Chicagotalks » Great Lakes Echo

Sprawl, Climate Change, Carp Control Hinder Chicago Sewer Overflow Solution

Great Lakes Echo — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 15:38:23 +0000

The city is aggressively looking for ways to keep rainwater from entering the sanitary sewer system so overflows are not discharged untreated. Such contamination can prompt beach closures and threaten water quality. The challenge is complicated by environmental issues as diverse as climate change, sprawl and the spread of invasive species.

Read the full story here.

Great Lakes Echo (www.greatlakesecho.org)

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Great Lakes SmackDown!

Great Lakes Echo — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 21:22:11 +0000

By Alice Rossignol and Rachael Gleason, Great Lakes Echo

Zebra mussel, sea lamprey, round goby – they’re household names when it comes to Great Lakes invasive species – but which one is the worst for the ecosystem?

That’s what the “Great Lakes SmackDown!” will find out.

We chose eight of the Great Lakes’ most formidable invasive species and we’ll pit them against each other in “lake fights” over the next few weeks. We’ll introduce the contenders – including weight class, fighting skill sets and other information. But you make the case for which is the most ecologically destructive for the lakes.

Report: Senate’s Climate Bill Failure Leaves 481,000 Great Lakes Jobs on the Table

Great Lakes Echo — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 12:00:50 +0000

By Jeff Gillies, Great Lakes Echo

When the U.S. Senate abandoned greenhouse gas-curbing legislation, they also pulled the plug on 1.9 million new clean energy jobs, according to a report released by a coalition of business groups.

The report cites state-specific numbers of “jobs forgone” for only four Great Lakes states — mostly those with gloomy unemployment rates. But those numbers are based on a year-old economic analysis of the climate change bill out of UC-Berkley (PDF) that gives an estimate of how many new jobs all 50 states could gain.

To continue reading this report, click here.

Five Great Lake States Rank in Top 10 for Greatest Number of Farmers Markets

Great Lakes Echo — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 12:58:13 +0000

Farmers looking to sell to their communities, families who want to support them or someone who just likes perusing tents of sunflowers and produce on Saturday mornings have plenty of opportunities in the Great Lakes area.

Half of the top 10 states with the greatest number of farmers markets are in the Great Lakes region, according to the 2010 USDA National Farmers Market Directory.

The directory released last month shows 6,132 farmers markets across the country. Many of the highest totals belong to Great Lake states.

Illinois has the most markets in the region with 286. It ranks third nationally behind only New York and California. It is followed by Michigan which ranks fourth nationally with 271 markets, Ohio which ranks seventh with 213, Wisconsin at eighth with 204 and Pennsylvania ninth with 203.

Continue reading this report here.

Chicago Among Nation’s Leaders in Energy Efficient Buildings

Great Lakes Echo — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 17:00:36 +0000

A news report from Great Lakes Echo

Minneapolis, Detroit and Indianapolis also among nation’s top 25 cities for buildings receiving Energy Star ratings.
Schools lead the Great Lakes regional efforts.

Click here to read more.

Asian Carp Discovered Above Electrical Barrier on South Side

Great Lakes Echo — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:00:45 +0000

A 20-pound bighead Asian Carp was fished out of Lake Calumet in Chicago, the first one found to have breached an electrical barrier designed to keep the voracious invader out of Lake Michigan, federal officials said Wednesday.

Asian Carp Found In Lake Calumet On Chicago’s South Side, Six Miles Downstream Of Lake Michigan (huffingtonpost.com)

Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan Argued Against Closing Locks

Great Lakes Echo — Tue, 11 May 2010 12:52:26 +0000

Does the name Elena Kagan ring a bell? For those following the legal wranglings of the Asian carp invasion, it should. Kagan, as President Barack Obama’s solicitor general, argued against closing the Chicago locks to prevent the

by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

invasive carp from entering Lake Michigan. …

Great Lakes Echo (www.greatlakesecho.org)

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Vampire Fish Torment Great Lakes Creatures

Great Lakes Echo — Wed, 05 May 2010 12:50:30 +0000

From Great Lakes Echo

By Molly Dillon and Christa Milster

The sea lamprey is one of many invasive species in the Great Lakes. These eel-like creatures suck out fish’s bodily fluids after latching onto them with their mouths. Lamprey have caused the extinction of three types of whitefish. Resource managers across the region are determined to find a cost-effective way to manage the parasites.

See Video Here…

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Bursting Chicago’s Water Bubble

Great Lakes Echo — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 12:32:37 +0000

ChicagoTalks is proud to partner with Great Lakes Echo to bring you stories about Lake Michigan and its effects on our city.

By Jessica Pupovac

Editor’s note: Jessica Pupovac is a Chicago freelance writer and a 2009 graduate of the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism’s Great Lakes Environmental Journalism Training Institute

City officials, urban planners and environmental experts warn of a disconnect between Chicagoans’ perception of water abundance and reality.