Great Lakes

WCMU's Rick Brewer was welcomed aboard the ship to learn how its able to break ice and perform a variety of tasks to help mariners navigate waterways.

Funds will go towards protecting the Great Lakes over the next decade

If approved by Congress, the funds would kickstart the construction process to bring a new heavy ice breaker as capable as the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw on the Great Lakes.

Rental proceeds will go toward restoring the White Shoal Lighthouse.

Higher temperatures and low ice cover decreases the potential for lake effect snow, which could lead to lower water levels in the spring.

More than 22 million pounds of plastics end up in the Great Lakes every year. These plastics break down into smaller and smaller particles known as “microplastics,” which can now be found in fish, drinking water, and even our own blood.

Climate change is already affecting the Great Lakes. One group is urging the Great Lakes states and Canadian provinces to coordinate their efforts to make the Great Lakes basin more resilient to those changes.Climate change contributed to the rapid rise in Great Lakes water levels a few years ago. Combined with more frequent and intense storms — also a result of climate change — they caused record flooding in 2017 and 2019 in some parts of the Great Lakes region. Homes and property were damaged.

A CMU research team is studying why two species of fish populations are trending in nearly opposite directions – and what this says about changing environmental conditions in lakes.

The National Defense Authorization Act passed the U.S. Senate 83-11. But it's uncertain if President Biden will sign it due to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for military personnel being lifted.

The initiative is made up of communities, conservation groups and foundations in both the U.S. and Canada with the goal of protecting Lake Huron’s water quality and natural habitats.