Red areas have habitats most vulnerable to a changing climate. Click to enlarge. Image: Dana Infante, Peter Esselman, Li Wang
By Andrew Norman
Feb. 9, 2010
Facing an inhospitable habitat, fish either have to move or die, says Bryan Pijanowski, a Purdue University associate professor of forestry and natural resources.
“Some of the fish live in aquatic systems that are completely compartmentalized — they’re dammed off,” he says. “So they can’t move.”
Models show how global climate change also changes how land is used on global
Read more…
Click map to see facilities that use wood as a fuel source in Wisconsin.
By Rachael Gleason
Feb. 8, 2010
The Great Lakes region receives 4 percent of its energy needs from biomass resources, according to a regional biomass energy program. But some estimates put the potential for biomass at 15 to 20 percent.
Biomass resources include wood and other organic materials. People switch to wood energy to replace fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The University of Tennessee mapped industrial facilities using biomass power. For the Great Lakes region, see: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. And in Canada, see Ontario.
Read more…
More Headlines
By Alice Rossignol
Feb. 7, 2010
The IDEA Shanty uses Innovation, Design, Energy and Art to mix art and science. Photo: Joseph Rand
Each year as Medicine Lake thickens with ice, artists from across the nation flock here for a four-weekend celebration of art, science and the winter season.
Inspired by traditional ice-fishing houses, selected artists build unique temporary shanties on this Minnesota lake for a festival called the Art Shanty Projects. The shanties themselves are art, but they also house interactive art and science activities and performances for weekend visitors. This year’s exhibition ends today.
“We’re trying to raise the thought of who can be an artist and what art can be,” said Caitlin Hargarten, this year’s director.
Read more…
By Brandon Howell
Feb. 7, 2010
LANSING, Mich. – Michigan environmental agencies hope Monday’s White House Asian carp summit will prompt the closing of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship canal to the invaders.
Read more…
By Laura Fosmire
Feb. 6, 2010
LANSING, Mich. — The state has already approved one controversial mine in the Upper Peninsula, and now other companies are poised to start a similar lengthy permit application process. Read more…
Too many Lake Ontario Chinook salmon threaten the survival of the alewives they eat. Photo: GLERL
By Jeff Gillies
Feb. 5, 2010
(UPDATE: Michael Connerton, co-author of the research written about here, responded by email Monday to points he thought were omitted or exaggerated. Specific criticisms have been added in italics below. See more discussion of this article at Lake Ontario United.)
A biological balancing act between the premier Great Lakes sportfish and its prey could be at a tipping point in Lake Ontario.
Chinook salmon are the foundation of the Lake Ontario recreational fishery, which is worth $76 million to New York alone. But new research shows that the popular predators could be so abundant in the lake that there may not be enough alewives – the Chinook’s main prey fish – to go around.
Read more…
Resource managers are cracking down on anglers who leave trash on the ice. Photo: Minnesota DNR
By Rachael Gleason
Feb. 04, 2010
Resource officials in northern Great Lakes states are warning litterbug ice anglers to clean up their act.
Enforcement officers finding trash near favorite ice fishing spots are not pleased.
“It’s illegal to leave any garbage or litter on public lands or waters,” said Ken Soring, northeast regional manager at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “It’s a total lack of concern for the environment.” Read more…
By Haley Walker
Feb. 3, 2010
Surfer at Lake Michigan's Grand Haven Pier. Photo: Ingrid Lindfors.
As a father and as a resident of Grand Haven, Mich., Vince Deur said it’s natural for him to care about the future of the Great Lakes.
But that’s not what brought him in front of Congress last year to talk about water quality.
Deur is a surfer and founder of the Lake Michigan Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit group linking surfers to environmental causes.
The organization has 90 chapters and 50,000 members worldwide. Deur’s chapter represents those who surf miles from any ocean.
Last February, Deur was asked by the Healing Our Waters Coalition, a group working to restore the Great Lakes, to lobby in Washington, D.C. on Great Lakes Day. He was the only surfer among 100 business leaders, lobbyists and activists discussing the restoration and protection of the lakes on Capitol Hill. (See surfing video below) Read more…
By Josh Garvey
Feb. 2, 2010
LANSING – Amid concern and confusion over Asian carp possibly finding their way into the Great Lakes, many experts involved in the controversy agree that other invasive species are likely to show up too. Read more…
Great Links
(NY) Wall Street Journal - Federal officials Monday unveiled a multi-pronged attack to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes and prevent an invasion that could potentially devastate a $7 billion recreation fishing industry.
(MI) The Detroit News - The Obama administration proposed Monday a $78.5 million plan to try to prevent the voracious Asian carp from getting into the Great Lakes, but Gov. Jennifer Granholm said it falls short of what’s needed to protect the fragile ecosystem from another threat.
(WI) Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - The public is invited to comment on topics to be included in an environmental impact study of Waukesha’s pending bid for Great Lakes water.
(NY) The New York Times – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will create a new climate change office to gather and provide data to governments, industry and academia as part of a broad federal effort to prepare for long-term changes to the planet, officials said Monday.
(MI) The Alpena News - While commitment to the Rogers City area and all of Presque Isle County remains high for Wolverine Power, the window of opportunity to build the billion dollar proposed power plant in the Carmeuese Quarry might be shrinking faster than anyone imagined.
(WI) Green Bay Post Gazette - An impasse involving federal and state governmental agencies has put at risk the shipping business in the Green Bay harbor.
(NY) Buffalo Rising – Anyone who lives on the shores of the Great Lakes knows that the waves are not the only powerful force in these ecosystems. From the days of shipping grain and coal on sailing vessels like schooners to the wind driven waves of Great Lakes surfers today, the wind is an undeniable feature of Great Lakes ecosystems and communities.
(MI) Detroit Free Press - A Wayne County jury ruled Monday that five neighbors of a former Detroit lead smelter should be paid a total of $117,000 in damages because the plant created a nuisance in their neighborhood over a decade.
(IN) The Post Tribune - Residents of Pines are concerned that radiation from fly ash in their yards poses a health risk and that a coal ash landfill nearby is causing water pollution that could make it to Lake Michigan.
(ON) Toronto Star - An Oakville citizens’ group says the explosion at a 620-megawatt gas-fired power plant in Connecticut that killed five highlights the hazards of building a similar power station in their neighbourhood.
Recent Comments
