Four new partners have successfully competed to join the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research\u2019s Regional Consortium, further expanding CIGLR\u2019s capacity and expertise to understand, predict, and ultimately solve the critical issues facing the Great Lakes and surrounding communities.\u00a0With the addition of these new partner organizations, the CIGLR<\/a> Regional Consortium consists of twelve universities, four NGOs, and three businesses who partner with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in research and development activities that support NOAA\u2019s mission in the Great Lakes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The four new partners are Cleveland Water Alliance<\/a>, Lake Superior State University<\/a>, Michigan Technological University<\/a>, and Wayne State University<\/a>. These institutions were selected for membership because each brings a critical new element to the Regional Consortium.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hosted by the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) at the University of Michigan, CIGLR is a partnership\u00a0between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), universities, non-governmental organizations, and businesses. Together, we work to achieve environmental, economic, and social sustainability in the Great Lakes. CIGLR consists of a\u00a0Research Institute and a regional consortium.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n According to a recent report by the Chicago-based Environmental Law and Policy Center,<\/a><\/p>\n “Climate change is causing significant and far-reaching impacts on the Great Lakes and the Great Lakes region. In recent years, our planet has experienced, some of the warmest temperatures ever recorded, record-breaking weather extremes, powerful storms, increasing tragic flooding from rising sea levels and associated storm surge, huge wildfires, and continued melting of glaciers and polar sea ice. The accelerating pattern of changes in the Earth\u2019s climate is affecting the Great Lakes.”<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The report summarizes the threats to the Great Lakes posed by climate change:<\/p>\n “The Great Lakes<\/a>\u00a0contain 21% of the world\u2019s fresh water. About 34 million people rely on them for drinking water, jobs, recreation and their way of life. But heavy human use over the past two centuries has taken its toll in the forms of habitat loss and fragmentation, influxes of invasive species, and polluted air, water, and sediments. Soil and nutrient runoff from agricultural fields and concentrated animal feedlot operations (CAFOs) imperil water quality and wildlife populations in many parts of the basin, threatening public and wildlife health and the economic vitality of the region. Climatic changes now underway further stress these ecosystems, alternately raising and lowering lake levels and threatening the region in new ways.”<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Download the full report here<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\nImpacts of Climate Change on the Great Lakes<\/h3>\n
Practical Farmers of Iowa<\/h3>\n