“Land of 10,000 Lakes” (Minnesota’s slogan) and the month of August (National Water Quality Month) is the perfect time to dive into water facts. A few quick facts about Minnesota’s many lakes are:

Voyageurs National Park (located in northern Minnesota) is the largest water-based park in the entire National Park System.

Number of Lakes in Minnesota:
Well over 10,000 with 11,842 lakes (each measuring 10+ acres)

Depths of Six Minnesota Lakes:
Lake Superior:             1,290 feet
Ten Mile Lake                209 feet
Lower LaSalle Lake        204 feet
Loon Lake                     202 feet
Rainy Lake                    161 feet
Leech Lake                   150 feet

Number of Natural Rivers and Streams:
6,564 (69,200 miles)

The lake pictured on the cover of Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace is Lake Superior. one of the five Great Lakes. This chain of lakes is located in eastern North America on the Canadian/North American border.  Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth.

Minnesota Water Facts 

Minnesotans love their summers, especially since they tend to be rather short. This year after a seemingly endless and cold winter, followed by a rainy spring that caused major flooding in parts of the Midwest, Summer 2008 officially kicks off on June 20. And Minnesota, like a lot of states, is more than ready.

National Geographic offers these Fun Solstice Facts:
The word “solstice” is derived from Latin roots which mean “sun stands still” an appropriate description of how the astronomical event appears from planet Earth.

The solstice has not occurred before June 21 since 1896. The early arrival is due to a complex quirk in the leap year calendar.

The summer solstice should actually be referred to as the June solstice since it’s winter in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Northern Hemisphere soaks up more sun during the solstice than on any other day of the year. However, since the atmosphere is still heating up from winter, the truly warm weather won’t appear until July and August.

The sun’s movements are especially pronounced in the polar regions.

North of the Arctic Circle the solstice heralds the beginning of 24-hour sunlight.

The solstice occurs at the exact same moment all across the planet. Due to the Earth’s two dozen time zones, people experience the solstice at different times of the day.  

A number of scenes in Shades of Darkness take place during the summer months, a great way to highlight the beauty of Minnesota’s abundant natural resources and wild life. Winter is a beautiful season too, but the lazy hazy days of summer usually mean no school and vacations. Get out there and enjoy it while it lasts!

Authors kill a lot of trees. It’s an occupational hazard of course, starting with all that paper we use to print our manuscripts on, followed by published books. In this era of genuine concern over global warming and protecting our environment, both publishers and authors can be much more environmentally friendly.This week, Environmental Trends and Climate Impacts, an 86-page summary announced the news heard round-the-book-world: The publishing industry, which uses up more than 1.5 million metric tons of paper each year, is steadily, if not entirely, finding ways to make production greener.

Tyson Miller, founder and director of the Green Press Initiative, a nonprofit program which has worked extensively with publishers on environmental issues and implementing greener practices noted, “We’re seeing a groundswell of momentum and real measurable progress.” While the results within the publishing industry are uneven with just over half of publishers setting specific goals for increased use of recycled paper, around 60% have a formal environmental policy in place or are completing one. While plenty of work remains, changes in the industry are definitely positive.

Authors too, can produce more environmentally responsible books. Cindy Katz, co-author of Green Guide Girls: Guide to Publishing is also the founder of Plant a Tree USA. According to Katz, the two organizations go hand-in-hand and the book “assists new and seasoned authors with easy approaches to environmentally friendly options to book publishing”. Both Miller and Katz are featured in this month’s bookhitch newsletter, a search engine for authors and books.Yes, authors do kill a lot of trees. But instead of feeling guilty and/or helpless, such resources can help authors be environmentally responsible in our work.
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