Great Lakes Should Not Leave Anyone Behind – Alliance for the Great Lakes
4 Ways Climate Change Is Challenging the Great Lakes – Alliance for the Great Lake
The Great Lakes Compact and Climate Change – Alliance for the Great Lakes
The post Great Lakes Forum and Clean Water Act Anniversary appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
https://greatlakes.org/2022/10/great-lakes-forum-and-clean-water-act-anniversary/
Exploring a debate over Great Lakes land use, eFoiling on Lake Huron, and The Catch.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/surf-and-turf-episode-2210/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI1264129B46F4.WindAdvisory.126412A78CC0WI.GRBNPWGRB.3f8043c822935e96e64d555605960388
Chicago, IL (October 18, 2022) – Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. Alliance for the Great Lakes President & CEO Joel Brammeier issued the following statement about this historic legislation:
“The Clean Water Act has been essential in helping the Great Lakes region recover and thrive since it was passed following the catastrophic burning of the Cuyahoga River 53 years ago. This event and other similar crises dramatically highlighted what happens when we don’t protect waterways from industrial and sewage pollution. Today, many parts of the Great Lakes are far cleaner than they were 50 years ago.
“While we must continue to fight for compliance with this historic environmental legislation, we also must build on the Clean Water Act’s precedent and, thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, focus the next 50 years on issues the Clean Water Act didn’t address: namely, emerging chemicals and other toxins that pollute our water, toxic algae blooms, the growing stress climate change is placing on our lakes, and harmful lead pipes that make our neighbors sick. Americans everywhere, particularly in communities like Toledo, Ohio; and Flint and Benton Harbor, Michigan know that access to clean water can’t be taken for granted.
“The Alliance for the Great Lakes looks forward to continuing to work with our state partners throughout the region, the U.S. EPA, and members of Congress to make sure the Lakes are protected and can continue to be enjoyed for generations to come.”
###
Media contact: Please connect with our media team at TeamGreatLakes@mrss.com.
The post Statement: 50th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
https://greatlakes.org/2022/10/statement-50th-anniversary-of-the-clean-water-act/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI1264129AA1B8.WindAdvisory.126412A78CC0WI.GRBNPWGRB.3f8043c822935e96e64d555605960388
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/2022/10/pfas-news-roundup-petition-says-epa-loophole-lets-forever-chemicals-evade-review/
NCEI News Feed
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/forum-enhances-collaboration-north-american-drought-monitor
NCEI News Feed
http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/forum-enhances-collaboration-north-american-drought-monitor
Nothing beats a road trip after a long hiatus from travel. Covering ground by car gives me an opportunity to reconnect with places around the Great Lakes that I have not been to in years. At the end of September, I drove from Chicago to Niagara Falls, Ontario, for the triennial Great Lakes Public Forum – more on that in a moment.
In three days, I saw and sometimes touched two Great Lakes (Michigan and Ontario), one really excellent lake (St. Clair), three mighty rivers (St. Clair, Detroit, and Niagara), and of course, the majestic Niagara Falls. 500 miles from end to end, and every drop of the water is shared. I missed Lake Erie only because I ran out of time for another detour.
Seeing all this connected water in just a few days reminded me how urgent it is for us all to expand the vision of what it means to restore our Great Lakes. While we are making great strides in cleaning up the sins of the past, the lakes are changing before our eyes. Many communities still won’t enjoy the benefits of living so close to such immense fresh water even if we achieve current restoration goals.
The trip would be worthwhile even with no destination, but I was bound to and from the Great Lakes Public Forum. The Forum happens every three years as a follow-up to the triennial “State of the Great Lakes” report issued by the United States and Canada. The report and the Forum are requirements under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the two countries. This year the Agreement celebrated its 50th anniversary. Many of the attendees are government officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Environment Canada, and the state and provincial levels. The idea is that the governments review and discuss the findings with advocates, scientists, and, more generally, the people of the Great Lakes. I want to share a bit of what I saw and heard because it tells part of the story of what’s needed for a restored and protected Great Lakes in the future.
Credit where it’s due. We are making admirable progress toward cleaning up the Great Lakes “Areas of Concern,” which are highly contaminated waters designated in 1987. In the U.S, much of the pollution in these “AOCs” lingered until the creation of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Congress appropriated an additional $1 billion in 2021 to fast-track cleanup of most of these sites by 2030. Advocates in Canada continue to seek a larger federal investment in Great Lakes restoration. Beach health continues to improve with reductions in chronic sewage overflows and increases in cleaning up stormwater with natural solutions and better infrastructure design, operations, and management.
Not all the news is good. Invasive species already in the Great Lakes continue to devastate the ecology and economy of the region, requiring ongoing vigilance and spending. Nutrient pollution hotspots, largely fed by agriculture, plague large watersheds like Green Bay, Saginaw Bay, and Lake Erie. Algal blooms are showing up in cold Lake Superior. Our waters and lands are showing the impacts of a changing climate. While some fish consumption advisories are improving, emerging pollutants like PFAS and plastics are less “emerging” and more “present.”
Disconnects abound. Sometimes government agencies are having one conversation while advocates are demanding another. Take drinking water. The report gives Great Lakes drinking water a “good” or “green” score because the lakes can serve as a reliable source of drinking water when treated. But for someone who gets their water from Lake Erie, where the intakes have alert systems to detect the presence of toxic algae, that doesn’t feel right. And hundreds of communities that rely on lake water but distribute it through lead pipes don’t see their drinking water as “good.”
Algal blooms and nutrient pollution is another searing hot example. While most of the presentations focused on understanding blooms and the investment being made in voluntary cleanups, questions from the audience were much more pointed. Are you going to regulate farms and animal feedlots to reduce pollution? Why are people bearing the cost and health burden of this pollution when we know what the problem is and what would solve it? Are people in those communities going to have a say in deciding how cleanup happens? And over and over – why is this taking so long?
Many people, myself included, want answers from our elected officials who have the power to change policy and get more forceful in cleaning up farms and ensuring safe drinking water. It was clear those answers were not in that room. There were not many U.S. advocates in the room either, and I think that’s partially because people know the Forum is not where critical water decisions are made.
Reflecting the people of the Great Lakes. Indigenous voices and advocates had a strong presence at the event. Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare gave opening comments on day two, describing the personal and tragic impacts on families that lack of access to clean water is having on Ontario First Nations communities. It echoed stories I have listened to from residents in American Great Lakes cities. After Chief Hare’s remarks, he sat with U.S. EPA Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore and Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault for an armchair conversation. Having seats at the table for more voices at high government decision-making levels is vital for sovereign Indigenous nations and all people and communities directly impacted by pollution. The U.S. has a long way to go to demonstrate that our governments are listening and taking the advice and direction of communities on the front lines of Great Lakes challenges.
What’s next? Water is water, and we need it to be safe and plentiful in all its forms for all forms of life. But it’s clear that current policies and practices rooted in decades of history are not keeping up with our changing climate or addressing the reality that many lower-income communities and communities of color still do not enjoy the benefits of a safe and clean Great Lakes. We need a “whole system” approach to restoring and protecting the Great Lakes. One that is rooted in the science of the lakes as they are today and will be in the future. An approach that shows how decisions are made with the people impacted by those decisions fully at the table. One that makes sure the lakes and their waters are there for all life, when and how we need them.
The Great Lakes should not leave anyone behind. That’s why the Alliance and I are building these ideas and principles into the critical programs that make a change on the ground. It’s a long road, and I’m glad you are on it with me.
The post The Great Lakes Should Not Leave Anyone Behind appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
https://greatlakes.org/2022/10/the-great-lakes-should-not-leave-anyone-behind/
By Andy Balaskovitz, Energy News Network
This story was first published on the Energy News Network and was republished here with permission.
PIPELINES: Enbridge will pay more than $11 million to settle water quality violations and three aquifer breaches related to Line 3 construction in northern Minnesota; Attorney General Keith Ellison also announced a misdemeanor criminal charge for the company’s alleged taking of water without a permit.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/enbridge-will-pay-11m-fine-for-minnesota-water-violations/
Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories for Brown (WIC009) Wisconsin Issued by the National Weather Service
https://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WI126412998F1C.WindAdvisory.126412A78CC0WI.GRBNPWGRB.3f8043c822935e96e64d555605960388
To help reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, Michigan officials have created a 100,000 acre project in the Pigeon River Country State Forest that will sell carbon credits to businesses interested in offsetting emissions.
The post Michigan carbon offsets: Success or scam? first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/10/18/michigan-carbon-offsets-success-or-scam/
By John Flesher, Associated Press
Lifelong Cleveland resident Steve Gove recalls when the Cuyahoga River symbolized shame — fetid, lifeless, notorious for catching fire when sparks from overhead rail cars ignited the oil-slicked surface.
“It was pretty grungy,” said the 73-year-old, a canoeist in his youth who sometimes braved the filthy stretch through the steelmaking city.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/ap-clean-water-act-at-50/
When it comes to Halloween, I’m a Hallmark participant.
I like costume parties and I’ve mooched enough candy to make a significant contributor to my dentist’s children’s college fund. But I do not visit haunted houses and fail to see the appeal of fear.
I have an adventurous spirit but I do not think I’m overly courageous.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/i-speak-for-the-fish-water-snakes-are-spooktacular/
Dozens of waste-collection drones and beach-cleaning robots join in-water trash receptables across the Great Lakes this fall. Read the full story by The Verge.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221017-plastic-pollution
Two men caught cheating during a Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament in Cleveland, Ohio will face criminal charges. Read and view the full story by National Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221017-fish-tournament
An algae bloom in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness near Tofte, Minnesota has sparked questions and concerns from locals. Read and hear the full story by MNP News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221017-algae-blooms
The nonprofit group Friends of the Apostle Islands, with a funding match from the National Park Service, plans to improve wheelchair access to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221017-apostle-islands
The New York Sea Grant will look at the question of climate-induced human migration in the state. Read the full story by Spectrum News 1.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221017-climate-migration
The Port of Cleveland, Ohio’s board of directors took a vital step forward this week in embarking on a $300 million, multi-decade and ‘transformational’ project that would dramatically redefine the eastern shoreline of Lake Erie. Read and hear the full story by WEWS-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221017-cleveland-cheers
Lake Michigan’s water levels continue to drop from the record highs of 2020 as it enters the seasonal period when officials say evaporation is at its peak. Read and view the full story by the Midland Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221017-water-levels
“Great Lakes Untamed” is the definitive piece of natural history about the lakes and covers their history and the role they play in human lives. Read the full story by Deeper Blue.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221017-great-lakes-video
Cruise ships docked in Detroit, Michigan more than 50 times during the 2022 season, a record and more than double the amount of dockings in Detroit in 2019, the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority and a coalition of Midwest states, cruise lines and others said Friday. Read the full story by The Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221017-cruise-activity
At a Sunday climate justice rally, residents from Evanston and Chicago, Illinois came together to protest Enbridge’s Line 3 and Line 5. Read the full story by The Daily Northwestern.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221017-pipelines
This post is by Sofia Johansson, who worked as the Alliance for the Great Lakes’ Public Policy and Governance Intern this summer. She is a third-year Environmental and Urban Studies major at the University of Chicago and is originally from Madison, Wisconsin. She is passionate about environmental justice, equity, and sustainability in planning and policy.
For more than 30 years, thousands of Adopt-A-Beach volunteers have helped clean up litter, most of it plastic, from beaches across the Great Lakes region. This year, the program reached a major milestone—half a million pounds of litter picked up since volunteers started collecting beach data nearly 20 years ago. But beach cleanups alone can’t solve the magnitude of the Great Lakes’ plastic problem. A more systemic solution is required.
Plastic has been found in Great Lakes fish dating back to the 1950s. That means, for nearly seven decades, there have been microplastics in our water—water we drink, swim in, fish from, and cherish. Most of that time, we didn’t know it was there. But now, the research is overwhelming. The amount of microplastics in the surface water of the Great Lakes is estimated at 1.2 million particles/km2. This is higher than plastic concentrations in the widely publicized Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Moreover, researchers estimate that over 22 million pounds of plastic enter the Great Lakes annually. That is an exorbitantly high amount of plastic, so why are we letting it continue?
The reasons often trace back to the political power of the plastic industry. They have focused on the individual responsibility of consumers rather than changes in industry practices. They also try to limit legislative action to measures promoting recycling, even though the US recycled less than 6% of its plastic waste in 2021, and recycling is considered an ineffective reducer of plastic pollution. But they do this to absolve industry of any responsibility and to make us think that individuals are responsible for plastic pollution as opposed to the plastic industry itself, which has promoted the use of plastics in almost every facet of our lives.
As such, the plastics lobby has repeatedly challenged legislation that creates meaningful systemic changes, such as single-use plastic bans, reductions in production, and extended producer responsibility.
Therefore, the Great Lakes states and the federal government have seriously lagged in plastic pollution policy. Five of the eight states have preemption laws, often called “bans on bans,” that prevent any level of local government from passing legislation to reduce plastic pollution. The plastics lobby has worked with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) to develop a model preemptive bill for states to pass. And Congress has passed little legislation to deal with the scope of the problem.
But what’s at stake? What happens if we continue letting corporate interests and financial gain pollute our water? The Great Lakes are home to thousands of species, provide drinking water for 10% of Americans (and 25% of Canadians), and support a multi-trillion-dollar economy. Beyond the numbers, the Great Lakes are fundamental to the life and health of the Midwest.
Human health is a serious concern regarding plastics in our lakes. Though research is just beginning, microplastics have been found in Great Lakes tap water, beer, fish, and dozens of other consumables across the globe. Data compiled from several studies indicate that humans may ingest up to 5 grams of plastic a week, equivalent to the mass of a credit card. Researchers suggest most of the plastic humans ingest may come from drinking water and have detected plastic in our blood, lungs, hair, saliva, and stool.
The smaller the plastic, the more dangerous. Once in the body, microplastics may translocate, cross cell membranes, permeate tissue, and linger in human organs, potentially causing chronic inflammation. They also leach dangerous chemicals and toxins, such as phthalates, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and bisphenol A (BPA). These and other chemicals have been found in the water and microplastics of the Great Lakes. They are carcinogens, reproductive toxicants, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). EDCs, which disrupt hormones and can cause metabolic changes, have been heavily linked to a long list of health issues, including diabetes, neurological diseases, many different cancers, and reproductive damage. In short, microplastics, which have been allowed to increase and accumulate in our water, could have devastating impacts on our health and the health of future generations.
Given that states are not dealing with this problem and local governments sometimes find their hands tied, it is imperative that the federal government take comprehensive action that puts the responsibility on the producer to truly reduce plastic pollution, protect Great Lakes ecosystems, and ensure our health. An essential first step at the national level is passing the Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act, introduced by Sen. Durbin of Illinois, which prohibits the discharge of plastic pellets and other pre-production plastic materials into our water from any point source. These pellets are commonly found on Great Lakes beaches. In addition to this first step, more is required to deal with the magnitude of the problem in a comprehensive fashion. Congress should also pass the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act, which creates a national extended producer responsibility program, phases out single-use plastic products, and targets microplastics in the environment, along with many other comprehensive measures.
Plastic pollution is a growing threat to our environment and our health and will continue to be until Congress takes comprehensive action to address this problem. The time to act on this is now.
The post Why the Great Lakes Need Comprehensive Solutions to Plastic Pollution appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
https://greatlakes.org/2022/10/why-the-great-lakes-need-comprehensive-solutions-to-plastic-pollution/
Researchers at University of Toronto have discovered a new way to boost plant growth in rooftop gardens using granulated biochar.
The post A soil breakthrough plants hope in city rooftops first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/10/17/a-soil-breakthrough-plants-hope-in-city-rooftops/
Broadcasting in our monthly PBS television program, The Catch is a Great Lakes Now series that brings you more news about the lakes you love. Go beyond the headlines with reporters from around the region who cover the lakes and drinking water issues. Find all the work HERE.
This month, The Catch features why lightning bugs are in trouble.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/10/the-catch-lightning-bug-population-dimming/
Top research scientists from across the country are working to control the impacts of the invasive zebra and quagga mussels with biocontrol agents in labs, while others are experimenting with blunt instruments, deep down on the bottom of Lake Michigan. Read and listen to the full story by WIAA – Interlochen, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221014-mussel-control
Two months after a break in the Great Lakes Water Authority pipeline that supplies Flint, Michigan’s drinking water, the city has completed the process of reintroducing GLWA water into its distribution system. On Thursday, Oct. 13, Flint’s water supply returned to a mix of 95% water from GLWA and 5% from Genesee County. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221014-flint-water
An oil spill at Oswego Harbor, New York leaked between 500 to 750 gallons of fuel oil into Lake Ontario from March 8 to March 11, 2022. Remediation and site restoration work concluded in August, while monitoring of groundwater quality, storm sewer discharges, and the shoreline will continue for at least another year on a quarterly basis. Read the full story by Oswego County News Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221014-oil-spill-report
A 20 year-long restoration effort on the Boardman-Ottaway River in Traverse City, Michigan is nearing completion, but a legal roadblock has delayed the effort which includes a “FishPass” component to identify methods of sorting fish moving through a new dam. Read the full story by the Cheboygan Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221014-fish-sorting
As climate change threatens the water supplies of the American Southwest, scientists from multiple research centers in the Great Lakes anticipate rising interest in migration to the water-abundant Great Lakes region. Read the full story by WJBK – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221014-climate-migration
Toronto, Ontario residents living above a tunnel designed to reduce the discharge of untreated stormwater and combined sewer overflows into Lake Ontario have complained of the foul stench from accumulated sewage in the pumping station. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221014-sewer-overflow-tunnel
With the help of the University of Toledo’s expert faculty, important advancements have been made in monitoring cyanotoxin levels in Lake Erie during the harmful algal bloom season, including testing a new real-time algae sensor inside a water treatment plant. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221014-algal-bloom-sensors
At the Great Lakes Commission meeting on Wednesday, several local leaders gathered at one Bayfront hotel. Each year, stakeholders meet to discuss their progress, voice concerns and talk about solutions to challenges facing the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WJET-TV – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221014-glc-meeting
The Michigan Maritime Museum reopened its campus in South Haven in August after a nearly year-long rebuild. A grand opening of the new $3.6 million Maritime Heritage Center took place on September 30, 2022. Read the full story by WWMT – Kalamazoo, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221014-museum-opening
At the Alliance for the Great Lakes Board of Directors meeting on September 16 in Chicago, the Board welcomed two new directors for a three-year term.
David Hackett is Senior Counsel at Baker McKenzie, LLP in Chicago, Illinois. He advises senior management, legal departments, and boards of major corporations and nonprofits on compliance, risk, environmental, and sustainability matters. Following his tenure with the Environmental Enforcement Division of the US Department of Justice, David joined the Firm, where he has played a formative role in establishing the Firm’s compliance, environmental, climate, and ESG practices. At Baker McKenzie, David has served as the managing partner of North America, a member of the Global Executive Committee, and a Chicago office managing partner. He has also been the North America Chair of the Compliance Practice Group and the Banking, Finance, and Major Projects Practice Group.
He advises or sits on the Board of numerous nonprofits, including Alliance for the Great Lakes, World Business Council for Sustainable Development, National Parks Conservation Association Midwest Advisory Board, Prince of Wales Charitable Foundation Accounting for Sustainability, Chicago Civic Consulting Alliance, Chicago Academy of Science/Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Chicago CRED, and the UN Global Compact US Board.
He is a graduate of Haverford College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Alan (Al) Steinman is the Allen and Helen Hunting Research Professor at Grand Valley State University’s Annis Water Resources Institute (AWRI). He was the Director of AWRI from 2001 until 2022. Previously, he was Director of the Lake Okeechobee Restoration Program at the South Florida Water Management District. He has published over 190 scientific articles, book chapters, and books; has been awarded over $60 million in grants for scientific and engineering projects and over $5 million in private fund-raising, and has testified before the U.S. Congress and the Michigan and Florida state legislatures.
Some of Dr. Steinman’s professional service activities include membership on the National Academy of Sciences Committee to Review Everglades Restoration and science advisory boards/committees for the Great Lakes Advisory Board of the U.S. EPA, the International Joint Commission, and the University of Michigan’s Water Center. His community service includes serving on the Boards of the Community Foundation for Muskegon County, The Nature Conservancy (MI chapter), Congregation B’Nai Israel, Goodwill International of West Michigan, West Michigan Symphony, and the Land Conservancy of West Michigan.
Dr. Steinman holds a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a Ph.D. in Botany/Aquatic Ecology from Oregon State University, an M.S. in Botany from the University of Rhode Island, and a B.S. in Botany from the University of Vermont (Phi Beta Kappa). Steinman’s research interests include aquatic ecosystem restoration, harmful algal blooms, phosphorus cycling, and water policy.
For a complete listing of Alliance for the Great Lakes directors and officers, visit our Board of Directors page.
The post Alliance for the Great Lakes Board of Directors Welcomes Two New Members appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
News - Alliance for the Great Lakes
https://greatlakes.org/2022/10/alliance-for-the-great-lakes-board-of-directors-welcomes-two-new-members-2/
The Fresh Coast Film Festival, a documentary film festival that celebrates the outdoor lifestyle, water-rich environment and resilient spirit of the Great Lakes, lasts from Wednesday, October 13 to Sunday, October 16, 2022. Read the full story by WLUC-TV – Marquette, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20221014-film-freshwater
