Great Lakes

Lake Michigan lost 52 pounds

Listen to Your Lakes beach sweepers helped clean up 40 pounds of garbage and 12 pounds of recyclables today on Lake Michigan's 12th Street Beach.  A broken chair, kite, t-shirt and glass bottles were among the items taken out of the water and properly disposed.  We found about 20 cigarette butts which is a significantly lower number than this time last year!

"It was really nice to get outside to the beach again!" said Sandy Somodi, Great Lakes coordinator.  "And a great way to welcome in spring!"

back to the beach

Today at noon Shedd Aquarium volunteers will venture out to 12th Street Beach for the first beach clean up of the season.  We like to take a "hands on" approach to protecting our Great Lakes on beautiful days like today!  We collect garbage and recycleable materials and record everything we find.

One interesting stat to watch out for will be the cigarette butt count.  Last year, a smoking ban was implemented which prohibits citizens from smoking on all Chicago Park District land which includes beaches and parks.  So in theory we should not find any cigarette butts on the beach today.  But we will keep you posted on what we find.

Fascinating Great lakes Region

Today's blog is written by Melanie Napoleon, Director of Great Lakes conservation

As we think “Green” during this time of year, there are many issues was can focus our attention on.  But for me, I find that the environment that I live in, and the condition it is in, is the most important and relevant area to focus my attention on.  That environment is the Great Lakes region.

Here at Shedd Aquarium we recognize that there is no price tag for fresh drinking water for the 42 million people around the Great Lakes region.  There is no way to measure the value of childhood memories fishing, boating and playing around the beaches of these magnificent bodies of water.  That is precisely why we feel such a strong sense of duty to educate the public on how they can become involved in the protection of these invaluable waters.

So as you think about Earth Day, what is important to you, and what you might be able to do differently to make a positive difference, think about our Great Lakes – what do they mean to you?

Earth Day Celebration

Come see the Listen to Your Lakes team tomorrow at Daley Plaza from 10 am - 3 pm to celebrate Earth Day.  We will be talking about Great Lakes conservation and sharing green tips you can use at home.

To get you started here are a couple of water conservation tips to try this week:

• Fill your dishwasher completely before running it.
• Thaw your foods at room temperature instead of using water.
• Water your garden early in the morning to avoid evaporation in the midday heat.
• Use grey water from a rain barrel or sink to use in the garden.
• Fix that leaky faucet (finally) in honor of Earth Day!

1 million pills, 1 million pounds

Today the EPA kicked off Earth Week by challenging Illinois to get involved in protecting our drinking water.  The challenge is called 1 million pills, 1 million pounds and the idea is to collect 1 million expired or unused pharmaceuticals and 1 million pounds of "techno trash" to keep these substances out of our Great Lakes!  In honor of Earth Week, take this time to look around your home for broken electronics or expired pharmaceuticals to recycle.

Did you know, your old computer monitor may contain between 4 - 6 pounds of lead??  If just 100 people throw out an old computer monitor that could mean 600 pounds of lead could potentially leak into Lake Michigan.  Now remember that Chicago alone is home to over 3 million people!

Flush that habit!

Flushing pharmaceuticals down the toilet is a thing of the past.  Let's keep our drinking water clean by keeping unnecessary substances out of our waterways.  Here are a few things to consider when disposing of old medication:

• Take your pharaceuticals to a community collection site where the proper authority can manage the waste.  This ensures that the drugs will not be released into our waterways.  To find a site around the Great Lakes basin click here.
• Place old pills in an unmarked container and throw the container in the trash if you cannot find a community collection site.
• Remove labels from prescription bottles to protect your personal information.

Putting Chicago to the test

The Chicago Tribune and Redeye newspapers teamed up to see what was in Chicago's drinking water.  The independent lab hired by the two newspapers found trace amounts of pharmaceuticals like pain killers and anti-seizure medication. The investigation did not point to whether our drinking water was unsafe or not but it does provide a platform for further research.  Read the full article here.

Listen to Your Lakes encourages everyone to find a community collection site that properly disposes of unused pharmaceuticals.  It's just as important to keep these drugs out of our Great Lakes as it is toxic chemicals like fertilizers or gasoline.

Did you know...

... that Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are actually one lake?  The large bodies of water are connected by the Mackinac Strait which is at least 3 miles wide.  Water levels fluctuate in all of the lakes but Lake Michigan and Lake Huron have nearly identical water levels.  If the early North American explorers had not assumed that the bodies of water were separate, Lake Michigan would have been known as the largest Great Lake!  But instead that title goes to Lake Superior. 

4 down, 4 to go

It looks like Wisconsin will be the next Great Lakes state to formally enact the Great Lakes Compact into law.  Governor Jim Doyle called a special legislative session to discuss the Compact and announced that he is ready to sign.  This announcement provided relief to many who feared that the regional agreement would need to be reworded.  Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and New York have all signed the Compact into law.

Click here to read more

Yellow perch

In the 1980's the yellow perch population was at an all time high.  Due to rising populations of invasive species like roundy goby, spiny water flea and fish hook water flea, the yellow perch populations began to suffer.  In the mid 1990's state level governments reduced the limits for anglers and closed most commercial fisheries for yellow perch on the Great Lakes in an attempt to revive the ailing populations.

Now some fishermen are hopeful that the yellow perch populations are on the rise.  Great Lakes experts are urging the public to proceed with caution, though.  The forecast for an increase looks promising but wait until professionals fishery biologists have solid research.

Click here to read more about the current debate on yellow perch populations