Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News
The Newsletter of the Great Lakes
Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund
Volume 8, Number 5 • September-October 2000
Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat NewsThe Newsletter of the Great Lakes
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According to a report recently released from the U.S. Global Climate Change Program, Minnesota has the most notable temperature increase in the Midwest. The report evaluated global warming’s impact on 20 geographical areas and was a combined effort of 250 scientists. The report also showed that precipitation has increased by 20% in some areas of Minnesota.
The scientists created 12 potential climate models to cover all possible variables and to make a variety of climate change predictions for the next century. Eleven of those models predicted significant water level drops for Lake Superior. The report also mentions a possible increase in “national and international tension related to increased pressure for water diversions from the Great Lakes as demands for water increase.” An overview of the document can be found online at www.gcrio.org/.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has also released some information to the public about global climate change and its impact on Minnesota. (http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/impacts/stateimp/minnesota/index.html). They also say we have some other fun things to look forward to in Minnesota. Namely, an increase in our mosquito population, a possible decline of forested areas by 50-70% (replaced by grasslands, which thrive in warmer weather), corn yields decline up to 34%, and a drop in surface water levels. Specific to this area, the report says, “Reduced fresh water in the Great Lakes could negatively affect shipping to and from Duluth, for example, primarily because of lower water levels in the shipping channels connecting the lower Great Lakes.”
Back in September, a key bill in Congress, labeled H.R. 1775 “The Estuary Restoration Act,” was showing clear signs of stalling and being shelved. The bill had the potential to bring millions of federal dollars to restoring our nation’s estuaries, including those associated with the Great Lakes, and would be one of the greatest environmental acts to be passed in years.
Due to partisan politics, a few key motivators of the bill, including Minnesota’s Representative Oberstar were in a position to let the bill sit without passing before this session’s closure.
Thanks to strong pressure from Minnesota citizens, local environmental groups and the National Environmental Trust (NET), the bill passed. Paul Blackburn, Regional Field Manager for NET, attributed much of the bill’s success to the tight grassroots environmental community of northern Minnesota. “Folks here still view the turning point in the process as being Representative Oberstar’s willingness to move the bill forward to a floor vote and they credit the Duluth community’s efforts as being the key element in this effort.” said Blackburn from his Washington D.C. office.
Since the 1980s, Eurasian ruffe fish have been the most abundant alien species collected from the bottom of the Duluth harbor. They’ve quickly spread their way far along Lake Superior’s shores.
Now researchers from Duluth’s University of Minnesota Sea Grant have released findings that could ultimately lead to the control of these aquatic vertebrates. Apparently, ruffe emit an alarm pheromone when they are injured that repels other ruffe. Pheromones are chemical signals that pass between organisms of the same species and are detected by an animal’s sense of smell. Fish use pheromones to coordinate activities, such as mating and schooling, in large bodies of water. Alarm pheromones signal the presence of potential danger. Learning to use this newly discovered smell of fear may finally give us a little control over these alien invaders.
For a free copy of the journal reprint, contact Minnesota Sea Grant at (218) 726-6191 or seagr@d.umn.edu.Ask for item number JR 462.
A three-day Women and Water Conference, recently hosted by the University of Minnesota, Duluth, successfully brought participants from around the nation. The conference explored environmental, educational and spiritual aspects of our water resources and included explorations to Lake Superior. Participants came from as far as California, Florida and even India.
Activists and citizens showed their stuff at a recent state Mining Conference in Duluth. With Governor Jesse Ventura in attendance at the conference, local citizens turned out for the rally in high number to share their concerns about the effects of mining on the environment.
Many of the expressed concerns were based on the fact that these mining operations haven’t had to adhere to the same pollution control standards of other industries and have gone unregulated in the realms of hazardous air pollutants. In recent EPA studies of mercury emissions into Lake Superior, one of the biggest holes in the data was due to the taconite industry giving little or no report on how much mercury they put into the environment.
The real peculiarity with this situation is that the taconite industry leads all other Lake Superior industries in emissions of mercury. Estimates have them assessed at cranking out around 800 pounds of mercury per year.
The good news is that the EPA and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency recently held a meeting in Duluth to give an update on the Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standard for the taconite industry. The MACT standard will finally begin to regulate hazardous air pollutants from these facilities.