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GLRA Team Member Profile:haatzzzuup?

Brent Lofgren stops in Llandundo, Wales while on tour for the singing group, "Measure for Measure"

ORDER HERE: "Preparing for a Changing Climate: The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change: The Great Lakes Overview"

Monday, January 28, 2002

Shrinking Great Lakes threaten Michigan way of life

Predictions that Great Lakes water levels probably won't rebound this year, as had been expected, is dire news for Michigan's $10-billion tourism industry, fishermen, shippers and weekend boaters. A detailed look at some of the effects. The Detroit News (1/24)

Wisconsin tries to sell winter without snow to tourists

With little snow in sight, the Wisconsin Department of Tourism marketing team started in early December trying to devise new ads that don't feature snow. Duluth News Tribune (1/21)

Mild Winter Affects Wildlife

Near-record warmth in much of the Great Lakes region is having an effect on insects and wildlife. Great Lakes Radio Consortium (1/21)

Lake levels draw concern

If lake levels are too high, the water can flood homes and businesses. If lake levels are too low, residents complain that they're losing recreational opportunities such as boating and skiing. The Detroit News (1/22)

Great Lakes shipping, water levels down the drain in '01

When the Soo Locks closed for the winter last week, they shut the door on the major part of a miserable Great Lakes shipping season. The major culprit: a sputtering steel industry battered by foreign imports. Also playing a part: Low water levels. Booth News Service (1/21)

Ice, snow won't stop this vehicle

Ice and snow won't stop a new wind sled linking the largest of the Apostle Islands to the main- land. The new 26-foot wind sled can carry passengers across Lake Superior ice or water. St. Paul Pioneer Press (1/22)

Lower lakes mean less electricity for New York's hydro projects

Low water levels on the Great Lakes last year forced the New York Power Authority to repeatedly reduce hydroelectric allocations to businesses and other power customers. The Boston Globe (1/20)

 
Great Lakes water levels lowest in 35 years

Great Lakes water levels are at their lowest point in 35 years, and there's no relief in sight. Lake levels are unlikely to rise significantly this spring because snowfall in some areas is only half the winter average and a protective ice cap hasn't formed over parts of the lakes. The Toronto Star (1/24)

Great Lakes pose hot issues

Protecting the Great Lakes is a hot political topic in Michigan again. After a decade in which other issues topped the agenda, the state's lawmakers and members of Congress are concerned about the lowest water levels in 35 years, bids to export Great Lakes water and environmental threats.The Detroit News (1/24)

In many areas, lakes still aren't frozen

It's been a frustrating winter for the region's ice fishers, who've had difficulty pursuing their sport due to mild temperatures. Detroit Free Press (1/24)

Warm temperatures push lake levels down

Water from the Great Lakes is being silently removed thanks to the dry, mild winter enjoyed by most residents in southern Ontario, says a senior climatologist with Environment Canada. Source: The St. Catharines Standard (1/25)

Mild winter weather bad for lake levels

Water levels on the Great Lakes have been in decline in recent years and this winter weather is not helping to replenish the loss. Includes a video clip of an interview with Roger Gauthier, senior hydrologist at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Detroit. Source: WXYZ-Detroit (1/24)

Critics scoff at dry forecast

An Indiana University study is raising interest -- and hackles -- by predicting that the Great Lakes are on the verge of a history-making drought. The Detroit News (1/24)

Warmer December 2001 Means Lower Heating Bills more

Warm Midwest Temperatures Set All-Time Record for November more

October 2001 was the 3rd wettest on record in Illinois since 1895...more

Climate Change Info Board

Announcements from American Water Resources Association (AWRA):

1. There are still 2 weeks left to submit an abstract for the American Water Resources Association's upcoming 2002 Summer Specialty Conference! The topic of this specialty conference is "Ground Water/Surface Water Interactions" and it will be held July 1-3, 2002 in Keystone, Colorado. Abstract submission deadline is January 31st

2. As AWRA considers upcoming conference topics, we would love to hear from you! Please let us know which topics you would like to see in the future made available at our specialty conferences. To voice your opinion, simply click "reply" on your email, or email harriette@awra.org

A new study shows the growth rate of greenhouse gas forcing, which peaked in 1980 at almost 5 W/m2 per century, has decelerated over the last 20 years to about 3 W/m2 per century. The slowdown is attributed primarily to phase-out of chlorofluorocarbons (ozone-depleting gases that are themselves strong greenhouse gases) under the Montreal Protocol. (PDF version: Hansen and Makiko, Trends of measured climate forcing agents, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 98, Issue 26, 14778-14783, December 18, 2001). — NASA's press release on the paper
The New EnglandGovernors and the Eastern Canadian Premiers developed a Climate Change Action Plan (PDF) —generated by the IPCC, the Canadian Country Study, and the New England Regional Assessment

The Great Lakes assessment is one of 19 regional assessments sponsored by the USEPA and coordinated by the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP). The Great Lakes Regional Assessment team consists of over 30 faculty, research associates, graduate and undergraduate students, and external collaborators from around the region.

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