Behind the Headlines

Really, it’s what they do.

I was too wimpy to let one latch onto my palm, but I did stick one of my fingers into the lamprey’s sucker hole to see what the little ridges were like.

I just returned Saturday night from the Great Lakes Environmental Journalism Training Institute, run through the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism. We went up to the University of Michigan Biological Station on the outskirts of Pellston in the north of the Lower Peninsula.

It was pretty informational and fantastic.

Aside from the lampreys, we learned about diatoms, biofuels, wind power, farming operations throughout the state, how the forest breathes, shore birds and global warming issues.

I’m sure as stories come up I’ll be sharing anecdotes or things I learned along the way. In the meantime, if anyone has questions about the environment and the Great Lakes, I can try to answer them or at least knowledgably point you to someone who can.