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We are all Lake Erie

Marc Lefkowitz  |  08/02/18 @ 11:00am  |  Posted in Climate, Water, Shaping the land

A recent exchange with a colleague about the health of Lake Erie ended in something of a stalemate. We both shared concerns about water quality and environmental degradation and how the lake, our drinking water supply, will be affected by harmful algae blooms, climate change-induced weather, and the creation of artificial reefs off the coast of Cleveland from the soil...

Wild and pristine<br />At its best, as in this view at Mentor Headlands State Park, Lake Erie appears clean and clear and awesome as an ocean. Place of contemplation<br />The sun sets to the northwest over Lake Erie in the summer.Armored shoreline<br />The Lake Erie coastal zone is a dynamic place where one person's shoreline protection can undermine a neighbor's property.Off limits<br />Northeast Ohioans might have a stronger connection to Lake Erie if public access were not so limited. Toxic algae returns<br />Algal blooms were thought to be part of Lake Erie's polluted past, but a huge outbreak of the green scum covering much of the western and central basins of the lake in October 2011 was an indication that over-enrichment of nutrients from runoff is still a problem. (NASA satellite image)

The long view: How University Circle flood became an issue of regional concern

Marc Lefkowitz  |  04/17/18 @ 4:00pm  |  Posted in Climate, Land, Water

Sunday's rains flooded out parts of Cleveland—cars were seen literally floating along Euclid Avenue, that is, if they could reach University Circle at all with multiple road closures causing a Monday morning ruckus. By Tuesday, the area dodged another episode as rain turned to snow. Before the next spring torrent arrives, let’s talk about what extreme weather events like this...

<br />Heavy rains mix with raw sewage in Doan Brook<br />Regime shift in hydrological systems. Image: Marina Alberti.<br />Slow and fast variables. Urban patterns have complex impacts on variables that change slowly in response to long-term processes (e.g. mitigating floods) and that constrain the response of fast variables (e.g. land cover change), generating a shift in the hydrological regime. Image Marina Alberti.

Cleveland braces against climate change with resilience plan

Marc Lefkowitz  |  10/31/17 @ 2:00pm  |  Posted in Climate, Land, Water

Amid disturbing reports this week that climate change has already started to erode public health after a disaster-filled autumn and studies that major branches of the animal kingdom are stressed and finding it difficult to reproduce — a mounting effort to soften the blow is starting to take shape in cities across the U.S. Extreme hurricanes and wildfires have made 2017...

<br />Drought, heat waves, deadly hurricanes and wild fires are all expected with more intensity. Cities are responding with climate resiliency plans. Image: University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado.

Resilience it is in the water

Marc Lefkowitz  |  09/15/17 @ 11:00am  |  Posted in Transform, Water

In the 2013 book Resilience in Ecology and Urban Design Kelly Shannon of the Oslo School of Architecture defines resilient cities as those that “bend from harm.”

The Sanlihe Greenway<br />Photo from American Society of Landscape Architects

Ten water saving tips to try at home

Marc Lefkowitz  |  08/15/16 @ 3:00pm  |  Posted in Water, Home

We are fortunate to be on a Great Lake and have an abundant supply of fresh water. But there are still good reasons to conserve.

<br />Lake Erie. Image: David Beach.
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We're at the shore of Lake Erie, but we still have good reasons to conserve