Much like the skinny kid who memorizes sports stats because he doesn’t get picked for the team, I write about science because I love it but can’t do it.
Along with science, you can also add the Great Lakes and wildlife to my “things I geek-out about” list, which is why the Moosewatch Expeditions project on Isle Royale really speaks to my inner nerd.
Moosewatch expeditions are week-long, guided hikes through Isle Royale where regular old lay people are part of an ongoing wolf-moose research project. The purpose is to find moose bones and …

Here at Echo we are always happy to see others use our content, provided it is properly credited. It’s especially nice when it jumps mediums.
Reporter Brian Bienkowski experienced that kind of shift recently when WILS radio interviewed him about his recent Echo story about Michigan authorizing the use of an unregistered pesticide to battle an apple tree blight. The disease is growing resistant to current treatments.
The Echo version attracted a fair number of comments. It’s a fine story, but I’m always surprised by which ones generate comment and attention. The …

In the Twitter-verse, a lot of thought goes into choosing a name. A catchy handle attracts followers – something the man behind @HarnessFarts knows all too well. @HarnessFarts tweets often about alternative fuels and helps followers cut their water and energy use.
We caught up with Greg, the man behind the tweets, in an email and got answers to our burning fart and Twitter questions.
Why farts? Has your handle helped you get followers?
The name came from a conversation with a bunch of friends and a few too many glasses of wine. …

If you’re looking for health food in Detroit, your best bet might be the airport.
Yes, that’s right. The Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport has been number one for healthiest airport food for three years running. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine conducts the annual restaurant review of the country’s busiest airports.
The review determines whether restaurants have at least one low-fat, cholesterol-free meal available. If they do, they’re considered a “healthful restaurant,” and a percentage of healthful out of total restaurants is calculated. (Never mind that most of us are looking …

I’ve lived in Michigan my entire life, and, as my city slicker little sister likes to tell me, I’m “such a Midwesterner.”
And she’s probably right. But if having a beard, wearing flannel and vacationing in the Great Lakes is wrong, I don’t want to be right.
I’ve seen a black bear meandering carelessly through the Porcupine Mountains. I’ve paid close to a month’s rent on drinks at the top floor of the John Hancock Building in downtown Chicago. I’ve battled nausea, more than once, while trolling Lake Michigan for salmon. I’ve …

Have you ever wondered why geese flock to a nice clean lawn? Sebastian the goose explains the attraction.

Sebastian loves short, tasty grass and feels safe when he can see predators from far away.
That’s why he loves mowed lawns and shorelines.
And this fowl admits to fouling a yard 28 times a day, generating almost 1.5 pounds of waste. If he brings some friends along he could create a huge mess.
Sebastian and Larry the All-American Bullfrog were created by Bret Shaw, Travis Balinas and Elizabeth Ryan from the Life Sciences Communication department …

When people talk about restoring the Great Lakes, they’re not looking back as far as John Janssen, professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Scientists.
“I want to bring the coral reefs back,” Janssen said.
Ancient coral reefs are peppered throughout some of the Great Lakes where glaciers carved out tough rock formations 400 million years ago.
Remnants of reefs can be seen on the eastern side of Lake Michigan, the Bruce Peninsula of Lake Huron, the southwestern side of Lake Erie and near Niagara Falls. Lake Superior is the only …

It appears the Great Lakes are getting social.
At least it does if you visit the new aggregation site, Social Great Lakes. The site has Twitter feeds lined up like stock tickers constantly in motion. They pull in tweets on news, travel, weather and sports in the Great Lakes, and then the same categories for each lake. The Twitter feeds are updated by searching entire tweets, not just hashtags.
The website is another  project of news start-up, Social News Corp., based in San Francisco. The company compiles seemingly hundreds of news feeds, …

The 2012 Canon Envirothon competition is underway, and Great Lakes states are looking for participants.
Envirothon teams compete in outdoor challenges that test their understanding of soils, land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife and current environmental issues. Students may also do volunteer projects and give presentations about their experiences.
States have their own Envirothon programs. Check them out for more details on signing up.