Fall color in the Huron
Fall color in the Huron

What is news to us this week? Browse the most recent newsletter from MiCorp for articles on water quality and monitoring.  Enjoy the change in season through a fall color tour.  An official disaster declaration will bring more support to parts of southeast Michigan still recovering from major flooding last month.  In national news, emerging contaminates pose unknown threats to our rivers.  And a global index ranks the United States among the lowest when it comes to willingness of individuals to engage in behaviors delicate on the environment. Not good.

The MiCorps Monitor: Fall 2014 The Fall newsletter produced by the Michigan Clean Water Corps is chock full of good articles on water quality, monitoring and invasive species that may be of interest to you. HRWC administers the statewide MiCorps program which uses volunteers to collect data to monitor the condition of rivers and lakes throughout the state.

Fall colors changing fast in Michigan: Here are the peak color areas right now Autumn is upon us bringing with it the beauty of our state’s fall color change.  See where fall color is peaking now and when to expect peak color in southeast Michigan.  Leaf drop is an important event for aquatic ecosystems bringing high quality nutrients and organic matter to our rivers and streams.

Obama OKs flood disaster aid for metro Detroit Michigan has now received an official disaster declaration from the Obama administration after severe rainfall led to extensive flood damage in the Detroit area on August 11th.  This declaration makes additional financial assistance to households affected by the rains and to help municipalities rebuild affected infrastructure such as road and stormwater pipes. Damages from this annual 0.1% chance (or often referred to as the 100 year storm) rain event is estimated at more than $1.1 billion.

A Rising Tide of Contaminants New chemicals and compounds are being developed and produced at a break neck pace, leaving regulators way behind on the evaluation of the human and environmental impacts of these substances. The federal regulation governing these substances, the Toxic Substances Control Act, has not been updated since going into effect in 1976. Contaminants are making their way into our waterways with unknown ecosystem health effects.

8 Surprising, Depressing, and Hopeful Findings From Global Survey of Environmental Attitudes A recent survey gaged the environmental attitudes and behaviors of individuals in 18 nations.  Sadly, American’s are not doing so well. The worst, actually, among the eighteen. And people in emerging economies such as Brazil and India are far more likely to adopt green behaviors than those in established economies such as England and Germany.