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Lake St. Clair festival takes students into water
The Detroit News (5/16)
The Lake St. Clair festival featured interactive presentations and exhibits designed to teach students about the importance of water, how it's used in daily life and why it needs to be safeguarded from pollution.
2008 Lake Michigan Exploration Workshop
The Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (5/14)
4th-10th grade teachers and non-formal educators from the Great Lakes region are invited to participate in the Lake Michigan Exploration Workshop, August 2-8, in Chicago. This workshop is designed to promote Great Lakes and ocean sciences in formal and informal education and forge lasting relationships between science researchers and educators.
Drinking Water Week
American Water Works Association (5/6)
Drinking Water Week, May 4-10, is a unique opportunity for water professionals and the communities they serve to join together to recognize the vital role water plays in our daily lives.
American Wetlands Month
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (5/2)
This May will mark the 18th anniversary of American Wetlands Month, a time when EPA and its partners celebrate the vital importance of wetlands to the Nation's ecological, economic, and social health. It is also a great opportunity to discover and teach others about the important role that wetlands play in our environment and the significant benefits they provide.
Great Lakes Regional Research Information Network (GLRRIN)
GLIN's May 2008 Site of the Month (5/1)
Established in 2006 by NOAA Sea Grant, GLIN and regional partners, GLRRIN provides a powerful means to foster collaboration, acquire funding, highlight research needs and issues, and increase the overall impact of Great Lakes research. GLRRIN is a free service and offers research-related news and upcoming events, and profiles of Great Lakes researchers and their current projects.
Mother Earth Water Walk
(4/28)
Two Anishinawbe Grandmothers, and a group of Anishinawbe Women and Men have taken action regarding the water issue by walking the perimeter of the Great Lakes. The 2008 Lake Michigan walk kicked off April 26.
What's going on in your neighborhood this month? Meet other people and learn together at recreational and educational events! Our new dynamic calendar is updated daily with current educational events.
Introduction
An efficient, safe alternative
The ships
Cargoes: Iron ore and more
Travel between ports
To the ocean and beyond
References and more information
The Great Lakes, often referred to as the "fourth seacoast," are home to the U.S.-Flag fleet and the Canadian-Flag fleet. In addition, dozens of international vessels regularly travel through the Great Lakes, visiting port communities along the way. These vessels, known as "salties" because of their saltwater origin, come from all over the world and have sailors from many different lands.
The U.S.-Flag fleet includes more than 60 carriers and tankers, as well as dozens of smaller tug and barge units. These vessels team up to haul upwards of 125 million tons of cargo during a typical 10-month shipping season. That's almost half a ton for every person living in the United States! Iron ore, coal and limestone are the primary commodities carried; other cargoes include cement, salt, sand, grain and liquid-bulk products.
An efficient and safe alternative to rail, road or airSeveral Great Lakes ports are closer to European markets than East Coast or Gulf ports, which saves shippers time and money. For example, to travel from Baltimore, Maryland, to Liverpool, England, is 3,936 miles (6,334 km). Via the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway, ships can reach Detroit, Mich., by covering only 3,673 miles (5,911 km).
Ship travel saves energy, too, in comparison to trains, trucks and airplanes. A ship can move a ton of freight up to 500 miles on one gallon of fuel. A single 1,000-foot laker can carry as much cargo as six 100-car unit trains, which makes ships a very economical way to haul bulk quantities.
Fuel efficiency also translates into fewer air emissions than produced by trucks or trains. Ship transport is safer, too; serious accidents involving large cargo vessels are rare. Occasionally vessels become grounded but these incidents are usually much less serious than comparable railroad or truck accidents.
Shipping on the Great Lakes also provides many jobs for the region. In fact, more than 60,000 U.S. and Canadian jobs are directly dependent on cargo movements. In addition, hundreds of thousands of other jobs, many in the manufacturing sector, are tied to the maritime system. An abundance of steel mills were built along the shores of the Great Lakes and connecting channels because of the convenient, low-cost delivery of the industry's raw materials: iron ore, coal and limestone. Other manufacturing enterprises that use steel, such as automobile assembly in Detroit, Mich., also became popular and remain a hallmark of the region's economy.
Read on to learn more about the ships that travel the Great Lakes, what they carry and their ports of call.
Collage photos courtesy Great Lakes Commission; stack insignia courtesy Great Lakes and Seaway Shipping; base map courtesy St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation
