Environment
Man Versus Nature? How Humans Have Shaped the Indiana Dunes
Henry Chandler Cowles first stepped foot on the dunes of Indiana in the late 1800s while working on his dissertation for the University of...
Cincinnati, Ohio: A Climate Haven?
From severe heat waves and wildfires to violent flooding and tropical storms, it is no secret that climate change has been waging its world...
Minnesota’s Ice Season is Shrinking, Impacting People and Fish Alike
Known as the land of 10,000 lakes, Minnesota’s many bodies of water form an integral part of the state’s identity year-round. The summertime recreational usage of the state’s actual 14,380 lakes includes swimming, boating and fishing, all of which can be experienced in rural towns and major cities throughout Minnesota.
How Climate Change is Shaping Michigan’s Coastal Management
You might remember earlier this year when a video of a North Carolina home being submerged in the Atlantic ocean went viral as a...
Exploring Urban Heat in Toledo, Ohio
It’s July 19th, 2021, a beautiful summer day in a tree-lined neighborhood in Toledo, Ohio. The sun is shining and the temperature hovers around 86 degrees Fahrenheit, but there’s plenty of shade to make a picnic or a barbecue pleasant despite the heat. But if you live a few miles away — particularly in the inner-city — it’s more than 10 degrees hotter, substantially raising both health risks and electric bills…
Saving the World, One Seed at a Time: How Libraries Are Tackling Modern Environmental Crises
The old card catalog at the Lyon Township Public Library (LTPL) in Michigan fell out of use after the library’s infrastructure went online. An...
Building an Empire for the Birds in Northwest Ohio
If you’ve never heard the word “ecotourism” before, you can probably guess what it means (here’s the Merriam-Webster definition in case you want to...
America has a fresh water problem. Here’s why.
America's fresh water is in danger. The Great Lakes hold roughly 20% of the world’s surface freshwater, and Lake Erie alone provides drinking water to more than 11 million residents in the United States. But serious water quality, access and infrastructure problems are threatening our fresh water future.
When Roads Turn to Rivers: Rethinking Detroit’s Flood Infrastructure
Weather wasn’t kind to Detroit in 2021. In late June, Detroit experienced a 100-year flood event, followed by three tornadoes that threw salt in...
Should We Build Wind Turbines in the Great Lakes? Climate Advocates and Conservationists Are at Odds
The Great Lakes provide drinking water to more than 30 million people and support 311,000 jobs in tourism, recreation and transportation. But climate advocates...