For almost two decades, the Northeast-Midwest Institute has been a leading source of policy, scientific, and technological innovation to advance “clean trade” in the Northeast-Midwest region and beyond, especially through the prevention and management of aquatic invasive species in waterborne commerce. Clean trade is the commercial movement of goods without negative environmental effects such as aquatic invasive species introductions. The Institute is now expanding this clean trade focus to address other trade and transportation externalities, including preventing the introduction and spread of non-native forest pests and diseases, and minimizing carbon dioxide and other air emissions.
The Institute’s Waterborne Trade and the Environment / Invasive Species portfolio is outcome-oriented, and ranges from paper studies to plankton counts. The objective of the program is to nurture trade and transportation opportunities that preserve and improve the region’s natural resource capital and other regional assets. The Institute’s program targets and enables win-win opportunities to improve environmental and economic conditions within the region. Its primary activities include:
- Catalyzing regional and collaborative joint enterprises, such as the Great Ships Initiative, with the goal of directly enhancing productive green trade and transportation for the Northeast-Midwest region;
- Providing timely information and analysis to policy makers on Capitol Hill and in state and federal agencies throughout the Northeast-Midwest region in support of effective policy development; and
- Conducting and publishing primary scientific research to fill critical information gaps that hamper effective policy-making.
Waterborne Trade and Environment and Invasive Species Reports
- The Response of Zooplankton and Phytoplankton from the North American Great Lakes to Filtration (2007). Cangelosi A, Mays N, Balcer M, Reavie E, Reid D, Sturtevant R & Gao X. Harmful Algae; 6 ( iv): 547-566. [Abstract] Copies available on request
- Great Ships for the Great Lakes? Commercial Vessels Free Of Invasive Species in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System. A Scoping Report for the Great Ships Initiative (2006)
- Large-Scale Demonstrations of Prospective Ballast Water Treatments Relevant to Seaway Size Commercial Ships: Disk Filtration and Ultraviolet Irradiation. Final Report to the Great Lakes Protection Fund (2005). [Abstract] Copies available on request
- Summary and Findings of the Ballast Discharge Monitoring Device Workshop. (2005) Cangelosi A & Mays N
- Sampling Approaches and Recommendations of the Great Lakes Ballast Technology Demonstration Project (2003).
- Filtration as a Ballast Water Treatment Measure (2002). In: Invasive Aquatic Species of Europe. Distribution, Impacts and Management (E Leppakoski, S Gollasch & S Olenin, eds), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Boston, London. [Abstract] Copies available on request
- Contract Designs for Ballast Water Treatment Systems on Containership R.J. Pfeiffer and Tanker Polar Endeavor (2001). MEETS Technical Paper by Hurley, Schilling & Mackey
- Full-Scale Design Studies of Ballast Water Treatment Systems (2002). Glosten-Herbert & Hyde Marine
- Global Market Analysis of Ballast Water Treatment Technology (2001)
