Tagged: Great Lakes

A small cylinder armed with research equipment is bobbing through Lake Ontario this week. It’s collecting data from a seasonal temperature barrier known as a thermal bar.

While environmental issues did not play a prominent role in this year's presidential election, some activists were cheered when the president mentioned global warming in his election night speech. And one area group says this is a crucial time in determining how the federal government will focus on issues of climate, pollution, water levels and invasive species.

John Weeks discusses the events of the 1984 Great Lakes Week. This festival included Native American storytelling, water sports, film screenings and concerts.WeeksThis essay describes the activities and goals of this free (and now extinct) celebration. Weeks explains how each citizen should be well aware of the history and uses of the 193 mile-long Lake Ontario.

Until now, scientists could only guess at the amount of plastic waste in the Great Lakes.

This week, a team of researchers sets sail to conduct the first-ever survey of plastic pollution in the world’s largest fresh water system.

“You really have to start with, ‘Is this even an issue in the Great Lakes?  [With] 35 million people living around the Great Lakes, all the plastic you see blowing around, common sense is that it’s out there,” says Sherri “Sam” Mason, professor within SUNY Fredonia’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.