August 8th, 2013 by Irene Miles
IISG’s Laura Kammin and Anjanette Riley set sail today on a mission to find plastics in Lake Michigan. The trip is a part of a larger effort to determine if the plastics and microplastics that have been found in the world’s oceans are an issue in the Great Lakes too. Sampling kicked off last year with research trips on Lakes Huron, Superior, and Erie, and the findings came as a bit of a surprise – millions of tiny plastic particles floating in the water in even higher concentrations than in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
The first round of sampling revealed that the Lakes are home to between 1,500 and 1.7 million plastic particles per square mile, with Lake Erie housing the largest concentrations. Dr. Sherri “Sam” Mason of the State University of New York (SUNY) at Fredonia, Dr. Lorena Rios-Mendoza of University of Wisconsin, and Dr. Marcus Erikson of 5 Gyres Institute have determined that much of the plastic they found was actually microbeads, found in many brands of toothpaste and facial and body scrubs. These tiny pieces of plastic are less than a millimeter in diameter, much too small to be filtered out by wastewater treatment facilities before that water is released into nearby lakes and rivers.
Anjanette and Laura, along with researchers from SUNY at Fredonia and 5 Gyres Institute, are on Lake Michigan this week to see how the plastic load there compares to the other Great lakes. The crew will collect approximately 20 samples between now and August 10 as they zigzag their way across southern Lake Michigan. Dr. Mason will process the samples in the coming months. The research team also plans to extend the project to Lake Ontario and get a second round of samples from Lake Erie later this summer.
August 7th, 2013 by Irene Miles
Researchers at the University of Illinois, working with the USGS and funded in part by Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, have developed a modeling system that will help manage and prevent the spread of invasive Asian carp.
From Phys.org:
“The model, called Fluvial Egg Drift Simulator (FluEgg), follows a clutch of eggs over time as they travel downstream. Since carp spawn in turbulent waters, they seek places such as dams and spillways. To establish a large population in the Great Lakes, the carp would have to leave the lakes to spawn in the tributaries where the water moves rapidly, usually downstream from dams and spillways, where there is a lot of turbulence. The eggs have to stay suspended in the current to hatch – if they settle on the bottom, they die.
‘The challenge is, of all those million of eggs, how many of those end up hatching?’ said Marcelo Garcia, the U. of I. professor of civil and environmental engineering who led the project. ‘Our challenge has been to find a way to simulate this process from the spawning point all the way downstream. If the eggs are not kept in suspension, they will not be viable and they will die out. We have a model to look at certain streams – like tributaries to the Great Lakes – and figure out whether those streams are potential areas for Asian carp to reproduce. I think we have put together a tool that is going to be eye-opening, to say the least. It’s going to be a lot easier to visualize the transport and the conditions you need for hatching.'”
Read more about the model at the link above, and read about their outreach project here.
August 6th, 2013 by Irene Miles
Each year, Great Lakes beach managers have to remove trucks full of slimy algae from the beachfront areas to keep them enjoyable for residents and visitors. But it can be a costly process and a regular need that could be met in a more environmentally friendly way.
From The Great Lakes Echo:
“Truckloads of the stuff are hauled to landfills every week or so, but beach managers want a greener and cheaper method of disposal.
‘Algae removal is sort of a routine beach-grooming thing that we do, but because it’s wet and heavy, it can be expensive to dispose of,’ said Cathy Breitenbach, director of Green Initiatives for the Chicago Park District, which is responsible for 26 miles of lakefront in the city. She’s hoping to find an alternative that saves taxpayers money and is more sustainable than taking it to the dump like the district does now.
Composting may seem like an obvious solution, but it’s not as simple as it sounds, say algae experts. Cladophora mats can harbor large concentrations of bacteria, including some potentially dangerous varieties.
‘We have evidence to show that E. coli bacteria are found in very high densities in Cladophora mats,’ said Murulee Byappanahalli, a research microbiologist at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Lake Michigan Ecological Research Station in Porter, Ind.”
Read the complete article at the link above to learn more about algae and the need for a greener, cleaner way to dispose of it.
August 5th, 2013 by Irene Miles
A new interview series takes readers behind the scenes of the latest research on pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCP). In UpClose, researchers working in the Great Lakes region talk about where these contaminants come from, what they mean for aquatic habitats, and how they can be effectively managed. With its focus on making science accessible and providing practical management solutions, each edition gives you a unique look at an emerging ecological threat.
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant kicked off the series with a conversation with Timothy Strathmann, an environmental engineer at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Later editions featured the work of Maria Sepulveda, a toxicologist at Purdue University, and John Kelly, a microbiologist at Loyola University Chicago. Each interview targets a different component of PPCP research—everything from what happens to pharmaceuticals when water is treated to what bacterial resistance could mean for other aquatic wildlife living in urban rivers. Readers also get an insider’s view of the complex, and sometimes tricky, process of conducting field studies and the potential implications of research on industries and regulations.
In upcoming editions, Ball State’s Melody Bernot will explain the surprising roles location and season play in pharmaceutical pollution, and Rebecca Klaper at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee will talk about how research into the effects of these contaminants could lead to changes in how they are made, used, and treated.
All UpClose editions are available in print and online. For print copies, contact Susan White. For more information about PPCP pollution and what you can do to reduce its impacts, visit www.unwantedmeds.org.
July 31st, 2013 by Irene Miles
As summer begins to wind down, so do IISG’s summer internships. For John Saltanovitz, though, working as an intern at Purdue University’s Sustainable Communities Extension Program is just the beginning. With a summer full of hands-on outreach experience under his belt, John plans to pursue a career as an environmental engineer so he can continue to help communities and organizations better use and conserve natural resources.
Many of the issues surrounding community sustainability—such as land use planning, pollution prevention, and water conservation—were not new to John when he started working with IISG’s Kara Salazar earlier this summer. As a senior working towards a degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Science and a life-long resident of Northwest Indiana, he was even familiar with some outreach efforts already underway in the Lake Michigan region. His summer internship gave him a chance to apply what he has learned over the years and work firsthand with communities.
“We hear a lot about sustainability in our classes and talk about what needs to be done” said John. “This internship gave me a chance to do something instead of just talk it. It’s really exciting to be working on things that you always said you wanted to do.”
Much of his summer efforts went towards developing a guide for conducting “green” meetings and events. At the heart of the guide is a checklist of best practices that advise anyone planning or managing events, helping them make sustainable decisions. Some of these best practices include relying on public transportation, composting leftover food, and reducing waste. Throughout his internship, John worked directly with Purdue Extension educators and specialists, the guide’s primary audience, to determine what information they needed and develop the checklist. The Best Practices Guide for Green Meetings and Events will soon be sent to Purdue Agriculture Communications for peer review and editing before publishing the finalized version through Extension.
In addition to his work on the guide, John helped develop a new Purdue Master Gardener advanced training program for rain gardeners, provided content on education strategies for the Tipping Points and Indicators Project, contributed information to the new Sustainable Communities website, and led outreach activities at the IISG booth during the Wabash Riverfest in West Lafayette. He was also involved in planning for IAGLR, and joined three other IISG interns as a volunteer during the week-long conference.
“Through his enthusiasm, detailed work, and dedication, John has truly helped to advance new program offerings and education materials that will support sustainability programs in communities state-wide,” said Kara. “I look forward to continuing to work with John as we complete the peer review and editing process for the Best Practices Guide for Green Meetings and Events publication.”
July 30th, 2013 by Irene Miles
IISG and the AVMA co-developed a set of five simple medication management steps for veterinarians to share with their clients: 1) use as directed, 2) store out of reach of kids and pets, 3) don’t share, 4) don’t flush down the drain or toilet, and 5) take expired or unwanted meds to a take-back program. Many of the 310 vets and vet techs that IISG spoke with at the convention were familiar with these messages, and several of them mentioned that they have the brochures available in their waiting rooms.
For the vets less familiar with the topic, Laura Kammin and Susan Boehme held a two-hour continuing education workshop to bring them up to speed. And Corrie Layfield staffed the IISG booth over the course of the 3-day event to share resources and speak directly with attendees about what medicine disposal information, if any, they already share with clients.
IISG staffers talked with veterinarians from 30 states as well as Peru, Korea, Japan, Canada, and Italy about how they can provide proper medicine storage, use, and disposal information to their clients. Laura also networked with staff from several Colleges of Veterinary Medicine to offer information and materials for future veterinarians. For additional information about the importance of safe and proper medicine disposal, visit www.UnwantedMeds.org, and follow Unwanted Meds on Twitter.
July 29th, 2013 by Irene Miles
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant’s work each year touches on a variety of critical water concerns, but the common goal is protecting and preserving Lake Michigan. Each year we look back at some of our successes from the previous year as a way to guide continuing efforts. Below are just a few of the highlights from last year.
IISG helps keep over 12,000 pounds of medicine out of local water
Research shows that pharmaceuticals impact water quality—the water we drink, bathe in, and use for recreation. Using the toilet or trash to dispose of medicine can put people, animals, and the environment at risk. To address this issue, in 2012 Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant partnered with law enforcement agencies and community groups to start 17 permanent medicine collection programs. IISG also assisted with single day collection events in six communities and helped promote the fall DEA collection program in 11 communities. IISG helped organize and promote these programs, wrote press releases, provided brochures, and purchased locked medicine collection boxes. As a result of these efforts, over 12,000 pounds of pills were properly disposed of through 17 permanent collection programs and six single-day events. The medicine was destroyed using high-heat incineration, reducing the potential for diversion or accidental poisonings and keeping the chemicals from polluting local water.
30 Illinois communities implement green infrastructure projects
In light of climate change predictions that indicate bigger storms and more flooding, managing urban stormwater will become increasingly critical in northeastern Illinois and throughout the state. But planning and implementing effective, forward-looking infrastructure can help protect communities and allow them to adapt to changing weather conditions. Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant was funded by Illinois EPA to study the standards and costs of green infrastructure as a possible replacement or supplement to conventional urban stormwater infrastructure. The study found that, on average, green infrastructure practices are just as effective as conventional stormwater infrastructure, and are less expensive. In 2012, the Illinois General Assembly established a $5 million discretionary fund to support green infrastructure projects in communities around the state, a strong start to helping these areas plan and prepare for potential weather extremes.
July 26th, 2013 by Irene Miles
A House panel has suggested some deep cuts to Great Lakes programs including the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, but a number of congressional members are ready to oppose such cuts and continue the restoration and protection work on each of the Lakes.
From Crain’s Detroit Business:
“Federal programs designed to make headway on some of the Great Lakes’ most longstanding ecological problems, from harbors caked with toxic sludge to the threat of an Asian carp attack, would lose about 80 percent of their funding under a spending plan approved Tuesday by a Republican-controlled U.S. House panel…
After an initial $475 million in 2009, the restoration initiative has gotten about $300 million a year, although this year’s total has fallen to $285 million because of across-the-board cuts. The subcommittee bill would slash the 2014 allocation to just $60 million.
The Great Lakes region historically has received about one-third of the money in the federal loan fund for sewer repairs. Sewer overflows cause local officials to order beach closings each year because of E. coli bacteria contamination. The bill would reduce the fund from just over $1 billion this year to $250 million in 2014…
The restoration initiative has pumped about $1.3 billion into projects across the eight-state region that have helped scrape away contaminated harbor sediments, restored wildlife habitat and sought to curb runoff that causes harmful algae. It also has supported efforts to ward off an invasion by the dreaded Asian carp, which compete with native species for food.”
Read the complete article at the link above for more information about Great Lakes programs and their funding.
July 24th, 2013 by Irene Miles
Senators Mark Kirk (R) and Dick Durbin (D) of Illinois recently passed an amendment that would prevent the Army Corps of Engineers from moving critical invasive species prevention functions out of their current Chicago location .
From CBC News:
“An amendment to the Energy and Water Appropriations bill has passed and prevents the removal of critical functions and staff from the District Office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Chicago. The Windy City is home of the frontline fight against Asian carp entering the Great Lakes.
Republican Senator Mark Kirk and Senator Richard Durbin, a Democrat, proposed the amendment after U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced plans to move Chicago district office functions to Detroit.
The senators believe the move, had it been made, would have potentially affected more than 200 employees who oversee projects such as Asian carp electric barriers and Chicago locks and dams designed to keep the invasive species out of the Great Lakes.”
Read the complete article at the link above to learn more.
