great lakes

Wild Weather in Central U.S. as Deep Freeze to Follow Heat Wave

Wild Weather in Central U.S. as Deep Freeze to Follow Heat Wave

Unusually warm weather in the central and southern United States on Monday and Tuesday will be followed by a deep freeze as extreme winter weather moves from coast to coast. Monday’s temperatures in the Midwestern states of Iowa and Nebraska were roughly 40 degrees Fahrenheit above average — in the mid-70s — while southern cities […]

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    Record Levels of Harmful Particles Found in Great Lakes Fish

    Record Levels of Harmful Particles Found in Great Lakes Fish

    By Andrew Blok A record-setting fish was pulled from Hamilton Harbor at the western tip of Lake Ontario in 2015 and the world is learning about it just now. The fish, a brown bullhead, contained 915 particles—a mix of microplastics, synthetic materials containing flame retardants or plasticizers, dyed cellulose fibers, and more—in its body. It […]

    It’s Raining ‘Forever Chemicals’ Around the Great Lakes, Scientists Find

    It’s Raining ‘Forever Chemicals’ Around the Great Lakes, Scientists Find

    In the Great Lakes region, it is quite literally raining toxic chemicals. “You can actually say it’s raining PFAS at this point,” said Marta Venier, an environmental chemist at Indiana University, according to Grist. A team of American and Canadian scientists found high levels of PFAS chemicals, also known as “forever chemicals,” after studying the […]

    Microplastics and Algae Tangle in the Great Lakes

    Microplastics and Algae Tangle in the Great Lakes

    By Andrew Blok Great Lakes algae is catching huge amounts of microplastics. Researchers found that one type of algae, which has greatly expanded its range within the Great Lakes and is one of the most abundant algae by weight there, could catch up to one trillion pieces of microplastic in the Great Lakes. “It’s just […]

    Canadian Oil Company Hires Engineer for Controversial Pipeline in Michigan

    Canadian Oil Company Hires Engineer for Controversial Pipeline in Michigan

    The Canadian company Enbridge is moving forward with plans to build a $500 million oil pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac, which runs between Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas. The oil transportation company said it would go ahead with plans despite an ongoing lawsuit with Michigan, according to Kallanish Energy. Enbridge Inc. has hired two […]

    Great Lakes Flooding: The Warning Signs That Homes Must Be Moved

    Great Lakes Flooding: The Warning Signs That Homes Must Be Moved

    By Daniel Macfarlane Every fall, I take my environmental studies class camping at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on Lake Michigan. Some years the beach extends more than three meters to the water. This year, in many spots, there was no beach at all. The story is the same throughout the Great Lakes. During my […]

    Our Complicated Relationship With Plastic: 5 Essential Reads

    Our Complicated Relationship With Plastic: 5 Essential Reads

    By Martin LaMonica From its arrival decades ago, plastic has transformed modern life. But in 2018, the alarm over the plastic pollution crisis sounded louder than ever. On Earth Day, the United Nations issued its first State of Plastics report, calling for more recycling and better ways to manufacture and manage the material in its […]