An international commission says that the governments of Canada and the US can do more to keep toxic flame retardants out of the Great Lakes. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers have been found in significant levels in all of the Great Lakes. Lake Erie has the highest levels, with Lake Ontario coming in second, according to the […]
Great Lakes
Posted inArts & Entertainment
RoCo to present public art project
During the last Super Bowl, an appeal to consider domestic water usage appeared as a halftime commercial from Colgate, in which a man kept the faucet running while he brushed his teeth. All the while, different hands reached in and out of the sink, filling cups, rinsing vegetables, and bringing hands full of the priceless […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Mercury in the Great Lakes? Blame China
China, it turns out, is responsible for a lot of the mercury that’s deposited into the Great Lakes. That little fact was an aside in a press release I received today from the International Joint Commission, an organization that advises the US and Canadian governments on matters relating to shared water bodies. A 2011 report […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Disrupting our disruption
You might consider knowledge of the range of species in a rainforest or a coral reef to be privileged, reserved for scientists and others who study such things. But truth be told, most of us are only vaguely conscious of the minute, diverse scope of life that exists all around us, as we buzz through […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Bordering bodies
Sometimes we learn something about ourselves through an outsider’s fresh-eyed perspective. This concept is being explored as part of a project by poet and performance artist Moheb Soliman, who is currently in the middle of a mission to trace the borderlands of the Great Lakes, documenting and digesting bits of interest along the way. Later […]
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Less water being taken from the Great Lakes
A US-Canada treaty that greatly restricts large-scale water withdrawals from the Great Lakes is working, says a new study prepared for the International Joint Commission. The commission is a bi-national organization that oversees water bodies shared between the United States and Canada. The IJC is accepting comments on the study through June 30. You can […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
AG wants to ban the beads
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is once again pushing for legislation that would ban the use of tiny plastic particles in cosmetics, facial scrubs, and other personal care items. Schneiderman announced this morning that he’s resubmitted the Microbead-Free Waters Act to state Assembly and Senate leadership. He first proposed legislation last year, and the Assembly passed […]
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Congress members take second shot at renewing Great Lakes program
In December, the House of Representatives passed legislation that would have reauthorized funding for a crucial Great Lakes environmental program. But the Senate never voted on the bill. Now, similar legislation is back in front of the House. The bill provides for another five years of funding – from 2016 through 2020 – for the […]
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Plastics found in Great Lakes fish
When researchers discovered that the Great Lakes are polluted with tiny plastic fragments, likely from consumer personal care products, they also suspected that birds and fish are ingesting the fragments. But they didn’t have hard evidence. Until now. Sam Mason, the SUNY Fredonia chemistry professor who has led the study of plastics pollution in the […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
CSI: invasive species
The Erie Canal revolutionized transportation and commerce by giving farmers and merchants a cheaper, easier way to move goods across the state. The present-day canal is primarily a recreational waterway, though it might also be taking on a new, undesirable role as a pathway for the spread of aquatic invasive species between some state waters, […]
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Eastman park permit could set precedent
Eastman Business Park needs a state permit to withdraw up to 54 million gallons of water a day from Lake Ontario.
Posted inNews & Opinion
Protecting the Great Lakes from Asian carp
For the past few years, the US Army Corps of Engineers has been preparing a plan to stop the spread of Asian carp and other invasive species from Mississippi River basin waters into the Great Lakes. The report, released Monday, lays out seven possible approaches toward that goal, as well as a “no action” scenario. The […]
