SHOULD THE FINANCIAL BURDEN of removing all plastic debris from the Great Lakes fall on the shoulders of the 36 million people within the basin, researchers now have an estimate of the cleanup costs: $486-million (US). Findings from the Ecohydrology Research Group at the University of Waterloo published this month in the Journal of Great Lakes
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reeves report: Opposition Bill Wants Ontario to Ban Fracking
NDP MPP Peter Tabuns speaking with reporters at Queen’s Park. (CBC News Image.) New Democratic MPP Peter Tabuns introduced a private member’s bill Wednesday encouraging the Liberals to adopt a ban on hydraulic fracturing in the province. Tabuns, a former executive director of Greenpeace Canada and his party’s Environment and
Continue readingreeves report: Work set to begin on $1.9M Asian carp berm at Eagle Marsh
Entrance to Eagle Marsh in Fort Wayne, Indiana, part of the Little River Wetlands Project. (Andrew Reeves) FORT WAYNE, INDIANA — Recently, I travelled to Eagle Marsh to see first hand what construction of a $1.9 million berm will look like at a vital passageway between the Mississippi River basin
Continue readingreeves report: Historic dam latest line of defence against invasive Asian carp
Carp over Barge. (Photo: Dan O’Keefe, Michigan Sea Grant) THE NEXT LINE OF DEFENCE against keeping invasive Asian carp out of the Great Lakes will come at an 81-year-old lock and dam in Joliet, Illinois, 65 kilometres south of Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan. The Brandon Road dam, listed on the
Continue readingreeves report: Ontario Invasive Species Act gets second chance
A control test site for invasive plant phragmites at Wasaga Beach on Lake Huron. LIBERAL NATURAL RESOURCE MINISTER Bill Mauro reintroduced the Invasive Species Act Wednesday, the first standalone legislation in Canada geared towards stopping the spread of invasives into the province There is currently a patchwork of more than 20 different federal
Continue readingreeves report: NDP propose tough rules for importing Asian carp
On Oct. 1, New Democratic MP Brian Masse from Windsor, Ontario introduced a private member’s bill calling for tougher action and better coordination across Canadian governments in the fight against Asian carp. The bill would make it illegal to import Asian carp — or “invasive carp,” as Masse calls it
Continue readingreeves report: New evidence of Triclosan toxicity
Hand soaps containing triclosan and triclocarban. (Andrew Reeves/Reeves Report) OTTAWA KNOWS that a common ingredient in antibacterial soaps is posing acute and chronic problems for human health and freshwater ecosystems but has done nothing to ban triclosan, according to environmental and consumer advocates. But now there’s even more evidence against the
Continue readingreeves report: Environmental Legislation Killed by the Ontario Election
Environment Minister Jim Bradley and Natural Resources Minister David Orazietti speak with reporters at Queen’s Park. June, 2013. (Photo by Andrew Reeves) SO WE KEEP WAITING. Ontario’s environmental community had reason for optimism when Kathleen Wynne assumed leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party in January 2013, knowing the new premier
Continue readingreeves report: Canada-Ontario Agreement targets aquatic invasives in Great Lakes
Beefing up protections against aquatic invasive species like Asian carp has taken a prominent place in the latest Canada-Ontario Agreement (COA) governing how both governments aim to work together on protecting the Great Lakes. Asian carp in U.S. water. “Aquatic invasives have altered Great Lakes ecosystems and caused significant disruptions
Continue readingthe reeves report: Separate Great Lakes from Mississippi River to contain Asian carp: study
A recent study led by the University of Notre Dame and the U.S. Forest Service confirmed that hydrologically separating the Great Lakes from the Mississippi River watershed would be 95 to 100 per cent effective at containing Asian carp. “Our study goes beyond just presenting barrier options by putting numbers
Continue readingthe reeves report: Congress considers hydrologic separation to contain Asian carp
A bill from Michigan Representative Candice S. Miller tabled Wednesday with Congress would authorize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to consult, plan and build a barrier to hydrologically separate the Mississippi and Great Lakes watersheds in one year following its passage. “I believe total separation is the only way
Continue readingthe reeves report: Canada must help U.S. pay to contain Asian carp
Canada has an obligation to help the United States pay for physically separating Lake Michigan and the entire Great Lakes basin from the Mississippi River watershed to contain the spread of Asian carp, though the cost may reach $18 billion or more. The latest report from the U.S. Army Corps
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Great Lakes saved from nuke waste contamination
The Great Lakes have been saved from nuke waste contamination after Swedish company Studsvik canceled its plan to ship radioactive waste across the Lakes, says Emma Lui, the Council of Canadians’ water campaigner. The post Great Lakes saved from nuke waste contamination appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingBigCityLib Strikes Back: What’s Bugging The Great Lakes?
GLEAM, the Great Lakes Environmental Assessment and Mapping Project, has a series of interactive maps of Great Lake Stressors. I’ve included a couple related to Global Warming: Water Level Change Water Temperature Warming Decreased Ice Cover As you can see, T.O. and surrounding gets off pretty easy in regards to
Continue readingthe reeves report: Great Lakes nuclear map shows troubling hot spots
Original Production by Irene Kock. Updated by Anna Tilman, April 2013, International Institute of Concern for Public Health Ontarians may have no idea of the volume of nuclear-related facilities in the Great Lakes basin, but a new map offers a clear picture. The Great Lakes Nuclear Hot Spots Map recently created by
Continue readingthe reeves report: Grass carp found in Grand River sterile
It could have been worse. When the Department of Fisheries and Oceans announced on May 3 that a Grass carp caught in the Grand River near Lake Erie was sterile, biologists and invasive species experts on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border could breathe a sigh of relief. But not
Continue readingthe reeves report: Great Lakes offshore wind moratorium to remain ‘for some time’
Flickr photo by phault. Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli confirmed early last week that anyone anxious for offshore wind development in Ontario’s portion of the Great Lakes to resume will have a long wait ahead of them. Indefinitely, it would seem. “All I can say at this point is that offshore
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Sierra Club Canada: Great Lakes ‘do nothing’ plan unacceptable
By: Sierra Club Canada | Press Release: Restore Our Water International (ROWI) and Sierra Club Canada criticize the International Joint Commission (IJC) Draft Great Lakes Regional Adaptive Management Plan as being insufficient for solving the current low water crisis on Lakes Michigan and Huron. The IJC recently finished conducting webinars on
Continue readingthe reeves report: Local Knowledge Key in Land Restoration Program
Building off the idea that few comprehend the environmental challenges occurring in their backyards better than those who witness them daily, the Ontario government has re-launched yet another program to solicit local engagement in improving the province’s natural spaces. The Land Stewardship and Habitat Restoration Program– operating under the awkward acronym
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive | News & Analysis: Maude Barlow’s bold new vision to protect the Great Lakes
With Great Lakes at record low levels, Council of Canadians national chairperson Maude Barlow intensifies call for bold new vision to protect them By: Council of Canadians | Press Release: Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians and chair of Food and Water Watch’s board, is embarking on an seven-city
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