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.

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.

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.

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!

So I’m introducing some order in hopes of making life a little more manageable:

• Expect posts once a week, between Thursday and Saturday
• I will focus on a particular topic each week, providing commentary and multiple resources on a single issue (ballast water management, water levels, mariner regulations, ect.)
• As time allows I will slap up miscellaneous posts about events, funding opportunities and the like

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:

• Update on GLRC Initiatives
• Future actions on GLRC Initiatives
• Continuing follow-up from previous Public Call
• Questions and Comments from Stakeholders

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 Webby Award-science category
Just because it’s one of my favorite websites, and occasionally makes it into this blog with satellite photos of the Great Lakes…Check out the observatory at http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Observatory/. You can see other Webby Award winners at www.webbyawards.com.

The Markets:

• ArcelorMittal to Increase U.S. Prices by $250 a Ton (Update3), Bloomberg.com
• USDA says wheat and soybean plantings up, corn down, Seaway Channel blog
• U.S. grain export inspections up, seaway grain readies for strong opening, Seaway Channel blog

Port development:

• Melford International Terminal expected to bring containers into the Seaway, Great Lakes Maritime Industry blog
• Costa Rica may start shipping to Port of Cleveland, WKYC.com
• Port eyes shipping expansion-Cleveland and Toledo could be system hubs, Ohio.com
• Five questions for Randy Campbell, Campbell Trade Group, Inc. and Administrator of Foreign Trade Zone #8 for the Toledo Lucas County Port Authority, Seaway Channel blog
• Unusual ore deal gains City nod-Algoma Steel plans for unused dock, sooeveningnews.com
• Detailed 2007 Seaway traffic report, Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System

First salties of 2008:

• The First “Saltie” in Port of Thunder Bay: M/V Federal Polaris, Lake Superior News
• Toledo opens welcomes first ocean vessel of the season, Seaway Channel blog
• Twin Ports welcome first ocean vessel of 2008, Seaway Channel blog

Environmental impacts:

• Seaway Channel Poll: rate the chances that ocean vessels will be banned on the Great Lakes?
• Great Lakes invaders: Will banning ocean-going ships halt problem? The Hamilton Spectator
• Ocean Shipping In the Great Lakes-Phase I & II, study by Seidman College of Business, Grand Valley State University
• Study: Great Lakes ’salties’ ban may create jobs, Muskegon Chronicle
• St. Lawrence among America’s most endangered rivers-ancient management plans threaten iconic waterway, savetheriver.org
• Save the River protests Seaway opening-Environmental group says early start to season poses many problems, Watertown Daily Times

The finished product will be a deepwater container terminal and logistics park. The article, by editor Janenne Irene Pung, reported that it will be the most convenient North American terminal to Europe and the Suez Canal and a transfer point for container traffic from Asia and the Indian sub-continent traveling via the Seuz Canal.

A 315-acre greenfield has been secured for the terminal portion of the project and rights to develop a 1,500-acre logistics park next to the terminal have also been obtained. Environmental assessments have been completed and groundbreaking is scheduled for mid 2008. Phase one of the project included extending the Canadian railway to the terminal.

Bob Stevens, CEO of the Melford International Terminal was quoted as saying, “We feel very comfortable that we’ll obtain the required equity to meet the debt-equity ratios.

Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) Administrator, Terry Johnson, told the Great Lakes Seaway Review, “It’s early in the game right now, but Melford is very well positioned and advised…It’s real and it’s going to happen.”

In order to take advantage of potential container traffic resulting from the new terminal, both the SLSDC and it’s Canadian counterpart, the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC), are encouraging Great Lakes and Seaway ports to make the necessary infrastructure changes. “To have effective transhipment, there needs to be a distribution point in the Great Lakes,” Johnson told the magazine. “It would make sense to me for it to be in Ohio. It’s going to involve ports having the proper intermodal access so the distribution can be done efficiently.”

Georgiopoulos is Chairman and Chief Executive of General Maritime, a tanker company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and also Chairman of the Board of Genco Shipping & Trading Limited, a drybulk shipping company whose shares trade on the Nasdaq National Market.

In December 2006, he was named as the new Chairman of Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. (AMPNI) upon the completion of the company’s initial public offering (IPO) in New York. Prior to this appointment, he was said to have taken a 25% stake in AMPNI together with John P. Tavlarios, president and chief executive of General Maritime.

Speaking about his latest venture, Green Maritime Partners (GMP), Georgiopoulos said: “Environmental reform in the maritime industry is becoming a critical issue. GMP also intends to fund promising projects in the clean energy area outside of the maritime industry. I am proud to be part of this important initiative.”

In the maritime industry, Green Maritime Partners’ will fund businesses dedicated to emissions reduction, energy efficiency, environmental remediation and other sensitive issues, according to a statement.

The fund, which claims to be the first of its kind, will target ‘green’ initiatives with investment sizes ranging from $5 to 20 million.

Investments will be evaluated and prioritised “based on their commercial viability and proximity to income generation,” the company stated.

Georgiopoulos will serve as Founder and Chairman of Green Maritime Partners LLC, while co-founder Chris Teryazos, an investment banker, will be responsible for its operations.

NASA’s Earth Observatory brings us this image of curling clouds as warm and cold elements meet above the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Winter had started to release its grip on the Gulf of St. Lawrence when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this photo-like image on April 7, 2008. Swirling clouds over chunky fields of sea ice ­provide a stark contrast to the deep black water of the gulf….

Located in eastern Canada, the Gulf of St. Lawrence owes many of its unique characteristics to its geography. Sea water flows into and out of the gulf through only two channels. Currents and tides sweep cold, Arctic seawater through the narrow Strait of Belle Isle in the north. In the south, the wider Cabot Strait admits warmer water from the Atlantic Gulf Stream. With no other outlet to the Atlantic, the Gulf of St. Lawrence is relatively isolated. Fresh water from numerous rivers mingles with salty sea water, creating the brackish water found in estuaries… Read more.

I love NASA’s Earth Observatory e-newsletter, full of images and info about the planet. You can subscribe to it by going to http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov.

The Earth Observatory has been nominated for a Webby Award in the “Science” category. They’re in the running for a People’s Voice Award (in the “Society > Science” category) that is determined by public popular vote .If you’re a fan of the Earth Observatory, vote for them at the Webby Award site at http://pv.webbyawards.com/.