One of the Great Lakes region’s most critical pieces of infrastructure is in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan on the St. Mary’s River, which connects Lake Superior to Lake Huron and eventually to the rest of the lakes.
The locks on the river handle up to 1,000-foot-long ships, enabling them to carry bulk freight from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan to ports throughout the Great Lakes region.
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New luxury homes, yacht slips, and trendy hotels and restaurants are cropping up along the glittering waterfront of this west Michigan city.
Nothing unusual for the Lake Michigan coast, long known for beach towns that cater to summer vacationers and wealthy second-homers. But to those familiar with Muskegon’s blue collar history, it’s a stunning transformation.
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The Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Charlevoix Fisheries Research Station is based in a building that was constructed in 1917, originally as a federal fish hatchery. It wasn’t the first on this site. An earlier hatchery was built in 1894.
The U.S. government was trying to replenish the fish population.
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According to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the intensity of hourly rainfall has increased in U.S. cities since 1970, with the Great Lakes region being among the most affected areas.
Great Lakes Now spoke with Stephen Shaw, a professor at the State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
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Livelihoods and economies in the Great Lakes region always centered on water. From the manoomin, or wild rice, grown and revered by the Ojibwe people to the whitefish catch in Lake Michigan, to the water-dependent ports, steel mills, and manufacturers that dot thousands of miles of Fresh Coast lakeshore. The area’s liquid assets and the industries that developed around them form a “blue economy.”
The treasure trove of clean fresh water is seen as a competitive edge in a region hungry for growth and whose leaders boast about exporting the scientific breakthroughs and infrastructure hardware to solve the world’s water challenges.
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By Anna Clark, ProPublica
This story was originally published by ProPublica.
Just one year ago, JD Vance was a leading advocate of the Great Lakes and the efforts to restore the largest system of freshwater on the face of the planet.
As a U.S.
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By Izzy Ross, Interlochen Public Radio
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between Interlochen Public Radio and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.
At a giant dirt lot off a side road in Emmet County, the air smells sharply of pine.
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By Akielly Hu
This story was originally published by Canary Media.
As electric and gas bills rise across the country, a poll released today finds that an overwhelming majority of people in the U.S. are concerned about growing energy costs — and experiencing greater financial stress because of them.
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Great Lakes Now hosted a multimedia celebration of bird conservation and spring migration across the Great Lakes region last week.
The virtual event showcased the short film “Birds of Paradise” from Points North and the Boardman Review, which follows a waterbird migration counter at Whitefish Point Bird Observatory near Paradise, Michigan.
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By Lily Carey, Inside Climate News
This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here.
Illinois boasts 63 miles of coastline along Lake Michigan’s southwestern shore, nearly all of which is fortified by metal breakwaters, concrete seawalls and even swaths of land built out into the lake.
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