The Chicago Sun-Times reports that a new study of bird DNA will likely have a major impact on our understanding of bird evolution and scientific classification.  Excerpts and link:

The five-year study — in which two Field Museum evolutionary biologists took part — is expected to transform conventional thinking about how birds evolved, those involved in the project say.

“It pretty much flies in the face, no pun intended, of the traditional thoughts of how birds are related,” said Sushma Reddy, a Field Museum scientist and one of the lead authors of the study.

Scientists spent the last five years examining the DNA of all major living bird groups, Reddy said. Recent technological advances made the mammoth study possible, said Shannon Hackett, another Field Museum scientist involved in the study.

The study results are so broad that the scientific names of dozens of birds will have to be changed, said Greg Borzo, a museum spokesman. Biology textbooks and birders’ field guides will also need to be revised, he said.

Among the more astounding discoveries: Falcons are not, as previously thought, closely related to hawks and eagles; tropicbirds — white, swift-flying ocean birds — aren’t closely related to pelicans and other birds; and the tiny, jewel-bright hummingbird evolved from the drab, nocturnal nightjar.

Reddy said the rearranging of the avian evolutionary tree is as shocking as someone discovering their cousin is actually their brother.

More here…

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1027470,CST-NWS-birds27.article

The Cleveland Plain Dealer has a very nice photo tour of the Lake Erie Islands:

http://blog.cleveland.com/travel/2008/06/tour_lake_eries_island_region.html

Good Morning Blog Readers!

I will be in Washington D.C. for the next week.  I can almost guarantee that I’ll be within internet contact during that time.  But just be aware that the posts might look a little bit different.

Thanks for Reading!

Mike

Several news articles passed through my Google reader recently covering the Canadian lawsuit vs. American DTE plants.  This is a new legal tactic that could greatly impact development in Michigan.  Conversely, it could also improve our state’s environment.

Excerpts and links:

Port Huron Times Herald:

Edwards filed the lawsuit against DTE in March. He claims releases from DTE’s St. Clair and Belle River power plants have poisoned “the St. Clair River with dangerous amounts of mercury.” The levels violate Canada’s Fisheries Act, a law more stringent than U.S. environmental laws, Edwards claims in his lawsuit.

This is the first case of a foreign company being charged with violating a Canadian environmental law.

Simons said DTE hasn’t been officially notified of the court hearing.

“We haven’t been served legally,” he said. “They have to serve us in Canada, and we don’t have any operations in Canada.”

Asked if DTE won’t be present at the hearing if they aren’t served, Simons said “pretty much.”

“We’ll see what happens, but right now we haven’t been served,” he said Friday.

Edwards said if DTE representatives don’t show up for the court date, he will ask the court to move ahead with setting a trial date.

“They’re pretty much closing their eyes and pretending it will go away, and that’s just not going to happen,” he said.

http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080629/NEWS01/806290303/1002/rss

Detroit News:

After decades of relative cooperation between the nations on either side of the river, border battles over environmental issues are becoming increasingly contentious. DTE officials will appear in a Canadian court July 7 to answer charges concerning how its plants’ mercury emissions have affected Canada’s waters and soils downstream.

DTE’s court date next month will be a rare sight — an American company being tried in Canada — but one that may become more common as both nations move away from traditional bilateral negotiation that was once hailed as a model for the rest of the world.

Some legal experts trace these changes to the Bush White House and what they see as the government’s go-it-alone approach to dealing with the environment. And there are varying ideas about whether the trend is a good thing.

“The Bush administration has been less interested in solving trans-boundary issues through diplomacy and bilateral cooperation than previous administrations,” said Noah Hall, an international law expert at Wayne State University. “They haven’t taken the diplomatic bilateral approach, and people have been left with no other option than to go to court.”

Previously, disputes have been resolved through groups like the International Joint Commission or the Center for Environmental Cooperation, which was established as part of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

“Courts are fairly limited in what they are able to do,” said Marcia Valiante, a professor of environmental law at the University of Windsor. “They play a certain role and have certain remedies they can offer. But not all are going to be at the table to offer their point of view.

“When you negotiate and work out a resolution, there is more balance in terms of meeting everyone’s interests.”

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080627/METRO/806270382/1409/METRO

The E. Delhi Rd. Bridge might just be the most picturesque bridge in Southeast Michigan.  As it crosses the Huron River, visitors experience tremendous views of our region’s best stretch of whitewater.  All around, high river bluffs box the location.  The bridge itself is historic, with wood beams instead of a concrete surface.

The Ann Arbor News has a report about the bridge, its rehabilitation and the people who are making it happen.  Excerpts and link:

Residents in the Delhi Mills area agreed to foot the costs of the maintenance of the structure, which is scheduled to start its rehabilitation in July.

Closed in 2005 because it was unsafe, neighbors in the area set up a conservancy and Cook, along with members of the conservancy, put together the paperwork and research to have the area declared a historic district.

The bridge over the Huron River is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its engineering, “as one of only a few surviving late 19th century, pin-connected Pratt through truss highway bridges of wrought iron construction in Michigan,” according to information provided by Jones.

Midwest Bridge Co. was awarded the contract for the about $1.2 million project and is expected to begin work at the end of July.

http://blog.mlive.com/annarbornews/2008/06/group_effort_saves_east_delhi.html

Mary Quinley of the Booth News Service has a good overview of attractions in and around Niagara Falls:

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y — Nearly three decades had passed when my husband yearned to return to Niagara Falls. At first, I resisted: I’m not fond of wax figurines and bizarre collections.

However, I admit the falls themselves never fail to impress.

So, I reconsidered. My partner and I would go back to the falls. This time, our mission was to scour both sides of the U.S.-Canada border in search of elegant and atypical gems.

Shame on us for waiting so long.

More here…

http://www.mlive.com/travel/index.ssf/2008/06/niagara_falls_dual_nature_expe.html

The image above is from IDuke at the Wikimedia Commons.  Click below for more information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:IDuke

Those visiting the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in the next few weeks might want to help the area recover from an aftereffect of the “hundred year floods” that plagued Mason and Manistee Counties.  The floods washed an enormous amount of debris into Lake Michigan.  Northward lake currents have brought some of that debris to SBDNL beaches.

Leelanau Enterprise excerpt and link:

Currents moving northward have left enough trash on Lakeshore beaches to catch the attention of the Friends of Sleeping Bear advocacy organization, which coincidently had begun an “adopt a beach” program just last fall.

Members of the Friends group’s Board of Directors learned at a meeting Sunday that some 20 people signed up for the Adopt a Beach program just in time to start tackling the extra messes found along the Lakeshore’s sandy beaches.

Good news: Some 15 million gallons of raw sewage released from a treatment plant in the Ludington area that was overwhelmed by a flood have not been detected in Lakeshore beaches. A health advisory was issued for Hamlin Lake, created by a dam on the Pere Marquette River. Lake Michigan beaches even near Ludington remain open.

[Note: This is especially good news for backpackers in the region who filter their water.]

http://www.leelanaunews.com/blog/2008/06/29/trash-washes-ashore-in-empire/

Regular readers of this blog probably already know that I love the City of Luna Pier along Monroe County’s southern shore.  The city is just different from every other town in the region.  It has a publicly-accessible shorefront, cool, almost-European narrow streets and a few interesting restaurants/stores.

One thing that I think is absolutely essential for Luna Pier, long-term, is the creation of a Lake Erie Trail.  The city has a reasonably large DNR marsh to the north of town and the Woodtick Peninsula to the south.  In between, a visitor finds the Harold Street bikepath, a half-mile plus pier AND an existing old railroad bridge that could connect them all together.

If the right things happen, Luna Pier could become a MAJOR birding/trail/tourist town.  Click to the left for some Luna Pier hikes.  Click below for Joshua Kennedy’s fantastic Monroe Evening News article about Luna Pier and its future:

What began in the early 1900s as a Lake Erie resort has morphed into its own little city since incorporating in 1963. It may be one of Monroe County’s brightest jewels if the new administration can move mountains and somehow get the nearly 1,500 residents to join their cause.

“We are the very first real exit on I-75 as you’re coming into Michigan from Ohio, and we’re the last stop as you leave Michigan,” says Mayor Liske, who assumed office in January. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a true destination here,where people would come over the viaduct (heading east) and the first thing they see is the lake? What if we lined that road all the way with little shops, just the right vendors, who each kick in things that would represent the entire state?” she asks just about anyone who will listen.

“The majority of our tax base comes from Consumers Energy,” Mayor Liske said, referring to the coal-burning power plant just a few miles south of the city. “That plant has maybe 10 or 15 years of life left, with no guarantee when it will use up its life, or whether they’ll rebuild.”

“We need to build up something that will give us a tax base so we can be sustainable in the future,” Mayor Liske said. “People here have always resisted that. They like the town the way it is.”

More here…

http://www.monroenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080629/NEWS01/165261344/-1/NEWS_RSS

The Chicago Sun-Times has a good story about the Megabus.  Megabus is a British company that offers low-priced bus service between many midwestern cities with a Chicago hub.  $50 is the HIGHEST price possible for a round-trip between Chicago and Detroit.

Excerpts and link:

Megabus is popular because you can get a one-way ticket for as little as $1.50, depending on when you buy it. The earlier you book, the cheaper the ticket. My $16 round-trip fare was booked three weeks in advance.

Regular Megabus riders point out that classic bus riffraff (think “Midnight Cowboy”) is eliminated because you need to pay by credit card.

No-frills Megabus is cheap because it keeps its expenses low. My bus has six small television screens. None of them is on. There are no Megabus stations. Riders wait on city sidewalks, rain or shine. Megabus is like a B.L.T. sandwich without the tomato.

Chicago food historian Peter Engler has made about 25 round trips on Megabus. Engler, who doesn’t have a car, takes Megabus to sample regional cuisine in Detroit, Milwaukee and Toledo, where he had a “Double Goopie” hamburger at the Green Lantern diner.

“Considering the price, Megabus service is great,” he said. “On my second trip ever the bus caught on fire before they let people on. It was right outside Union Station. There weren’t any flames, but the fire department came and sprayed foam all over the back. The bus actually drove away and they had another bus there within 15 minutes. It still got into Milwaukee on time. That impressed me.”

“We’re at triple-digit growth,” Moser said. He said $50 is the most you can pay for a round-trip ticket between Chicago and Detroit; $24 is the highest price between Chicago and Milwaukee.

http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/hoekstra/1029985,TRA-News-Detours29.article

Megabus link:

http://www.megabus.com/us/schedules/index_midwest.php

Greg Chandler of the Grand Rapids Press has a good review of a dune restoration and trail project in and around Holland State Park.  Excerpts and link:

PARK TOWNSHIP — Construction is under way on an Ottawa County parks project to stabilize the Mount Pisgah dune overlooking Lake Michigan and Holland State Park.

The project, which will include construction of a trail, boardwalks, stairs and overlook decks by Rockford Construction Co., has an expected Oct. 1 completion, said John Scholtz, director of the Ottawa County Parks and Recreation Commission.

While area residents and visitors have walked on the 157-foot-high dune for many years, the Mount Pisgah project aims to preserve their views of Lake Michigan, Holland State Park and Lake Macatawa while putting a stop to dune erosion from thousands of people walking on it, said Curt Ter Haar, coordinator of park planning and development for the county.

Mount Pisgah is part of the Park 12 properties, an area of about 60 acres of separate parcels near the state park.

The land’s ownership was disputed for decades, until a 2006 agreement between Ottawa County and a group of cottage owners confirmed the county’s ownership.

The project includes construction of a pathway on state park property, from Ottawa Beach Road to the base of the boardwalk. About 490 feet will be paved and an additional 375 feet will consist of stone and gravel, parks planner Jonathan Nagel said.

In addition, the project will include about 850 feet of boardwalks and stairs that will get visitors off the dune surface while preserving views, Nagel said.

http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2008/06/post_13.html