 |
 |
       |
 |
Strategic plan targets invasive species
The Superior Daily Telegram (11/17)
Douglas County’s Land Conservation Committee is forwarding a plan to the county board that takes aim at invasive species.
Mich. Clean Marina Program: Public-private partners work together to improve water quality
Grand Rapids Environmental News Examiner (11/9)
Partners from the public and private sector in Michigan are working together in a voluntary program to improve the quality of the Great Lakes.
Researchers seek funding for wind test site in Lake Michigan
Grand Rapids Environmental News Examiner (11/7)
In a recent article in The Muskegon Chronicle, it was reported that researchers at Grand Valley State University’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center (MAREC) cited a lack of year-around data (on wind platform testing) needed by prospective development companies.
COMMENTARY: Senate needs to pass clean energy act to help Michigan
The Grand Rapids Press (10/26)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was absolutely correct with his recent proclamation about the current condition of the Great Lakes State: "The State of Michigan," Reid declared from the Senate Floor, with a copy Time Magazine in his hand, "is in trouble."
First Nation women 'walk the environmental talk'
WeNews (10/23)
Tomorrow's global day of climate activism aims for media and political attention. First Nation women have another way. Since 2003, they've walked the shoreline of a Great Lake or major river, meditating on the needs of an unborn generation.
City making big push for water school
The Business Journal (10/23)
The push is on to convince the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee that the best location for its new School of Freshwater Sciences is near the university’s existing Great Lakes Water Institute on East Greenfield Avenue.
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.
Do detergents contain a good food for algae?
from Stephanie in Ann Arbor, MI, Age 9
Most of the popular brands of detergents in stores contain chemicals called phosphates. Phosphates are an organic substance (also used in fertilizers) that algae can eat to grow quickly and reproduce rapidly in a process that can lead to the eutrophication of a body of water.
Detergents are often confused with regular soap, but they are actually quite different. They are not natural products and should always be carefully used. Many of them contain very powerful chemicals, bleaches, and enzymes that can be dangerous for you as well as the environment. Detergent residues can even last up to ten times longer than soap in rivers and lakes before being broken down by bacteria! All kinds of detergents destroy the external mucus layers that protect fish from bacteria and parasites. They also lower the water's surface tension, making pesticides and other chemicals more easily absorbed by the fish.
You can ask your shop manager where you can find the available environmentally safe detergents (they should be both bio-degradable and phosphate-free).
Related references:
TEACH: Water pollution in the Great Lakes
TEACH: Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs)
Pennsylvania DNR: Act 31 -- The Phosphate Detergent Act
Thank you for your question!
Answered on August 3, 2001