How Desperation, Ipads, and Real-time Data Revived a Fishery→

Megan Molteni, reporting for Conservation Magazine:

“When The Nature Conservancy, the nation’s largest environmental group, came into Morro Bay, California, in 2006 and bought out all the fishing rights—effectively closing millions of acres of marine habitat to fishing almost overnight—it was every fisherman’s worst nightmare. But then something interesting happened. TNC began leasing fishing rights back to fishermen, provided they followed more sustainable practices. Then iPads were doled out, and boats began sharing information with the environmental group and each other. Fishermen started thinking beyond pounds landed. And, realizing there were customers willing to pay more for a more environmentally sound product, they discovered an economic incentive for the changes. They started thinking less like takers and more like stewards.”

This paradigm change may work elsewhere, and I advocated such an approach some time ago. 

Commercial Overfishing and Property Rights

Lake Erie algae a threat to Ohio drinking water→

AP reporting: 

“TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Toxins from blobs of algae on western Lake Erie are infiltrating water treatment plants along the shoreline, forcing cities to spend a lot more money to make sure their drinking water is safe.

It got so bad last month that one township told its 2,000 residents not to drink or use the water coming from their taps.

The cost of testing and treating the water is adding up quickly — the city of Toledo will spend an extra $1 million this year to combat the toxins while a neighboring county is considering a fee increase next year to cover the added expenses.”

Polluters need not worry; they have a free ride. We continue to allow private gain at public cost. When will governments create rules for markets for clean water?

Algae fixes may trigger more lake pollution→

Elizabeth Dunbar, reporting for Minnesota Public Radio: 

“Phosphorus, a nutrient that is washed into Minnesota’s lakes with leaves and lawn fertilizer, can cause algae blooms and poor water quality. But efforts to reduce it in lakes can have an unintended consequence.

According to a new University of Minnesota study published online Thursday in the journal Science, reducing phosphorus can also result in less of the microbial processes that eliminate another unwanted nutrient: nitrogen.

As a result, nitrogen can accumulate in large lakes and lead to nitrogen pollution downstream, the study says.”

Why Is The Monarch Butterfly Population Shrinking?→

Margaret Roach, reporting for Latina Lista:

““Where are the monarch butterflies this year?” One of many recent emails on the topic asked me. Headlines about monarch decline seem to confirm gardeners’ observations: Populations of the once-familiar orange-and-black creatures are not what they were. What’s going on, and how bad is it? Is there anything we can do?”

Some good links to other information on Monarch Butterflies at end of article. 

With Lakes Drying Up, Businesses Are Parched→

Jeff Beckham, reporting for the New York Times: 

“Central Texas lakes are at their lowest levels in more than 60 years, despite heavy rains in the recent days, and Lake Travis and Lake Buchanan, the reservoirs northwest of Austin that supply water to the region, now stand at just 33 percent full. These lower levels have significantly reduced customer traffic and forced many lakeside business owners to make difficult decisions.”

The old proverb holds true today, 'You never know the value of water till the lake level falls [or the well runs dry].'

Great Lakes Chemicals Discovered By Researchers Shows PPCP Contamination Of Lake Michigan→

Ashley Woods, reporting for Huffington Post:

“Researchers testing water samples in the Great Lakes found alarming traces of prescription drugs, caffeine and other chemicals in Lake Michigan.

Scientists from the School of Freshwater Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee were examining water samples for PPCPs, chemicals that have been derived from pharmaceuticals and personal care products. The effects of these pollutants have been studied in rivers, harbors and other watersheds. But no previous studies ever assessed PPCPs offshore in Lake Michigan — the world’s sixth-largest lake by volume. It was thought human, industrial and agricultural wastewater contaminants would be diluted by the sheer amount of water that Lake Michigan holds.”

Dilution can no longer be the solution.

Great Lakes shipping terminal for Bakken oil hits dead end→

John Upton, reporting for Grist: 

“The Great Lakes have been spared the ignominy of becoming a conveyor for crude oil fracked at North Dakota’s Bakken fields.

At least for now.

Plans to build a crude shipping terminal at Duluth, Minn., on the western shore of Lake Superior, have been shelved because of a lack of refining capacity on the East Coast. ”

It has to go somewhere. Where? 

In South Florida, a Polluted Bubble Ready to Burst→

Lizette Alvarez, reporting for the New York Times:

“On wind-whipped days when rain pounds this part of South Florida, people are quickly reminded that Lake Okeechobee, with its vulnerable dike and polluted waters, has become a giant environmental problem far beyond its banks.”

We changed the hydrology with little understanding of the long-term consequences. The lack of humility in the engineering of nature often catches up to us. 

Sewer system oversight studied for Whitefish Lake, MT→

Lynnette Hintze, reporting for The Daily Inter Lake:

“Last year the Whitefish Lake Institute released a study that confirmed pollution in Whitefish Lake due largely to failing septic systems.
It found contamination at City Beach, Viking Creek and Lazy Bay and pinpointed several shoreline areas at risk for future contamination.
The Institute’s probe confirmed a 1980s study that also found contamination in the lake from failing septic tanks. While the latest study concluded recreation is still safe on the lake, it sounded the alarm bell for city officials.
The Whitefish City Council appointed a community wastewater committee to prepare a report and make recommendations to the council regarding wastewater management.”

It is interesting to see communities struggling to deal with human waste. In this case it appears that the issue has been studied for 30 years but no solution has been acted on. The need for something besides traditional individual sewage treatment systems is long overdue. 

What’s wrong with gorgeous Lake George? Scientists wire it up to find out→

David Richardson, reporting for Grist: 

“Thomas Jefferson called Lake George in Upstate New York “without comparison, the most beautiful water I ever saw.” The painter Georgia O’Keefe lived part time at the lake during the 1920s and ’30s, drawing inspiration for some of her laconic, gauzy landscapes. The Whitneys summered there, the Roosevelts, Vanderbilts, Rockefellers — all the big industrialists. It’s still one of New York’s top vacation destinations, bringing in around $1 billion in tourism each year.

If climate change took vacations it would probably go there too. But climate change doesn’t take vacations. In fact, Mark Swinton says it’s kind of hanging out at Lake George all the time, and not in a regular-folk, kick-back-in-an-Adirondack-chair-and-read-a-good-book sorta way.”

York ranks high for keeping sewage out of Great Lakes→

Sean Pearce, reporting for the Newmarket Era:

“An Ecojustice report ranks York Region, along with Durham Region, second among 12 municipalities when it comes to keeping sewage out of the Great Lakes.Receiving a B+ grade, York and Durham placed behind only Peel Region in the organization’s 2013 Great Lakes sewage report card. York and Durham scored high in the majority of categories, given their lack of combined sanitary and storm sewers and the fact there is no mechanism for untreated wastewater to bypass the Duffin Creek water pollution control plant.

Unlike most other treatment plants on Lake Ontario, Duffin Creek has no bypass capability, he said, which means only treated effluent is released into Lake Ontario, even during periods of extreme storms.”

Shoreline regulations are about water quality→

by Peter Bauer: 

“As a society we know how to protect water quality. Engineers, landscape architects, excavators, and regulators, among others, know what protects water quality and what does not. Stormwater management is the key here. All too often though stormwater management is deferred, ignored or short-changed.

Shoreline regulation is not about aesthetics. It’s about protecting water quality.”

Why rabbits have white tails→

Daniel Cressey, reporting for Nature News Blog: 

“Dirk Semmann, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Göttingen in Germany, thinks he has the answer to this puzzle — and the evidence to back it up. Other theories hold that rump patches are warning to other animals, are sexually selected, or serve to show a predator that they have been spotted.

Semmann’s research suggests that these spots actually confuse predators because of their very noticeable nature. By focusing on the bright spot, the would-be predator ignores the larger body of the animal. Then, when the rabbit executes a sharp turn, the spot disappears and the predator has to readjust to focus on the camouflaged coat, losing vital seconds.”

Lake Thunderbird 30 years behind target dates set by Clean Water Act→

Joy Hampton, reporting for The Moore American:

“Lake Thunderbird’s well-earned nickname, “Dirtybird,” may not apply in six years, according to computer model projections. The model projections and recommended requirements for reducing lake pollution were developed by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and Dynamic Solutions LLC.

Regulations implemented as a result of the study will affect Moore and south Oklahoma City as well as Norman because all three of those municipalities discharge stormwater into Lake Thunderbird’s watershed.”

Lake Thunderbird is not alone. There is a large number of lakes in the United States that are polluted and the prospects for restoring water quality are daunting. 

Plastic beads are the latest pollution threat to Great Lakes→

Lisa Maria Garza, reporting for Reuters:

“Tiny plastic beads from beauty products are showing up in North America’s Great Lakes, and an environmental group is calling upon companies to stop using the plastic particles.

Scientists have already been found the particles, known as microplastic, floating in the oceans but recently reported the same contamination in the largest surface freshwater system on the Earth. The particles are often less than a millimeter (0.04 inch).
”

What we put in our products enters the environment and then circles back to pollute our bodies. 

Preventing pollution much better than cleaning up Jordan Lake→

Michael A. Mallin and Kenneth H. Reckhow, reporting for the newsobserver.com:

“Jordan Lake is a major drinking water supply for the Research Triangle area and a heavily used recreational area. Over the years, inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus have led to large algal blooms that impair this waterway, causing the U.S. EPA to require North Carolina to devise a plan (called a TMDL – total maximum daily load) to reduce nutrient inputs. Over several years, a variety of stakeholders worked out a plan involving compromise that was signed by Gov. Bev Perdue.

However, the General Assembly is now considering delaying pollutant controls for three years and suggests that using as-yet unidentified technology within the lake proper can clean it up. The best and cheapest way to improve water quality is to keep the nutrients from entering the lake in the first place.”

BP is polluting Lake Michigan→

Chicago Tribune editorial: 

“BP, one of the world’s biggest companies, dumps nearly 20 times more toxic mercury into Lake Michigan than federal regulations permit.

This has been known for years, but BP still gets away with it. How? Ask the people of Indiana.

In 2007, a Chicago Tribune investigation documented that Indiana allowed the massive BP refinery in Whiting to increase the amount of pollutants it released into the lake water that’s used by millions of people for drinking, fishing and recreation. Permitting the oil company to dump high levels of mercury, ammonia and suspended solids helped to clear the way for a big expansion of the refinery.”

Nitrogen pollution is widespread in southern Minnesota lakes and rivers, report finds→

Josephine Marcotty, reporting for the Star Tribune: 

“Nitrogen contamination in southern Minnesota is so severe that 27 percent of the region’s lakes and rivers could not be used for drinking water, according to an unexpectedly blunt assessment of state water pollution released Wednesday.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) said that, overall, 41 percent of the streams and lakes in southern Minnesota have excessive nitrogen, which can be toxic to fish and other forms of aquatic life and is the state’s most widespread form of water pollution.”

Report highlights development threats on Canadian watershed→

Hannah Hoag, reporting for Nature:

“Without better governance, a robust science programme and stronger regulations for extractive industries and hydroelectric developments, Canada’s massive Mackenzie River basin could continue to face destroyed landscapes and massive bills for environmental clean-ups, an international panel of experts warns in a report issued today.

The Mackenzie River is the longest river in Canada, pouring 10.3 million litres of fresh water, the equivalent of four Olympic swimming pools, into the Arctic Ocean per second. Its ecosystems are mostly intact. They provide breeding habitat for migratory birds and include wetlands, boreal forest and carbon dioxide–absorbing peat lands, but they are at risk under warming climate scenarios and natural-resource development.”

How science studies lakes like White Bear; update on fixing a lethal intersection→

Ron Meador, reporting for MinnPost: 

“Sometimes it seems we know still less about the water beneath our feet: how much of it there is, how reliably it’s being replenished, how long our ever-increasing demands on it can be sustained.

Many interesting glimpses into our reservoirs of groundwater knowledge and ignorance were laid out in a talk last Thursday evening, sponsored by The Freshwater Society and the University of Minnesota’s College of Biological Sciences.”