Cleaner lakes are social media stars

Appeared in Discover Magazine

Minnesota is the “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” at least 13 of which are named Clear. But some of these lakes are clearer and cleaner than others. Does that matter to the tourists who visit them? Researchers found an easy way to answer this question by taking a deep dive into Flickr. Bonnie Keeler, a scientist at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment, explains that it’s important to measure how the public is using various lakes, rivers and streams. Agencies that are trying to protect these resources, for example, would love to know that the cost of cleaning up a lake is balanced by the benefit of extra tourism. “We assume that tourists and other users prefer higher quality sites and pristine systems,” Keeler says. But it’s tough to prove, especially in the developing world. Surveying people about their vacations is expensive and hard to do on a large scale. So Keeler and her coauthors tried to get the information without asking anyone. Instead, they asked people’s photo albums… (continue)