R.O. Clark: communications specialist and advocate for sustainable maritime commerce on the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway.
To find out more about me and the issues I cover or to get media relations help for your maritime business, check out my about page.
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It’s not Great Lakes maritime, but I just got back from a trip to New York City and the New Jersey suburbs. Here are some photos from our tour of the USS LING at the New Jersey Naval Museum in Hackensack, NJ.
The USS LING was commissioned in 1945 for service in the Pacific. The war ended before the Ling saw action and the vessel was used mainly for training. It’s amazing, and a little scary, that these Balao Class Submarines had a crew of about 100.
I missed posting the end of last week. I was too involved with family time, seeing my husband for the first time in six weeks. But here’s a quick post about a very interesting movie coming to an IMAX near you! Gordon Lightfoot does the soundtrack and corporate sponsors include the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation and FedNav, among others.
Get more information at http://sciencenorth.ca/consumer-sites/mysteries-lakes/.
Come on over to the Great Lakes Town Hall where I’m this week’s guest blogger. My topic is environmental sustainability and Great Lakes shipping. I’ve hit on ballast water managment and also plan to address dredging and emissions.
“Raina Clark is an environmental communicator, maritime writer and part of a Coast Guard family. She’s a former US Coast Guard officer and her husband currently serves aboard the USCG Cutter Alder out of Duluth, Minnesota. ‘Sometimes I get a little envious of the stories and photos my husband brings back, but less so of the long hours and seemingly endless cruises.’
Instead, Raina stays on land as the half-time Environmental Sustainability Coordinator at the University of Wisconsin-Stout in Menomonie, Wisconsin.
‘I love being part of so many grassroots collaborations on campus, in the community and throughout the UW system. My job at UW-Stout is about creativity and people who want to make a difference.’ Raina manages campus environmental communications, monitors compliance with environmental initiatives and leads the campus sustainability committee. See the UW-Stout Environmental Sustainability website at www.uwstout.edu/sustainability.
‘The rest of my work week is spent on freelance projects. I’ve learned so much covering the Great Lakes for MarineNews and Maritime Reporter & Engineering News and like to take on the occasional media relations project.’ Raina also writes the Great Lakes Maritime Industry blog at www.roclark.com, focusing on issues like ballast water management, dredging, water levels and shipping markets.
Outside of work Raina explores new activities with her five-year old son (karate and theater this year) and squeezes in a few hours a week for her pet project, a memoir about her experience in the Coast Guard as the lone female on a remote Alaskan base.
You can visit Raina’s personal website at www.rainaclark.com.” Read my guest blog posts at Great Lakes Town Hall.
According to NOAA scientists, the basics of Great Lakes water levels are: Water levels are highest in spring as the winter’s snow pack melts and runs off into the lakes. Rain has a negligible effect on overall water levels, because most of it remains caught up in the cycle of evaporation/condensation/precipitation. The highest rate of evaporation occurs in winter when cold, dry air sweeps over the lakes. Heavy ice coverage is like a cap over the water helping to prevent some of that evaporation.
Consequently, low water levels are mainly a function of reduced snow pack and reduced ice coverage, both of which have occurred over the past several years. Recently, conditions have improved. However, water levels reflect the conditions of the last three or so years, so we are not out of the woods yet.
And there is always the effects of major dredging projects and diversions from Great Lakes waters to be considered.
Below are a number of resources on Great Lakes water levels and dredging issues:
The Lake Level is Falling: An article I wrote for the MarineNews April 2008 edition
Coalition of Shippers Seek Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund Fix
On April 30, 2008, the President of the Lake Carriers’ Association, James Weakley, testified before Congress on the need to use the Harbor Maintenance Tax to relieve the dredging crisis.
Press Release (2 page PDF)
James Weakley’s testimony (6 page PDF)
Questions arise over silt disposal in Maumee Bay, Toledoblade.com
Politicians and environmentalist are trying to get the Corps of Engineers to phase out its practice of dumping dredged material from Toledo’s inner harbor in Maumee Bay, 3 1/2 miles northwest of Toledo Harbor Light.
Tabled lake-level plan heats debate, DemocratandChronicle.com
Lake-level study could lead to action, Muskegon Chronicle
Lake Carriers’ Association release:
Dredging Crisis means No Growth: U.S.-Flag Great Lakes Fleet Cargo Total in March Even with a Year Ago, Greatlakesshipwatchers.com
New IUGLS Newsletter: On the Level
International Upper Great Lakes Study (IUGLS) was appointed by International Joint Commission to examine whether the regulation of Lake Superior outflows can be improved to address the evolving needs of the upper Great Lakes. The IUGLS now has a newsletter available at www.iugls.org/en/Newsletter.htm.
Here are some events to consider:
The Great Lakes and the Environment: Common Challenges and a shared future
The Canada Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Canada Institute on North American Issues presents The Honourable Jim Doyle, Governor of Wisconsin. Governor Doyle will present “The Great Lakes and the Environment: Common Challenges and a Shared Future,” at the C. Warren Goldring Annual Lecture on Canada-U.S. Relations
As chair of the Council of Great Lakes Governors, Governor Doyle will talk about the shared challenges that the United States and Canada face as stewards of the region’s economy and environment.
DETAILS: Friday, May 23, 2008. Luncheon Speech-11:45 am - 1:30 pm. Toronto Board of Trade, 1 First Canadian Place, Toronto.
RSVP to Canada_Institute@yahoo.ca or (416) 815-6272
Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative Annual Meeting & Conference-Cities of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence: Prosperity, Vitality, Sustainability
Registration is now open for the 2008 Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative Annual Meeting & Conference, entitled Cities of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence: Prosperity, Vitality, Sustainability. His Worship Mayor David Miller and the City of Toronto will be hosting the conference this year, which will be held July 16 – 18, 2008 in Toronto at the Sheraton Centre. For more information including a preliminary program and registration, please visit www.toronto.ca/greatlakes-stlawrence.
Raina Clark (Me!) featured as a Great Lakes Town Hall guest blogger, week of May 19, 2008
I was asked to be a guest blogger on the Great Lakes Town Hall website at www.greatlakestownhall.org/opinion/guest.php. I’ll post a short opinion each day, from Monday, May 19 through Friday, May 23. My topic is Great Lakes shipping and sustainability. Could shipping on the Great Lakes could ever be considered sustainable, either for the lakers or the salties? What would it take? Stop by and throw me a comment!
I’m back from a two week unplanned leave of absence from the blog. Life can get overwhelming when your husband’s out to sea and your left managing home, work and all those extra projects you took on!
So I’m introducing some order in hopes of making life a little more manageable:
This week’s miscellaneous includes:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Great Lakes National Program Office Grants
The EPA’s GLNPO has approximately $100,000 to support Lake Michigan Forum activities, including work with ports/harbors in the nearshore. Information about this and other funding opportunities is available at http://epa.gov/greatlakes/fund/current.html.
Inland Seas Education Association (ISEA) and the Great Lakes Water Studies Institute (GLWSI) 7th Annual Invasive Species Field Course
July 28-30, 2008 in Traverse City, Michigan
The Invasive Species Field Course has been developed to teach educators and environmental professional about invasive species in the Great Lakes region, and to prepare them to effectively teach their students, colleagues, and volunteers about invasive species. For course information and application materials, please visit http://www.schoolship.org/schoolship/?id=671.
The Great Lakes Regional Collaboration (GLRC) Executive Subcommittee Teleconference
Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Time: 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm Central Daylight Time
Call-In Number: 1-866-299-3188
Conference Code: 60604
Topics for Discussion:
R.S.V.P:
Please email Macara Lousberg (lousberg.macara@epa.gov) to let us
know whether you will be participating in the teleconference. Participation in the live call is limited to 125 callers.
Please see the GLRC Website for the latest information on the GLRC Initiatives http://glrc.us/initiatives/index.html), and for the summary of the previous Public Call (http://glrc.us/meetings/teleconferences/GLRCTeleconference02-19-2008.pdf).
New book: The Waters of Michigan, by David Lubbers and David Dempsey
A new book from Michigan State University Press provides a unique imagining of this most precious of commodities. The Waters of Michigan pairs the exquisite black-and-white photographs by art photographer David Lubbers of streams, wetlands, lakes, waterfalls, and the Great Lakes with information about the quantity, quality and uniqueness of Michigan ’s water resources. It’s a book that moves as it informs the reader about the state’s 11,000-plus lakes, thousands of river miles, and responsibility to the Great Lakes , which contain almost one-fifth of the world’s fresh water. Go to the books web page at http://msupress.msu.edu/bookTemplate.php?bookID=3388.
NASA Earth Observatory wins Web
