Marilynne Wood first began researching lead poisoning in Toledo in order to investigate its potential correlation with school dropout and crime rates. A professor...
It can be difficult for residents of the Western Lake Erie Basin to see beyond the surface when it comes to the harmful algal blooms that disrupt their local watershed. After all, it is the green scum that appears on the lake every summer that poses health risks, obstructs recreational activities and creates eyesores on the area’s most treasured natural resource.
People living in fast-paced cities tend to keep their heads down and mind their own business. Look up, however, and amidst the concrete jungle, you might just catch a glimpse of, well, a real jungle.
In 2014, Toledo, Ohio experienced a severe water crisis caused by toxic algal blooms in Lake Erie. The height of the crisis — when the city’s drinking water was shut down for half a million residents — only lasted three days, but the effects of the crisis continue to impact residents today. Each time we turn on the tap water, pay water bills, sit on a boat or fish in the river, the ecological imbalance that reared its head in 2014 affects our lives in subtle — and often unequal — ways.
In 1811 and 1812, three of the largest earthquakes ever felt in the continental United States devastated the crossroads of northeastern Arkansas and southeastern Missouri. Known as the New Madrid Earthquakes, they had estimated magnitudes of up to 8.7 and ruined farmland, displaced people and altered landscapes around the region.
Across the country, new life is being breathed into coal-burning power plants that once choked their surroundings with emissions: sites that once produced massive amounts of greenhouse gasses are being transformed into solar and battery projects — and some experts say they are actually ideal locations to do so.
During the 18th century, squirrels were the sought-after, beloved companions of many Americans. Fast forward a hundred years, and squirrels in Ohio were so numerous that they had a bounty on their heads. From pets to pests to planters, squirrels have had a unique relationship with humans. Today, beyond serving as a bizarre bragging right for college campuses, they continue to be a crucial part of our ecosystems as seed sowers in wild and urban areas alike.
Broiling, sweltering heat. The muggy kind that wraps around you like a damp, heavy blanket. The unbearable boiling that makes you feel like you’re running on a treadmill in a sauna while wearing your thickest winter coat that’s zipped up to your chin.
In 2014, Toledo, Ohio experienced a severe water crisis caused by toxic algal blooms in Lake Erie. The height of the crisis — when the city’s drinking water was shut down for half a million residents — only lasted three days, but the effects of the crisis continue to impact residents today. Each time we turn on the tap water, pay water bills, sit on a boat or fish in the river, the ecological imbalance that reared its head in 2014 affects our lives in subtle — and often unequal — ways.
Henry Chandler Cowles first stepped foot on the dunes of Indiana in the late 1800s while working on his dissertation for the University of Chicago. Studying the landscape, he noticed a progression in plant maturity that moved from the coast inland: barren sands became dotted with grass, and then shrubs and eventually forests.
