Environment & Science

Researchers predict a large cyanobacterial bloom in Lake Erie this year.

But it will probably not be as bad as 2011 and 2015, when the blooms covered a large area of western Lake Erie.

Democratic presidential hopeful Jay Inslee is wading into a Great Lakes regional controversy by coming out against a proposed oil pipeline tunnel.

The Washington state governor opposes a plan favored by Enbridge to route the company's Line 5 pipeline through a tunnel that would be built beneath the Straits of Mackinac, the channel linking Lakes Huron and Michigan.

New research from the University of Michigan shows a lack of transparency when it comes to demographic data within environmental organizations.

This comes from a study of more than 12,000 environmental organizations around the country, ranging in size. The researchers say historically, these kinds of organizations have lacked racial diversity, and little information has been made available to the public regarding the demographic composition of these organizations.

Ever wanted to help researchers learn more about ticks and where people are being exposed to them? Now's your chance — and it's as easy as using the device that's likely already glued to the palm of your hand.

A bipartisan delegation of Michigan lawmakers from Congress are in Chicago today at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam. The delegation is there to see the facility and discuss possible solutions to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes.

Brandon Road Lock and Dam is considered by many to be the last line of defense from preventing carp from entering the Great Lakes. The Army Corps of Engineers released a plan in May that proposed a number of deterrents to meet the carp as they swim through the waterway, including noisemakers, electric currents, and an air bubble curtain. Huge populations of Asian carp, particularly bighead and silver carp, are reported to be only four miles from the dam.

Water levels in the Great Lakes have been rising, and that means shrinking shorelines.

Drew Gronewald is a hydrologist with the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability. He says Lake Ontario broke an all-time high water level record in June, and all of the lakes broke records in May. He says Michiganders should take appropriate safety precautions in response to changes in water level and near-shore water circulation.

A Michigan science advisory workgroup released recommendations on Thursday for the state to implement some of the strictest standards in the nation for PFAS.

PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl substances, are a family of chemicals that have been found across the state and are linked to health problems including cancer. The Michigan PFAS Action Response Team received health-based recommendations from the workgroup for seven PFAS compounds. It recommends setting drinking water limits as low as six parts per trillion.

New results of soil testing done at the Leslie Science and Nature Center in Ann Arbor show elevated levels of arsenic, lead, and copper, among other heavy metals and semi and volatile organic compounds.

The center conducted testing back in May, and the results were released on June 20. 

HAZMAT crews worked Monday to clean up diesel fuel from the Huron River in Ann Arbor. The spill was caused by a fatal accident on eastbound M-14 involving two semi trucks.

People living in a Livonia neighborhood met Thursday to call on Ford Motor Company to clean up chemicals from the site of its nearby transmission plant.

Alden Village is on top of a plume of groundwater contaminated with vinyl chloride and trichlorethylene - both known carcinogens. The plume originated from the Ford property.

Enbridge says it will continue its rock and soil sampling this week in the Straits of Mackinac. The company wants to build a tunnel to house a replacement section of its twin Line 5 pipelines in the Straits.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer halted state work on the project in March.

Ryan Duffy is a spokesman for Enbridge. He says the state permit needed to conduct the sampling was approved in January.

He says the state has confirmed that the sampling process can still move forward.

Piping plovers are an endangered species of bird that builds its nests on Great Lakes beaches. Its main habitat is the Sleeping Bear Dunes.

But some of the birds' nests are being washed away by high water levels.

Vincent Cavalieri, piping plover coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, says the birds could be especially at risk this year. He says although the recorded number of bird pairs has increased since last year, the rising water is likely to cause problems during this year’s nesting season.

Rising Great Lakes water levels are causing damage to some structures on Michigan shorelines. The Holland Sentinel reports a section of seawall at Kollen Park in Holland sustained damage during a storm.

Keith Kompoltowicz, chief of watershed hydrology at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Detroit, said lake levels are expected to topple record highs this summer.

“For the month of May, a new record high for the month was set and additional record highs for the months of June, July, August and September are expected,” he said.

Following the recent discovery of chemicals known as PFAS in some kinds of food, the Environmental Working Group says the Environmental Protection Agency is not doing enough to deal with PFAS contamination.

Earlier this year, the EPA announced it's moving forward with what it calls an action plan. It could potentially set drinking water standards for two kinds of the chemicals.

There has been an increase in visitation at National Parks across the country. People are flocking to big name parks such as Yosemite in California, and the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan is also experiencing a significant jump in visitation. 

Be it social media, lower gas prices, or being voted the most beautiful place in America by Good Morning America in 2012, Sleeping Bear officials expect to see 1.7 million visitors this summer, which would surpass the 1,643,599 who visited in 2018. 

The Food and Drug Administration found substantial levels of a worrisome class of nonstick, stain-resistant industrial compounds in some grocery store meats and seafood and in off-the-shelf chocolate cake, according to FDA researchers.

The FDA’s food-test results are likely to heighten complaints by states and public health groups that President Donald Trump’s administration is not acting fast enough or firmly enough to start regulating the manmade compounds.

The Trump administration says it will allow sales of gasoline with 15% ethanol in it year-round, and it says that will give customers more choices at the pump.

Former administrations banned its sale during the summer, says David DeGennaro of the National Wildlife Federation.

"And that's because ethanol in gasoline actually increases the amount of smog relative to gasoline with no ethanol in it," says DeGennnaro.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Gary McDowell, announced on Monday that land enrolled in the Farmland and Open Space Preservation Program can be used for commercial solar arrays.

The policy change includes a provision to make sure the land is returned to a state that allows for agriculture production after the panels and other equipment are removed.