Morgan Greene

A barge travels down the Illinois River near Chillicothe, Illinois, on Dec. 8, 2021.

Illinois — a major feeder to the Gulf of Mexico dead zone — falls behind federal goal to reduce phosphorus and nitrogen flowing into its waterways

December 20, 2021 at 4:10 p.m.

Hundreds of miles south of Chicago, decomposing algae in the Gulf of Mexico makes life so perilous for fish they swim away — or die. These dead zones, which result...

The Brandon Road Lock and Dam, along the Des Plaines River near Joliet, on Feb. 1, 2021. The Army Corps of Engineers is working on a project to deter Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes by constructing an acoustic fish deterrent, electric dispersal barrier, engineered channel, flushing lock and air bubble curtain in the area.

Great Lakes governors request federal funding for Brandon Road project to deter invasive carp

December 15, 2021 at 12:45 a.m.

Great Lakes officials are calling for federal funding of the massive engineering effort to keep invasive Asian carp out of one of the largest freshwater ecosystems in the world. Gov....

Historian and civil rights leader Timuel Black is honored during a public memorial service.

Family members, officials and students remember how Timuel Black shaped his century and his city

December 6, 2021 at 2:25 a.m.

When Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at the University of Chicago's Rockefeller Memorial Chapel more than 60 years ago in one of his first major Chicago speeches, some in the...

People explore the lakefront in Evanston as high winds and rains hit the area on Oct. 25, 2021. (

Lake Michigan’s November surface temperature — hovering around 50 degrees — ‘really warm for this time of year’

November 26, 2021 at 11:00 a.m.

Weeks before the official start of the winter season, Great Lakes surface temperatures are still trending above average, following summer and fall evenings that didn't cool down — a feature...

Jim Duncker, a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, removes a sensor that can monitor algae and other water quality measures in the Illinois River on Nov. 3, 2021 at the Starved Rock Lock and Dam in Ottawa.

The rise of algae blooms: This year, more than a dozen of the water bodies sampled in Illinois had toxin levels above recreation standards.

November 18, 2021 at 5:56 p.m.

Barges carrying mounds of coal toward St. Louis passed by Starved Rock at a snail's pace, inching past yellow-orange trees and sandstone canyons. A bald eagle hovered above a path...

Reane Loiselle, a water resource specialist with the Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation at Northland College, filters water near Friendly Valley Beach as she collects samples from Lake Superior.

Lake Superior is among the fastest-warming lakes on the planet. Climate change may be the culprit behind its algae blooms, too.

October 18, 2021 at 6:41 p.m.

The kayakers stood for a moment on the beach, marveling at the clear sweep of blue. On a warm fall day along the south shore of one of the world's...

Morgan Greene

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Illinois — a major feeder to the Gulf of Mexico dead zone — falls behind federal goal to reduce phosphorus and nitrogen flowing into its waterways

Great Lakes governors request federal funding for Brandon Road project to deter invasive carp

Family members, officials and students remember how Timuel Black shaped his century and his city

Lake Michigan’s November surface temperature — hovering around 50 degrees — ‘really warm for this time of year’

The rise of algae blooms: This year, more than a dozen of the water bodies sampled in Illinois had toxin levels above recreation standards.

Lake Superior is among the fastest-warming lakes on the planet. Climate change may be the culprit behind its algae blooms, too.

Fish, birds and flooded basements stand to benefit from marsh restoration at Powderhorn Lake near the Indiana border

Kayaking the Chicago River? Now you can get an estimate of bacteria levels before you go.

Another plover summer comes to a close in Chicago as Monty and Rose fly south for the winter

For the first time in decades, ‘do not eat’ advisory removed for Illinois River fish