Unlike Silicon Valley’s ascent, which was significantly bolstered by steady public research funding—federal investment, for instance, paid 25 percent of the cost of developing the transistor—Great Lakes blue economy development is taking shape in an era of resistance to US government research outlays.
blue economy
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Thunder Bay is bringing its Great Lake shoreline back
Thunder Bay’s shoreline has seen decades of pollution, but an agreement between Canada and the U.S. has seen massive investments of time and money to clean it up.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Are data centers a threat to the Great Lakes?
One of the poorest cities in Michigan has a proposed $3 billion data center as a potential lifeline — but environmentalists and locals warn of high costs to water, climate and community.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Safe for Michigan farms or poison? Battle intensifies over future of Roundup
With the election of President Donald Trump, the conflict over glyphosate’s risks and benefits entered a new realm of confrontation that has the potential to alter its stature as the favored chemical tool in agriculture, the largest user of fresh water in the blue economy of Michigan and the Great Lakes.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Will the money come to finish the Soo Lock expansion in Michigan?
The lock construction is facing an upcoming financial deadline. Under the current Continuing Resolution budget in Washington, the money for the new lock needs to be allocated before Sept. 25.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
An $80M cleanup made Muskegon Lake trendy. Will 'eco-gentrification' follow?
Once ringed by polluting factories, Muskegon Lake has attracted a wealthier clientele to blue-collar Muskegon thanks to a taxpayer-funded cleanup. Cheers about the economic gains are mixed with fear that the lakeshore will become ‘a gated community.’
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Keeping the $5.5 billion Michigan fishery afloat
Research on all kinds of fish is conducted in labs around the Great Lakes region. The different state agencies have agreed to a Joint Strategic Plan that compiles their data to provide a big picture of the fisheries in the lakes.