A way to check beach monitoring information online, June 29 is Tawas Lake Day, and Michigan officials are seeking proposals for a green maritime strategy.

For more, visit: https://mrgreatlakes.com/

6/14/24 - BeachGuard System, Tawas Lake Day

Excessive heat can be a drag, including on air quality. A paper in the Journal of Great Lakes Research identifies Michigan’s Top Ten most unwanted.

For more, visit:
https://mrgreatlakes.com/

6/21/24 - Find Out About Air Quality Alerts and Great Lakes Most ‘Unwanted’

Analysts are talking about “lost winter” days around the world. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has an updated action plan for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Michigan saw some “clean water wins” in 2024. 

For more, visit https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Lost Winter Days, Restoration Action Plan, Clean Water Wins

Worried about how electric vehicles handle cold winters? The latest tech might ease your mind. Algal blooms are often associated with summer but they’re a concern in the winter, too. And there’s a Wildlife Weekend planned for early February at the Department of Natural Resources center in Roscommon.

Mr. Great Lakes
https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Winter EVs, Algal Blooms and Blahs

Filter First laws have been in place for a year in Michigan. Michigan saw the most benefits in the nation from federal clean energy funding.

Mr. Great Lakes
https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Michigan Leads Nation in Clean Energy Funding, Grants Target Lead in Schools

Recent state grants focus on coastal management. If you want to take an active role in protecting and preserving the Great Lakes, you might want to check out a webinar from the Alliance for the Great Lakes. Fish-eating birds nesting in polluted shoreline areas of Michigan suffer from lower reproductive success and higher rates of deformities.

Mr. Great Lakes:
https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Coastal Management, Getting Involved, Deformed Birds

A Detroit nonprofit called Make Food Not Waste has an initiative to cut Michigan’s food waste in half by 2030. There’s a Give a Scrap Food Scrap Pickup Service available in Bay City, Saginaw and Birch Run. May 31 is the date for a Scrap Tire Drive put on by Bay County Mosquito Control.

For more, visit https://mrgreatlakes.com/

All Scraps: Food and Tires

Michigan’s recycling rate reached a new high for the fourth year in a row. Permeable pavement can reduce stormwater runoff by up to 19%, a recent study says. Low-carbon energy sources provided nearly 41% of the world’s electricity in 2024.

For more, visit https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Recycling Rate Increase, Green Infrastructure Study, Global Energy Roundup

Climate change is making Michigan summers more dangerous for pregnant women, more than 27 million trees were planted across the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence region last year, and the nonprofit Conservation Fund is supporting projects that bring green space into Michigan neighborhoods.

For more, visit https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Pregnant Heat, 27 Million Trees, Urban Conservation

U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet is pushing for federal funding to expand access to safe, clean drinking water in mid-Michigan.

Little Forks Conservancy recently hosted another Cedar River Stream Sampling event, engaging volunteers in collecting valuable data to monitor the health of the watershed.

For more, visit https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Supporting Drinking Water, Free Fishing and Stream Sampling

Sea lamprey control is planned for a Lake Huron tributary.

Pinconning-based Serafin Fish Co. has been issued a commercial fishing license for lake whitefish in southern Lake Huron from the port of Harbor Beach.

It’s that time of year. University researchers want to know how you feel about ice.

For more, visit https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Lamprey Control, Whitefish Grow, Summer Ice

Local conservation and education efforts are getting a boost from the state.

The Great Lakes Stormwater Collaborative is putting on a summer webinar series about stormwater management. The first is June 24. 

A great day at the beach can be spoiled by pollution. The state has launched an enhanced version of BeachGuard online notification system for closures and advisories.

For more, visit https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Conservation Grants, Stormwater Webinar, Beach Closures

Lake Huron is expected to rise by an inch over the next month.

The Michigan Clean Water Corps is hosting its first-ever statewide aquatic invasive species BioBlitz from June 28-July 6.

The Saginaw Bay Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area is offering free kits to build spotted lanternfly traps.

For more, visit https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Snap a Critter, Squish a Lanternfly

Harmful algal blooms pose a serious danger to dogs at the beach, Lake whitefish are crashing in Lakes Michigan and Huron, and more than a dozen leading scientists released a report highlighting climate change impacts on the Great Lakes region.

For more, visit https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Dogs at the Beach, Whitefish on the Decline, Warming on the Rise

Bay City celebrates the 30th annual Saginaw Bay Waterfowl & Outdoor Festival, the once-endangered Kirtland’s warbler isn’t doing so well these days, and lawmakers advocating for the Great Lakes have a new statistics hub.

For more, visit https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Waterfowl Fest On, Kirtland’s Pop Down, Stats Hub Up

This month, the Lake Guardian began its annual summer water quality survey of the Great Lakes. A $35 million Septic Replacement Loan Program helps Michigan homeowners with the high costs of repairing or replacing failing septic systems. Hundreds of baby sturgeon are coming to the Saginaw Bay watershed.

For more, visit https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Summer Survey, Septic Replacement, Baby Sturgeon

Big batteries are going in at Consumers Energy sites in Hampton and Oscoda townships. Close to 19 million fish have been stocked to rivers and lakes in Michigan this year. Federal scientists are testing a new method for keeping invasive carp out of the Great Lakes.

For more, visit https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Big Batteries, Fish Stocking and Carp Baiting

At least 30 beach cleanups are planned in Michigan next month. A 57-pound invasive carp was found in Lake Huron. This summer is shaping up to rival 2023 for air quality alerts in Michigan.

For more, visit https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Coastal Cleanup, Massive Carp, Wildfire Alerts

Volunteers are needed for a stream sampling event that uses tiny animals to assess water quality in the Cedar River. Wednesday, Aug. 27, was officially the first-ever World Lake Day, as declared by the United Nations. And range anxiety is a real concern for folks considering an electric vehicle.

For more, visit https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Needed: Stream Sampling Volunteers and Lots More EV Charging Stations

Exotic mushrooms are invading Michigan and pushing out native fungi, more baby lake sturgeon will soon be swimming in the Saginaw River system, and the clock is ticking on federal clean energy tax credits.

For more, visit https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Reporting Mushrooms, Releasing Baby Sturgeon

Happy anniversary to the Pollution Emergency Alerting System, aka PEAS. Hampton Township is among eight communities sharing almost $2 million in awards to support renewable energy projects. It turns out muskrats are pretty good at battling invasive species.

For more, visit:
https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Support Delta College Public Radio:
https://www.deltabroadcasting.org/donate/

PEAS 50, Karn Solar, Muskrat Lodges

Fall colors are showing up across Michigan. A rare bird is among the first examples of a climate change species. Beach season is over, but E. coli bacteria is still a concern.

For more, visit: https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Support this podcast:
https://www.deltabroadcasting.org/donate/

Fall Color Forecast, Climate Change ‘Grue Jay,’ E. Coli Mapper

Bay City is a featured port on a Great Lakes cruise marketing program and Michigan is planning a Lake Huron flooding resilience study. 

For more, visit https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Support this podcast:
https://www.deltabroadcasting.org/donate/

Bay City on Great Lakes Cruise List, Lake Huron Slated for Flooding Study

A grant is aimed at ensuring "that fact-based science is shaping decisions that protect the Great Lakes." Wetlands will see some protections in the new state budget. And renewable energy and distributed generation continues to grow in Michigan.

For more, visit https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Help support this podcast and others like it:
https://www.deltabroadcasting.org/donate/

Science Boost, Wetland Cuts, Renewable Growth

Climate change could be driving people to move to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Fall colors are peaking in some areas of Michigan and growing in others. And Bay City has been added to an international Initiative for Resilient Great Lakes Coasts.

For more visit https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Support this podcast and others like it:
https://www.deltabroadcasting.org/donate/

Climate Migration, the Fall Situation, Bay City Restoration

Michigan State University is studying the benefits of solar panels on farmland, a new documentary follows baby sturgeon released into the Saginaw River system, and a newly constructed reef in the Saginaw Bay is poised to increase fish habitat.

For more, visit:
https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Support this podcast:
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Solar Lab, Dinosaur Fish, Channel Reef

Environmental groups are celebrating a state decision regarding fertilizers used by large-scale farms, climate change is causing fish to shrink, and Lake Huron shipwrecks are helping advance AI.

For more, visit:
https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Support this podcast:
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Big Farms, Shrinking Fish, AI4Shipwrecks

New research offers a simple solution to a widespread pollution problem, the AuSable River Scenic Preserve is in the hands of Oscoda Charter Township, and the federal government is back open and newly updated Michigan energy facts are out.

For more, visit https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Support this podcast: https://www.deltapublicmedia.org/donate/

Microfiber Filters, Preserve Transfer, Michigan Energy Facts

Some Christmas tree factoids and way to count this winter's snowfall.

For more, visit:
https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Support this podcast:
https://www.deltapublicmedia.org/donate/

Christmas Tree Factoids, Snow Accumulation Tracker

Some tips on cardboard recycling, a citizen science project, and efforts to remove invasive lampreys.

For more, visit:
https://mrgreatlakes.com/

Support this podcast:
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Christmas Recycling, Bird Counting, Lamprey Controlling

Jeff Kart, a.k.a. "Mr. Great Lakes," hosts Delta College Public Radio's weekly look at environmental issues.

Popular tracks by The Environment Report with Jeff Kart