Spartan Newsroom (https://news.jrn.msu.edu/category/news/environment/page/2/)
WARMER FALL: Early fall temperatures in Michigan will likely be higher than average, according to a National Weather Service meteorologist in Grand Rapids, but are predicted to return to normal for the winter if long-term predictions hold up. By Ruth Thornton. FOR ALL POINTS.
RARE BUTTERFLIES: John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids and MSU researchers are part of an international partnership acing to save a small, inconspicuous – and rare – butterfly known as the Poweshiek skipperling that was once so common in Midwest prairies that collectors largely ignored them. By Ruth Thornton. FOR ALL POINTS.
DETROIT BEES: A Detroit couple is popularizing beekeeping in the city, which they say can transform vacant and blighted lots to benefit residents and the pollinators. Their nonprofit program, Detroit Hives, has a grant to expand its work to use pollinator habitats to facilitate food security, activate abandoned areas and promote environmental justice By Jada Vasser. FOR ALL POINTS.
RARE TURTLES: The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has given Michigan and Ohio $500,000 to help save the rare Blandings and spotted turtles. A Michigan Natural Features Inventory expert discusses. By Ruth Thornton. FOR ALL POINTS
HUNGRY WOLVES: The National Park Service is warning campers on Isle Royale that the island’s growing wolf population is scavenging for food. We also hear from a DNR expert. By Gabrielle Nelson. FOR ALL POINTS.
ELECTRONIC WASTE: Michigan’s electric vehicle future will require millions of batteries, hundreds of thousands of charging stations and moving the state to renewable sources of energy. One important source of some critical minerals needed for that future remains under-tapped: recycled old electronic waste. Delhi Township collects e-waste. Experts from Michigan Tech phe Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and the Argonne National Laboratory explain. By Gabrielle Nelson. FOR ALL POINTS.
HEAT WAVE: Extreme heat events in the Great Lakes region will only become more frequent as climate change warms the oceans, lakes and air, a U-M climate expert says. And the earlier that heat waves start each season, the more there may be in the months to come. By Elinor Epperson. FOR ALL POINTS.
CONTAMINATED PLUME: Gelman Sciences manufactured medical filters for decades, but dioxane from the Scio Township plant leaked into Ann Arbor’s groundwater, creating a plume of contamination more than 4 miles long. Gelman had been dumping the chemical since 1966, and 40 years after its discovery the plume is larger than ever. By Elinor Eppeson. FOR ALL POINTS.
DRONES & SNAKES: Faculty and student researchers from Grand Valley State University are using a drone-mounted camera to locate the rare and secretive eastern massasauga rattlesnake, Michigan’s only venomous snake. We go into the field with them near Hastings to see how it’s done. By Ruth Thorton. FOR ALL POINTS.
INVASIVE CRAYFISH: – Researchers are exploring new techniques to remove an invasive crayfish from Michigan waters. The DNR has been fighting an invasion of red swamp crayfish since they first appeared in the state in 2017 but aggressive attempts to trap and remove the crustacean haven’t worked. By Elinor Epperson. FOR ALL POINTS.