Study shows smart watch wristbands contain PFAS, meanwhile EPA tracks nine new versions of ‘forever chemicals’

Catch the latest updates on what’s happening with PFAS in the Great Lakes region. Check back for more PFAS news roundups every other week on our website.

A new study out of Notre Dame shows that some smart watch wristbands, often labeled as waterproof, contain unusually high levels of “forever chemicals.” In a university press release, it was noted that nine out of the 22 bands tested, showed elevated levels of a per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS).

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/01/study-shows-smart-watch-wristbands-contain-pfas-meanwhile-epa-tracks-nine-new-versions-of-forever-chemicals/

Lisa John Rogers, Great Lakes Now

Trump’s aggressive water statement riles, unites Canadians

Candidates for president of the United States address many issues on the campaign trail as they criss-cross the country pitching their policy agendas.

The economy, healthcare and immigration were among the leading topics in the runup to the 2024 election. However, it’s uncommon for a candidate to talk about the availability of water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/01/trumps-aggressive-water-statement-riles-unites-canadians/

Gary Wilson, Great Lakes Now

Energy transition sees small wins, major uncertainty in the Upper Midwest

Catch the latest energy news from around the Great Lakes region. Check back for these biweekly Energy News Roundups

 

Chicago’s commitment to using 100% renewable energy at city-owned buildings went into effect Jan.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/01/energy-transition-small-wins-uncertainty-upper-midwest/

Nicole Pollack, Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Moment: Connecting people to nature through The Great Lakes Way

A recent Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan report documents substantial progress in creating The Great Lakes Way — an interconnected set of greenways and water trails stretching from Port Huron, Michigan on southern Lake Huron to Toledo, Ohio on western Lake Erie.

In 2000, the Community Foundation polled metropolitan Detroit communities about obstacles to building greenways.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/01/great-lakes-moment-connecting-people-to-nature-through-the-great-lakes-way/

John Hartig

The Right to Consciousness

Picasso’s Guernica bursts forth in a jumble of body parts, animals crying out in pain and heavy layers of historical context, created to tell the story of a physical battle. The original oil painting is 11.5 feet tall by 25.5 feet long and can be seen in person at the Reina Sofía Museum, Spain’s national modern and contemporary art center in Madrid.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/12/the-right-to-consciousness/

Staci Lola Drouillard

I Speak for the fish: Sammy the red-nosed sucker

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of stop-motion animated film Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, I Speak for the Fish columnist Kathy Johnson creates a whimsical remix of the classic holiday jingle. Check out her previous columns.

You know darters and daces and pickerel and gar
Catfish and chub and cisco and char
But do you recall
The most famous fish of them all?

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/12/i-speak-for-the-fish-sammy-the-red-nosed-sucker/

Kathy Johnson, Great Lakes Now

PFAS Roundup: Biden administration updates chemical regulations for PFAS, while Trump allies already voice plans to roll them back

On Wednesday, December 5, the Biden administration updated the New Chemicals Regulations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). According to reporting by Rachel Frazin of The Hill, this aims to prevent a family of chemicals (or chemical cousins) known as PFAS from being approved through Low Volume Exemptions, “abridged reviews given to chemicals that will only be produced in small quantities.” 

Meanwhile, according to recent reporting from The Guardian, the incoming chair of the Senate environmental committee said in a hearing last week that she would target portions of new PFAS regulations.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/12/pfas-roundup-biden-administration-updates-chemical-regulations-for-pfas-while-trump-allies-already-voice-plans-to-roll-them-back/

Lisa John Rogers, Great Lakes Now

Breaking Point: Minnesota’s mining legacy includes massive lake of wastewater

“Nibi Chronicles,” a monthly Great Lakes Now feature, is written by Staci Lola Drouillard. A Grand Portage Ojibwe direct descendant, she lives in Grand Marais on Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior. Her nonfiction books “Walking the Old Road: A People’s History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe” and “Seven Aunts” were published 2019 and 2022, and the children’s story “A Family Tree” in 2024.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/breaking-point-minnesotas-mining-legacy-includes-massive-lake-of-wastewater/

Staci Lola Drouillard

5 Reasons to Build a Backyard Frog Pond

Great Lakes Now recently sat down with Margot Fass of the non-profit group, A Frog House. Located in Pittsfield, New York on the banks of the Erie Canal and on the edge of the Lake Ontario sub-basin. A Frog House helps to encourage ecological education, local advocacy and collaboration around clean water and thriving wetlands.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/5-reasons-to-build-a-backyard-frog-pond/

Lisa John Rogers, Great Lakes Now

I Speak for the Fish: How Native Americans are saving lake sturgeon

I Speak for the Fish is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor Kathy Johnson, coming out the third Monday of each month. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television. 

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/i-speak-for-the-fish-how-native-americans-are-saving-lake-sturgeon/

Kathy Johnson, Great Lakes Now

PFAS Roundup: Minnesota votes to continue conservation and PFAS cleanup, Indiana ends firefighter foam collection program

Over 77% of voters in Minnesota approved an extension of the Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF), that will continue to pay for conservation efforts for another 25 years. Funding for this casts a wide net, from outdoor education and trail investments, to invasive species and PFAS removal. The ENRTF was approved as an amendment to the Minnesota Constitution of the State in 1988, and generates funding from the Minnesota State Lottery. 

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/pfas-roundup-minnesota-votes-to-continue-conservation-and-pfas-cleanup-indiana-ends-firefighter-foam-collection-program/

Lisa John Rogers, Great Lakes Now

Can environmental law move beyond bedrock 1970’s legislation, while adapting to current and future challenges?

A 2022 report titled Promises Half Kept at the Half Century Mark, by the Environmental Integrity Project, released on the Clean Water Act’s 50th anniversary said the law is “falling short of its original goals.”

Michigan, for example, has the 4th largest number of impaired lakes, reservoirs and streams assessed for water contact recreation in the U.S.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/can-environmental-law-move-beyond-bedrock-1970s-legislation-while-adapting-to-current-and-future-challenges/

Gary Wilson, Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Moment: Sacred Grounds

Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit PBS.

In the era of climate change, many Detroit homes and churches face challenging stormwater fees.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/great-lakes-moment-sacred-grounds/

John Hartig

Nibi Chronicles: Manoomin as medicine

“Nibi Chronicles,” a monthly Great Lakes Now feature, is written by Staci Lola Drouillard. A Grand Portage Ojibwe direct descendant, she lives in Grand Marais on Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior. Her nonfiction books “Walking the Old Road: A People’s History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe” and “Seven Aunts” were published 2019 and 2022, and the children’s story “A Family Tree” in 2024.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/nibi-chronicles-manoomin-as-medicine/

Staci Lola Drouillard

PFAS Roundup: Vice President Harris supports Michigan-led plan to provide medical care for military victims of PFAS

Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Rep. Dan Kildee introduced The Veterans Exposed to Toxic PFAS Act in July of 2023. Recently, Vice President Kamala Harris announced her support for the bill as a part of her presidential campaign. If passed, this would make it easier for veterans who were exposed to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) while serving to access medical benefits and disability. 

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/pfas-roundup-vice-president-harris-supports-michigan-led-plan-to-provide-medical-care-for-military-victims-of-pfas/

Lisa John Rogers, Great Lakes Now

I Speak for the Fish: Where’s the line in fisheries research?

I Speak for the Fish is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor Kathy Johnson, coming out the third Monday of each month. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television. 

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/i-speak-for-the-fish-wheres-the-line-in-fisheries-research/

Kathy Johnson, Great Lakes Now

What a Trump vs. Harris presidency might mean for the Great Lakes

The 2024 presidential election campaign is in the homestretch and results in the Great Lakes states of Michigan and Wisconsin could determine the winner. Vice-President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump covet the electors in both states and polling indicates they could go either way.

Great Lakes Now selected three key topics — Great Lakes restoration, Line 5 and groundwater — and asked veteran policy experts Rob Sisson and Lana Pollack for their views on how a Harris or Trump presidency may deal with them.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/what-a-trump-vs-harris-presidency-might-mean-for-the-great-lakes/

Gary Wilson, Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Moment: Mink thriving along the Detroit River

Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit PBS.

From a distance, I caught a glimpse of a relatively small elongated furry animal moving along the shoreline of the Detroit River.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/great-lakes-moment-mink-thriving-along-the-detroit-river/

John Hartig

How do fish survive in large urban waterways, like the Chicago River?

How fish adapt to life in large urban rivers, like the Chicago River, is one of the questions Dr. Austin Happel is trying to answer at the Shedd Aquarium.

“Knowing where different fish species are hanging out, we can look around that area and kind of understand what that habitat looks like and what it’s providing for them,” Happel said.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/09/how-do-fish-survive-in-large-urban-waterways-like-the-chicago-river/

Kathy Johnson, Great Lakes Now

PFAS Roundup: Minnesota PFAS regulation said to be the strictest

In a few months, many products with “forever chemicals” will be officially banned in Minnesota. Known as Amara’s Law, starting January 1, 2025 resident’s won’t be able to sell or distribute products with intentionally added PFAS from cookware, cosmetics, dental floss, juvenile products, menstruation products, textile furnishing, ski wax, upholstered furniture, cleaning products, or carpets and rugs — accirding to Vice Magazine.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/09/pfas-roundup-minnesota-pfas-regulation-said-to-be-the-strictest/

Lisa John Rogers, Great Lakes Now

Nibi Chronicles: The Gift of Manoomin

“Nibi Chronicles,” a monthly Great Lakes Now feature, is written by Staci Lola Drouillard. A Grand Portage Ojibwe direct descendant, she lives in Grand Marais on Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior. Her nonfiction books “Walking the Old Road: A People’s History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe” and “Seven Aunts” were published 2019 and 2022, and the children’s story “A Family Tree” in 2024.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/09/nibi-chronicles-the-gift-of-manoomin/

Staci Lola Drouillard

Groundwater: Who’s in charge?

In the early 2000s a movement to address the plight of the heavily polluted and long neglected Great Lakes started to gain traction.

The goal was to bring the gravitas of the federal government to the issue and in 2004 President George W. Bush signed an executive order declaring the lakes a “national treasure.” An interagency task force was established to bring together the disparate efforts of various federal programs who had been working independently on Great Lakes issues.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/09/groundwater-whos-in-charge/

Gary Wilson, Great Lakes Now

After 10 million pieces of beach trash, Chicago advocates push for sustainable packaging

Plastic is the dominant source of beach trash in the Great Lakes region.

That’s the finding by the Chicago-based non-profit Alliance for the Great Lakes in a recently released report that analyzed beach litter picked up by its volunteers over the past 20 years.

“Twenty years of data collected by volunteers shows that 86% of the trash was either fully or partially made from plastic,” the Alliance said in a press release.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/09/after-10-million-pieces-of-beach-trash-chicago-advocates-push-for-sustainable-packaging/

Gary Wilson, Great Lakes Now

PFAS Roundup: Four Great Lakes’s states selected to test residents annually for environmental chemical exposure

Six states were selected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), to be awarded $5 million in order to test residents for environmental chemical exposures — like PFAS. Four out of the six states are located along the Great Lakes including Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and New York. These biomonitoring grants start September 2024 and go until 2027. 

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/09/pfas-roundup-four-great-lakess-states-selected-to-test-residents-annually-for-environmental-chemical-exposure/

Lisa John Rogers, Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Moment: Ten natural wonders of The Great Lakes Way

Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit PBS.

The Great Lakes Way is an interconnected set of greenways and water trails stretching from Port Huron, Michigan (at the head of the St.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/09/great-lakes-moment-ten-natural-wonders-of-the-great-lakes-way/

John Hartig

Nibi Chronicles: A conversation about Ojibwe history in Fur Trade Nation

Editor’s Note: “Nibi Chronicles,” a monthly Great Lakes Now feature, is written by Staci Lola Drouillard. A direct descendant of the Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe, she lives and works in Grand Marais on Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior. Her two books “Walking the Old Road: A People’s History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe” and “Seven Aunts” were published 2019 and 2022, and she is at work on a children’s story.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/08/nibi-chronicles-conversation-about-ojibwe-history-in-fur-trade-nation/

Staci Lola Drouillard

Storied Two Hearted River gets 21st century update in new book

For Traverse City’s Bob Otwell, part of Michigan’s allure is its abundance of special places, and primary among them is the Upper Peninsula’s “wild and isolated” Two Hearted River watershed.

That’s where Otwell and family have had a cabin called “Boggy’s Camp” for over 30 years.

In a newly released book, The Real Two Hearted: Life, Love, and Lore Along Michigan’s Most Iconic River, Otwell chronicles his decades of paddling, hiking and mountain-biking along the Two Hearted and meshes those activities with raising a family along the way.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/08/storied-two-hearted-river-21st-century-update-in-new-book/

Gary Wilson, Great Lakes Now

PFAS Roundup: Wisconsin PFAS remediation funds still frozen due to partisan divide

Last week, Eau Claire, Wisconsin finally broke ground on a $20 million PFAS removal facility. The previous year, the city filed a lawsuit against multiples chemical manufacturers, demanding they cleanup after more than half of the city’s wells shutdown in 2021 due to contamination. However, many other municipalities across Wisconsin remain in a state of limbo.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/08/pfas-roundup-wisconsin-pfas-remediation-funds-still-frozen-due-to-partisan-divide/

Lisa John Rogers, Great Lakes Now

PFAS Roundup: Government of Canada introduces potential plan for product-related PFAS regulation

Last month, the Government of Canada announced a plan to expand product-related regulations for per- and polyflourinated substances (PFAS). The Minister of Environment and Climate Change plus the Minister of Health are considering whether PFAS qualify for the Watch List under section 75.1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA).

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/08/pfas-roundup-government-of-canada-introduces-potential-plan-for-product-related-pfas-regulation/

Lisa John Rogers, Great Lakes Now

Operation Manoomin: Restoring Wild Rice along the Detroit River

Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit PBS.

Manoomin (mah-NOO-mehn) or wild rice was once very common in coastal marshes along the Detroit River and has always been sacred to First Nations.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/08/operation-manoomin-restoring-wild-rice-along-the-detroit-river/

John Hartig

A Decade After Crisis, Algal Blooms Persist

On August 2, it will be 10 years since officials in Toledo alerted residents in the early morning hours not to drink, bathe in or otherwise come into contact with tap water from the Collins Park Water Treatment Plant. For nearly three days chaos reigned, as bottled water sold out that first day before dawn and disappeared from shelves in the region the next day.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/08/a-decade-after-crisis-algal-blooms-persist/

James Proffitt, Great Lakes Now

Ojibwemodaa! Let’s speak Ojibwe!

“Nibi Chronicles,” a monthly Great Lakes Now feature, is written by Staci Lola Drouillard. A Grand Portage Ojibwe direct descendant, she lives in Grand Marais on Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior. Her nonfiction books “Walking the Old Road: A People’s History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe” and “Seven Aunts” were published 2019 and 2022, and the children’s story “A Family Tree” in 2024.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/07/ojibwemodaa-lets-speak-ojibwe/

Staci Lola Drouillard

PFAS Roundup: EPA adds 12 more versions of PFAS to freshwater fish monitoring while federal farm bills focus on “forever chemicals”

On Thursday, July 11, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) updated recommendations under the Clean Water Act, adding twelve versions of PFAS to the contaminant list along with amphetamine, three cyanotoxins, a flame retardant, and lead. The EPA noted that these are all pollutants that states, territories, and Tribes are recommended to monitor in local freshwater fish.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/07/pfas-roundup-epa-adds-12-more-versions-of-pfas-to-freshwater-fish-monitoring-while-federal-farm-bills-focus-on-forever-chemicals/

Lisa John Rogers, Great Lakes Now

Making up for lost trees

The rain started more than an hour before we arrived at an acre of marginal farmland that’s wedged between a house on a nearby hill and Sharon Creek. A tributary of the Thames River, Sharon Creek is a waterway that wends 170 miles through southwestern Ontario before emptying into Lake.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/07/making-up-for-lost-trees/

Andrew Reeves

Lake Erie Charter Life

Captains were few and far between in 1979, when Tibbels Marina in Marblehead, Ohio got into the fishing charter business on Lake Erie. A few years earlier, in 1975, the state had 46 captains on Lake Erie. A few years later, when the Tibbels family launched its first boat, there were about 156.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/07/lake-erie-charter-life/

James Proffitt, Great Lakes Now

I Speak for the Fish: The Quest for a Largemouth

I Speak for the Fish is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor Kathy Johnson, coming out the third Monday of each month. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television. 

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/07/i-speak-for-the-fish-the-quest-for-a-largemouth/

Kathy Johnson, Great Lakes Now

PFAS News Roundup: End of Chevron deference may intensify drinking water contamination by further delaying PFAS cleanup, experts warn

In an article by the Wisconsin Examiner, legal experts cited the myriad of ways the Supreme Court ruling on Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which overturned the Chevron deference, will likely harm future PFAS litigation. The decision came just days after a group of utilities and chemical companies filed three lawsuits in the U.S.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/07/pfas-news-roundup-end-of-chevron-deference-may-intensify-drinking-water-contamination-by-further-delaying-pfas-cleanup-experts-warn/

Lisa John Rogers, Great Lakes Now

Canada-U.S. mayors want to tap Great Lakes region’s water for economic transformation

While gathering in Montreal recently, perhaps the Great Lakes region’s mayors took a page from urban planner Daniel Burnham’s playbook which said, “make no little plans.” From Burhham’s legendary Plan of Chicago.

At the mayors’ annual conference, the focus was on nothing less than an “economic transformation” in the Great Lakes and St.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/06/canada-u-s-mayors-want-to-tap-great-lakes-regions-water-for-economic-transformation/

Gary Wilson, Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Moment: Birds of a feather flock together

Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit PBS.

It was mid-morning on a beautiful early May day. It was clear and sunny and the white puffy clouds were a perfect contrast to the pale blue waters of the lower Detroit River.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/06/great-lakes-moment-birds-of-a-feather-flock-together/

John Hartig

Wisconsin’s Jane Elder chronicles personal and professional Great Lake’s journey in new book

For Madison’s Jane Elder, the timing was optimal when she launched a career in environmental activism. She was coming of age and interested in the environment in the early 1970s. At the same time, interest in the environment was “blossoming” as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was established and the Clean Water Act became federal law.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/06/wisconsins-jane-elder-chronicles-personal-and-professional-great-lakes-journey-in-new-book/

Gary Wilson, Great Lakes Now

I Speak For The Fish: Are muskies still the readers’ favorite?

I Speak for the Fish is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor Kathy Johnson, coming out the third Monday of each month. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television. 

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/05/i-speak-for-the-fish-are-muskies-still-the-readers-favorite/

Kathy Johnson, Great Lakes Now

Disappointed dogs, sad skiers, frustrated fishermen

Hayward, Wisconsin got its first snow of the season on Halloween. But then Thanksgiving came, and Christmas, with no more white flakes. The new year started equally warm and snowless, and the organizers of the iconic American Birkebeiner ski race began to really worry. The February 24, 2024 race would be the 50th anniversary of the country’s most famous (and largest) cross-country ski event, and it would also be a World Cup competition, drawing top competitors from around the globe.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/05/disappointed-dogs-sad-skiers-frustrated-fishermen/

Kari Lydersen

Chicago groups spotlight the city’s water “abundance,” focus on innovation, collaboration as key to its future

For Chicago’s Alaina Harkness, the availability and well-being of Chicago and the Great Lakes region’s water is clear. It’s about innovation, and that requires collaboration. Bringing together the right mix of policy, science, tech, advocacy groups, and others to work on common priorities for the future of water.

This mix happened recently at Chicago Water Week, organized by the not-for-profit, Current, a Chicago-based water innovation hub.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/05/chicago-groups-spotlight-the-citys-water-abundance-focus-on-innovation-collaboration-as-key-to-its-future/

Gary Wilson, Great Lakes Now

Michigan author reflects on 20th anniversary of landmark book The Living Great Lakes

Jerry Dennis wasn’t seeking adventure when as a novice sailor he joined a veteran captain and crew to sail from Traverse City to the Atlantic Ocean. He was looking for a deeper understanding of the Great Lakes, but adventure found him.

Similarly, he wasn’t seeking notoriety when he wrote The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas, which was based on the sailing adventure.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/05/michigan-author-reflects-on-20th-anniversary-of-landmark-book-the-living-great-lakes/

Gary Wilson, Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Moment: Detroit River’s important role in lake whitefish

Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.

Lake whitefish is an important commercial fishery in Lake Erie and is culturally and economically important to local First Nations.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/05/great-lakes-moment-detroit-rivers-important-role-in-lake-whitefish/

John Hartig

PFAS New Roundup: PFAS are shown to be unique bipartisan voting concern in Wisconsin

Nearly 70% of Wisconsin voters polled by Marquette University Law School showed concern about PFAS in drinking water. A uniquely uniting force from across the political aisle, which is not reflected at the state level. Last week, elected officials were once again deadlocked over how to spend the $125 million that was set aside — in May 2023 — to solve the crisis.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/pfas-new-roundup-pfas-are-shown-to-be-unique-bipartisan-voting-concern-in-wisconsin/

Lisa John Rogers, Great Lakes Now

Marbled crayfish raises eyebrows, and concerns

It all started with a mottled little crustacean crawling across a soccer field in Ontario’s Burlington City Park in October 2021, a few miles from Lake Ontario.

The animal may have looked innocuous, but this was the first sign of a costly and grueling ongoing battle against a potentially devastating new invasive species in the Great Lakes.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/marbled-crayfish-raises-eyebrows-and-concerns/

Kari Lydersen

Ohio Birding Transitions

The Biggest Week in American Birding draws a worldwide audience to glimpse dozens of species of migrating birds including the stars of the show, tiny warblers, as well as local birds in northern Ohio — and officials say they’ve been seeing changes in recent years.

“There appears to be a little shifting in the short-distance migrants versus the tropical migrants,” said Mark Shieldcastle, research director at Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO), event host.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/ohio-birding-transitions/

James Proffitt, Great Lakes Now

Line 5 activist group wants Gov. Whitmer to “be an advocate” for shutdown

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s record on the Line 5 oil pipeline that traverses the Straits of Mackinac is mixed, according to Lansing advocate Sean McBrearty.

When running for governor in 2018, “Whitmer pledged to do everything in her power to take Line 5 out of the Great Lakes,” McBrearty told Great Lakes Now in a recent interview.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/line-5-activist-group-wants-gov-whitmer-to-be-an-advocate-for-shutdown/

Gary Wilson, Great Lakes Now

I Speak for the Fish: Never underestimate a smallmouth

I Speak for the Fish is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor Kathy Johnson, coming out the third Monday of each month. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television. 

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/i-speak-for-the-fish-never-underestimate-a-smallmouth/

Kathy Johnson, Great Lakes Now