A Crisis of Burning-River Proportions

On Friday a carload of Detroiters traveled to the Toledo College of Law on the U of T campus (passing impressive flooding in Toledo but not seeing the tornado damage in Michigan near our route; that day had 4 times the normal number of storms for a March day in our region) for the Harmful Algal Blooms Workshop. Sponsored by the U of Toledo and Ohio Sea Grant with a grant from National Sea Grant Law Center, it will be repeated in Columbus on March 30.

Barely recognizable as a Great Lakes scene, this is the western Lake Erie basin last summer. No, that is neither split pea soup nor tempera paint, but Lake Erie thick with algae.

Some of what we learned in a three-hour period: The 50:2 rule. Lake Superior has (roughly) 50% of the Great Lakes' total water, 2% of the fish. Lake Erie has 2% of the water total, 50% of the fish. Lake Erie is one of the top 10 fishing spots in the world. Its sport fishing alone is a $1.5 billion part of the local economy. It has 40% of the Great Lakes' charter boats. And it provides drinking water to more than 11 million people, more than Lake Michigan. Aquatic biologist Dr. Jeff Reuter called Lake Erie the most heavily utilized and most challenged of the Great Lakes. Bordered by 4 states and 2 nations, its watershed is different from the other Lakes, surrounded by more agriculture and less forest. It's the warmest because it's the shallowest, and the huge western basin is the shallowest part of the lake, averaging only 24 feet.

In the 70s, after the burning-river incident In Cleveland (it was not the first time the Cuyahoga burned, and the Cuyahoga is not the only industrial river to catch fire more than once) the Clean Water Act was passed. A good historic synopsis from PBS can be found here. Wikipedia's entry points out that President Nixon vetoed the act, and his veto was overridden by the Senate the very next day. The rebirth of Lake Erie after the Act was passed is still considered "the best example of ecosystem recovery in the world," according to Dr. Reuter, who added, "Considered dead in the 70s, Lake Erie is now the walleye capital of the world." This rebirth was brought about by reducing phosphorus from 29,000 lbs. to 11,000. Lower levels result in a diversity of types of algae, and only a few are harmful.

2009 seemed like a very bad year until 2011. Look at the spike in the bar graph, far right.

The flooding we saw en route is not a good sign for the immediate future. Line graphs at the presentation showed a correlation between large rains and blooms 4-8 weeks later. Nutrients like phosphorus that are good on a lawn or field are bad in a lake, and tributaries carry the excess to the Maumee and into the Lake. Most lawns and fields do not need additional phosphorus and many already have too much. Testing is often considered too expensive, as a single test for a single field won't suffice; concentrations of phosphorus can vary from section to section. GPS mapping can actually allow a farmer to apply the exact amount needed in each section of a field.

Lake Erie facts that make the algal blooms serious

Dr. Tom Bridgeman of U of T pointed out that the Lakes contain hundreds of species of algae and most are beneficial. Factors leading to blooms include warmer winters due to climate change. The lake itself is warmer and has less ice. As mentioned, there are now more storms and bigger rainfall events, 40-70% more, and these events carry phosphorus from runoff over great distances.

The city of Toledo is currently spending $3-4 thousand more per day to keep drinking water safe. Toxic algae has killed humans in other countries, and pets here in the U.S.. The rotten smell alone can keep tourists away. And the fishing industry is already seeing the effects: 2011 was the worst year in recent history for walleye, the second worst for yellow perch.

The amount of excess phosphorus per acre of farm field that makes it into Lake Erie via the Maumee. It doesn't take much to make a difference, and a 2/3 reduction is again needed.

Dr. Bridgeman made two telling quotes: "I would say we are now in a crisis stage in Lake Erie" and "People come to the shoreline, see this, and turn around and go home again." The economy will further suffer when tourism suffers.

What can you personally do? Use less water, a lot less, on rainy days. Reducing the amount we use keeps it out of wastewater treatment plants, reducing the combined sewer overflows that contribute to the blooms. Don't do laundry during storms, or wash the car. Check out the Great Lakes Pledge and its list of ways to reduce water consumption and keep toxins out of the Lakes.

More to come. For images of Lake Erie's algal blooms, look here.

Post and photos by volunteer Rebecca Hammond

Have a Green St. Paddy's Day

It's St. Patrick's Day, a day all about being green. Generally this means people wear green clothes and drink green beer. But this year, why not make your day about being green in the eco-friendly sense? It's easy to celebrate in more sustainable ways, and then you can end your day of festivities with the satisfying knowledge that you had fun without harming the earth. There are several ways you can reduce your St. Paddy's impact.Your green clothes can be green in an eco-friendly sense too. Organic cotton is a good way to go, for the same reasons that eating organic food is usually better for the environment. Bamboo can also be a good choice -- although there are issues with the production of the fabric and it is not the perfect solution many claim, it is much more sustainable than cotton, as it grows a foot per day, uses much less water, and regrows when you cut it down. (If you've never worn bamboo, the cloth is actually super soft. And apparently it also has antibacterial properties.) Better yet, buy recycled or secondhand clothes. Since, as with many products, a large proportion of the environmental impact of clothing comes from production, by far the best apparel choice you can make for the planet is to simply wear clothes that used to belong to someone else and thus double their usefulness. As long as people are giving away their still-functional clothes, other people need to be wearing them.

Drink local beer. Transporting goods long distances contributes huge amounts of CO2 to the atmosphere, worsening climate change. We have to think about not just where we travel, but where every product we use or consume has had to travel. Local food can get a bit challenging in the Midwest during the winter months, but with microbreweries being an increasingly popular trend, it's getting easier and easier to buy beer locally. And yes, you can still dye it green if you want to.

Waste less. If you're hosting a party, ask everyone to bring their own cup. There's no reason to throw away so many plastic Solo cups. Likewise, if you're going somewhere else, take a cup with you. If you use any bottles or cans, return or recycle them. And if for some reason you do end up using plastic cups, here's a secret -- in many cities, you can recycle those too.

Tell all your friends about being green too. It's actually rather surprising to me that with all the green of St. Patrick's Day the holiday is not yet associated with environmental efforts. Maybe we can change that. What other ways can you think of to be green today? Leave us a comment with your ideas.

Post by Sierra Club Intern Liz Bizer

Friday Fun Fact

If we added all the water leaking in people's homes right now, it could fill one trillion gallons of milk jugs! That is the annual amount of water used by Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami combined.

Worldwide, many people survive on 3 gallons of water per day. In America, we can use that with one flush of the toilet.

Saving Water

A Filled Toilet Tummy, ready to install

Last night at the Sierra Club Great Lakes office in Detroit, we tied tags to toilet tummies, and that's the most alliteration you'll get from me today! A new Water Audit team is gearing up to visit homes and help owners look for ways to save water and money. The filled Toilet Tummy hangs inside the tank, precluding that amount of water from filling the tank (two quarts, maybe?) Proof that it works came when I removed the Tummy for the photo. Water level inside the tank fell enough to cause it to run a surprising period of time.

Want to do your own audit? Look at the Great Lakes Program's website. Here's a link to "use less water." Somewhat like not filling your tank when there's an ozone alert, not doing loads of laundry on rainy days reduces what's getting into the wastewater system. The home page of the website has a list of upcoming and past Detroit water events. Maybe your group can be inspired by ours?

The Emergency Activist team of Erma, Diane, Kevin, Barbara, fearless leader Melissa, and myself finished tagging toilet tummies in record time, took a pizza break, and started folding Water Audit Guides. Here's the Do The Math section, to figure how much water you use in a day. Figure:

Drinking and cooking: 2 gallons per person per day.

Toilet: Count flushes, multiply by size of your tank. In Detroit, we have lots of very old, very big toilets (needing Tummies).

Bath: 40 gallons per.

Shower: Multiply minutes by number of gallons your showerhead produces.

Brushing teeth with water on: well, NONE of us does this! Off, .25 gallon.

Washing machine: 45 gallons per load.

Dishwasher: 10 gallons per load.

Hand washing: 10-15 gallons.

Watering lawn: 140 gallons per hour. Yes, 140.

Happy saving!

Wednesday's Great Lakes Lover

Diane Dengate from Ferndale, MI LOVES the Great Lakes! Do you?

Do you love the Great Lakes?

We know the Great Lakes are a unique, beautiful, and vital resource. They provide habitat to thousands of species, nutrients to all kinds of ecosystems, drinking water for millions of people, excitement for explorers, and serenity to countless dreamers. There are a lot of us out there who love them. We live all over the region, come from different backgrounds, and have all kinds of different reasons for our love. The Great Lakes Program launched the "I Heart Great Lakes" project to visually illustrate this love for the Great Lakes.

Show your love!
Here's what you need to do:

1. Take a picture of yourself holding this sign and smile big!
2. Email your photo to sierraclubgreatlakes@gmail.com, include your full name, city, and state in the email message.
3. Congratulations, you've just shown your love for the lakes!

Have you already submitted your picture?

Make sure you take the Great Lakes pledge!!!

Take Action Tuesday: Great Lakes Pledge

Lake Michigan north of Racine, Wisconsin. Photo by Martha Jackson Oppeneer. Thanks, Martha!

World Water Day 2012 is coming up on March 22. This year's theme is Water and Food Security. Because we live among abundant water, it's appropriately on our minds in the region. We're revisiting the Great Lakes Pledge this Tuesday. Is there a step you haven't taken?

	Start using all non-toxic cleaners in your home (Every toxin you wash down the sink eventually ends up in a waterway treated or untreated. To be on the safe side, use non-toxic cleaners.
	Plant a tree in your yard (Trees are natural mini wastewater treatment plants. Their roots can take up pollutants from what is carried in rainwater and transform them into less harmful substances.)
	Connect rain barrels to your downspouts (Rain barrels are one of the best ways to collect and use rainwater.) Are there any rain barrel events in your area? (Could you start one?) Metro Detroit is having one on April 14.
	Add a rain garden to your yard (Like rain barrels, rain gardens use rainwater for plants instead of it just going down the stormdrain to the wastewater treatment plant or your local waterway.)
	Replace an old appliance in your home with a water-efficient one. (Save gallons and gallons every time you run your dishwasher, flush your toilet, or take a shower!) Baking soda, vinegar, and peroxide can clean just about anything. And itt's a good time of year to buy that new little tree and pick a spot for it. Take the Great Lakes Pledge here. If you've taken it in the past, add a step or refresh your commitment. And Check out World Water Day's website.

Should Products have Carbon-Footprint Labels?

Once upon a time, Lake Erie was not this ice-free in winter. Lack of ice cover can accelerate evaporation and reduce lake levels, as well as absorbing heat of the sun rather than reflecting it.

I've seen a few articles recently about a push in Great Britain to have carbon-footprint labels on products. An organization called The Carbon Trust ("a not-for-profit company whose mission is to accelerate the move to a low-carbon economy") is behind the labeling, designed to help you see "at a glance which products are working to reduce their carbon footprints." Not only the amount of energy that went into producing the food or item, but the packaging and delivery are included.

Isn't this a great idea? And why are many of the great ideas seeming now to originate elsewhere, especially in Great Britain? For years I've been reading about Plane Stupid, an organization that's successfully fought runway expansions at Heathrow and come up with startling ads about the carbon impact of air travel (and I do mean starting), a subject barely on the radar here in the U.S.

Googling "climate change and the Great Lakes" gives an impressive array of hits; this is an issue many are investigating. The Great Lakes Information Network is a good starting point. Their Climate Change page has links ranging from this year's lack of ice cover (which is allowing some island ferries to operate during times previously ice-bound) to the potential for invasive species getting a leg up with warmer temperatures. One of the links gives the dismaying fact that climate change is a rock-bottom priority with those surveyed. Those of us who "believe" have a great deal of work to do. Carbon footprints of food, goods, travel: those footprint labels would give demonstrable indication of what production of that item or service will contribute to our region.

Would you be interested in such labels? Would they affect what you buy?

The Carbon Trust's website is an interesting browse. You can look up familiar (and unfamiliar) brands and see a breakdown for that product. For example, 82% of the CO2 footprint of laundry detergent is through use and disposal, not through raw materials or delivery. Not what I'd have expected. And you'll see that some U.S. brands are already on board there, but not showing carbon footprints here.

How soon do you think the U.S. will have such a labeling system? Ever? And why are we lagging behind in the information race?

Photo and post by volunteer Rebecca Hammond