|
NEMWI to Address "Profound Lack of Data" on Invasion Risk from Ships
|
The Northeast-Midwest Institute (NEMWI) recently launched, with support from the Great Lakes Protection Fund, a major new project to assess effectiveness of various ballast discharge standards at preventing aquatic organism invasions in the Great Lakes. The $1 million, 2-year effort through the Institute's Great Ships Initiative will directly address what the National Research Council (NRC) in its 2011 report, Assessing the Relationship Between Propagule Pressure and Invasion Risk in Ballast Water, termed "a profound lack of data and information." Currently, State ballast discharge standards in the Great Lakes region differ by up to three orders of magnitude. Environmentalists claim that national and international standards are too weak given the huge volumes of ballast water involved. Shipping interests claim that tighter standards may cripple their industry and delay environmental protection. The debate revolves around an unknown: How clean is "clean enough" to prevent new invasions? The Institute, in collaboration with state, federal and global academic experts, will generate a detailed plan and the first primary empirical data to assess the degree of protection from invasion risk that is afforded by the range of ballast discharge standards currently in regulatory play in the Great Lakes region. The effort accords with recommendations of the NRC for a national research effort, and will assure that Great Lakes realities are at the forefront of that effort.
For more information, contact Allegra Cangelosi, President of the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
|
|
Great Lakes River Mouths: Most Valuable as a Boxed Set?
|
The Northeast-Midwest Institute, with support from the Great Lakes Protection fund, will investigate options for strategic care and use of Great Lakes river mouths to boost their environmental and economic outputs for the region. The work will culminate in a scoping report for the region's policy-makers. As a network, Great Lakes river mouths are ecological and hydrological workhorses capable of securing the quality and quantity of the region's water supply, aquatic wildlife, and rich upland soil resources over time. They also offer unmatched transportation, recreation, quality of life, and industry opportunities to the region. Synergies associated with a region-wide network of interdependent and environmentally compatible river mouth uses could yield significant and long lasting local and regional benefits. The project will help the region capitalize on the largely latent assets afforded by the network of Great Lakes river mouths as the region pursues economic recovery and Great Lakes restoration.
For more information, contact Allegra Cangelosi, President of the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
|
|
NEMWI Note to the Coalitions: Population Change in the Region's Largest Cities
|
The 2010 decennial census shows that the populations of the Northeast and Midwest regions of the United States continue to grow slowly relative to the South and West. This trend accounts for steady losses in the number of the Northeast-Midwest region's congressional seats. However, population growth within the Northeast-Midwest region has not been uniformly sluggish. In particular, a closer look at the Northeast-Midwest region's largest cities reveals that some cities have enjoyed population growth while other cities' populations have held steady or plummeted dramatically over time. This Note to the Coalitions, "Inside the Northeast-Midwest: Population Change in the Region's Largest Cities," summarizes the story that U.S. Census Bureau data can tell about how the populations of the region's largest cities-and in some cases, their metro areas-have fared since the 1950s, when many Northeast-Midwest cities' populations were at their peak. It also offers possible explanations for divergent patterns of population change among these cities.
For more information, contact Colleen Cain, Senior Policy Analyst at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
|
