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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/i-speak-for-the-fish-the-great-seasonal-flip/
This article was republished here with permission from Planet Detroit.
By Brian Allnutt, Planet Detroit
Darren Riley noticed poor air quality across much of Michigan this week when off-the-shelf air monitors from companies like IQAir and PurpleAir showed readings as high as 154 for PM 2.5 (fine particulate matter) in Detroit on Sunday – putting the monitors in the red or ‘unhealthy’ range on the Air Quality Index (AQI).
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/why-poor-air-quality-isnt-just-a-summer-problem-in-detroit/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Shealyn Paulis, Great Lakes Echo
Fish-leather purses and wallets may make their way into Great Lakes fashion with an initiative to use 100% of commercially caught fish by 2025.
One of the latest projects of a binational Great Lakes organization is to fully use the region’s whitefish, lake trout, yellow perch, walleye and white sucker.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/twenty-companies-pledge-to-use-all-parts-of-great-lakes-fish-by-2025/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/supreme-court-poop-dispute-could-have-big-impact-on-michigan-environment/
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — A program aimed at helping remove families and infants in Flint, Michigan, from deep poverty will give $1,500 to women during mid-pregnancy and $500 each month throughout the first year after the birth.
Enrollment opened Wednesday for Rx Kids, lauded by officials as the first of its kind in the United States.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/ap-program-to-provide-cash-for-pregnant-women-in-flint-michigan-and-families-with-newborns/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois
Utility co-op aims to stay ahead of the power curve — Southern Illinoisan
A new Illinois law that took effect on Jan.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/energy-news-roundup-line-5-approval-is-appealed-by-tribes-and-environmental-groups/
WASHINGTON (AP) — Climate-altering pollution from greenhouse gases declined by nearly 2% in the United States in 2023, even as the economy expanded at a faster clip, a new report finds.
The decline, while “a step in the right direction,” is far below the rate needed to meet President Joe Biden’s pledge to cut U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/ap-carbon-pollution-is-down-in-the-us-but-not-fast-enough-to-meet-bidens-2030-goal-new-report-says/
By Janelle D. James, Bridge Michigan
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/michigans-state-park-camping-reservations-are-open-and-filling-up-quickly/
By Izzy Ross, Interlochen Public Radio
This coverage is made possible through a partnership with IPR and Grist, a nonprofit independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
Michigan officials hope a new federal program will help community groups tackle climate and environmental justice projects.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/michigan-hopes-community-groups-can-get-piece-of-2b-climate-justice-fund/
By Izzy Ross, Interlochen Public Radio
This coverage is made possible through a partnership with IPR and Grist, a nonprofit independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
A Great Lakes water law and policy center in Traverse City is appealing a state permit for the Line 5 tunnel project.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/traverse-city-based-policy-center-appeals-michigans-line-5-permit/
Ohio will soon embark on removing the Gorge Dam on the Cuyahoga River, but first must clean up 875,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment at a cost of more than $100 million. The result will be a free-flowing river, a healthier ecosystem, improved habitats for fish and wildlife, and expanded public access for fishing and whitewater rapids for kayaking.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/great-lakes-moment-ohio-provides-example-for-funding-detroit-and-rouge-rivers-sediment-cleanup/
By Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio
This article was republished here with permission from Wisconsin Public Radio.
Wisconsin’s only state endangered mammal is notoriously difficult to spot, which isn’t surprising since the American marten is very rare.
The small number that exist in the state make their home in a few areas of northern Wisconsin, including the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest and the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/for-the-first-time-in-a-century-martens-have-been-spotted-on-lake-superiors-madeline-island/
By Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, WBEZ
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between WBEZ and Grist, a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Sign up for WBEZ newsletters to get local news you can trust.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/warmer-winters-mean-less-ice-on-lake-michigan-hurting-lake-trout-and-whitefish/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/group-launches-campaign-to-overturn-michigan-solar-siting-law/
Points North is a biweekly podcast hosted by Daniel Wanschura and Morgan Springer about the land, water and inhabitants of the Upper Great Lakes.
This episode was shared here with permission from Interlochen Public Radio.
When I was 13 years old and on vacation in Florida, I bought a baby red-eared slider at a flea market.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/points-north-the-turtle-takeover/
This article was republished here with permission from Planet Detroit.
By Brian Allnutt, Planet Detroit
U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) showed up to a meeting last week in Dearborn to sign a water affordability pledge and discuss the challenges faced by Michiganders struggling to pay for water service.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/michigan-group-looks-to-grow-a-statewide-coalition-for-water-affordability/
By Izzy Ross, Interlochen Public Radio
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between IPR and Grist, a nonprofit independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
On an early Thursday evening, people are seated around the dining room of Trattoria Stella, an Italian restaurant on the ground floor of the Grand Traverse Commons, just outside the city’s downtown area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/a-valuable-resource-traverse-city-restaurants-aim-to-reduce-food-waste-greenhouse-gases/
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Michigan
PFAS experts gather to address growing chemical crisis — Great Lakes Now
The ongoing “forever chemicals” crisis took center stage during EGLE’s fourth annual Great Lakes PFAS Summit.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/pfas-news-roundup-forever-chemicals-awareness-lacking-among-u-s-adults/
Author Sue Leaf’s latest work starts in 1977 when she and her then boyfriend embarked on a 185-mile bike trek from Michigan across Lake Superior’s southern shore to Duluth.
It ends many decades later as she, and the boyfriend who became her husband, settle into a new Lake Superior cabin designed by her architect daughter.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/book-review-author-sue-leafs-latest-takes-a-philosophical-look-at-life-on-lake-superiors-south-shore/
By Matthew Brown, Associated Press
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration moved on Tuesday to conserve groves of old-growth trees on national forests across the U.S. and limit logging as climate change amplifies the threats they face from wildfires, insects and disease.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the agency was adopting an “ecologically-driven” approach to older forests — an arena where timber industry interests have historically predominated.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/ap-biden-administration-moves-to-protect-old-growth-forests-as-climate-change-brings-fires-pests/
Science Says What? is a monthly column written by Great Lakes now contributor Sharon Oosthoek exploring what science can tell us about what’s happening beneath and above the waves of our beloved Great Lakes and their watershed.
In the summer of 2017, Teskey Baldwin, a student at Ontario’s University of Guelph, was studying whether pitcher plants near water capture more insects than those farther away.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/science-says-what-pitcher-plants-feast-on-salamanders-unveiling-a-brutal-side-of-botanical-carnivory/
By Lester Graham, Michigan Radio
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/upper-peninsula-tribe-closer-to-compensation-for-land-seized-by-the-u-s-government/
William Hart, director of a documentary about the Flint water crisis called “Lead and Copper,” joined Great Lakes Now’s Anna Sysling for a discussion about the film.
The small team began producing the film in 2016, and with the 10-year anniversary of the beginning of the crisis coming up in April 2024, Hart said they wanted to get it out and ready to screen around that time.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/great-lakes-now-sits-down-with-director-of-flint-water-crisis-film-lead-and-copper/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/nibi-chronicles-how-to-craft-a-memorandum-of-understanding-with-trout/
Four weeks into her new position as the top executive of the U.S. EPA’s Great Lakes office in Chicago, Teresa Seidel has mixed news for the region.
She readily accepts the goal she inherited from her predecessor to clean up decades-old contaminated sediment sites in the region by 2030, a mission she refers to as a “moon shot.” The sites, known as Areas of Concern (AOCs), are on a list developed in 1987 and their continued presence makes it hard for the region to shake its derisive “Rust Belt” stereotype.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/new-epa-great-lakes-executive-warns-on-moon-shot-cleanup-goal-for-toxic-sites/
In light of the ongoing PFAS crisis, stricter groundwater regulations were part of a Michigan statewide effort to protect resident’s health and improve water quality. This was before 3M corporation sued the state to invalidate these new rules. 3M prevailed in the lower courts and the state is currently awaiting a decision for an appeal filed with the Michigan Supreme Court.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/pfas-experts-gather-address-growing-crisis/
By Lester Graham, Michigan Radio
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/can-michigan-reduce-phosphorus-pollution-getting-into-lake-erie-by-40-percent/
By Michael Phillis and Camille Fassett, Associated Press
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Flooding is driving millions of people to move out of their homes, limiting growth in some prospering communities and accelerating the decline of others, according to a new study that details how climate change and flooding are transforming where Americans live.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/ap-flooding-drives-millions-to-move-climate-migration-patterns-emerge/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/i-speak-for-the-fish-twas-the-night-before-fishmas/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/michigan-farm-czar-our-fight-against-lake-erie-pollution-isnt-working/
The year is 1998 and a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation headline reads “Great Lake water deal draws criticism.”
The “deal” to which the CBC referred was an under-the-radar but legal endeavor by a Canadian company to tap Lake Superior water and ship it via tanker to Asia for profit.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/the-great-lakes-compact-at-15-region-celebrates-veteran-policy-experts-caution-against-complacency/
By Matt McIntosh, The Narwhal
Photography by Kati Panasiuk
This story first ran on The Narwhal, a non-profit news organization that publishes in-depth stories about Canada’s natural world.
For a couple of decades at the end of the last century, it seemed like the blue-green algae problem in Lake Erie had been solved, or at least managed, thanks to a concerted cross-border effort.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/lake-erie-is-full-of-algae-again-southwestern-ontarios-exploding-greenhouse-sector-wont-help/
By Izzy Ross, Interlochen Public Radio
This coverage is made possible through a partnership with IPR and Grist, a nonprofit independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
Four tribes in Michigan will receive funding from the U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/four-michigan-tribes-receive-funding-to-support-recycling-initiatives/
By Ellie Katz
Points North is a biweekly podcast hosted by Daniel Wanschura and Morgan Springer about the land, water and inhabitants of the Upper Great Lakes.
This episode was shared here with permission from Interlochen Public Radio.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/points-north-the-prince-fish/
By Keith Schneider, Circle of Blue
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/will-energy-from-manure-help-or-harm-water-quality-in-michigan/
By Siri Chilukuri, Grist
This story was originally published by Grist and was supported by the Economic Hardship Reporting Project. You can subscribe to Grist’s weekly newsletter here.
The announcement earlier this week — that the EPA wants to get rid of lead pipes that provide drinking water within the next decade — sounded like good news, especially in Chicago, which has the most lead water pipes of any city in the United States.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/the-epa-is-aiming-to-get-rid-of-lead-pipes-in-10-years-but-not-in-chicago/
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.
Southwest Detroit has long been known for its heavy industry.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/great-lakes-moment-creating-a-green-oasis-in-southwest-detroit/
By Lester Graham, Michigan Radio
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/see-a-bear-den-the-michigan-dnr-wants-to-know-about-it/
Author Peter Annin is known for tackling big issues.
Annin directs the Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation at Northland College in Wisconsin and he made his mark on water with two editions of Great Lakes Water Wars, chronicling the threat of diverting water from the Great Lakes to arid areas and how the region responded.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/wisconsin-author-touches-third-rail-of-drinking-water-issues-in-new-book/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/michigan-regulators-approve-key-permit-for-enbridge-line-5-tunnel/
By Izzy Ross, Interlochen Public Radio
This coverage is made possible through a partnership with IPR and Grist, a nonprofit independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
The beginning of “Climate Sisu” is familiar — footage of trash floating in the ocean, aerial views of dry earth, and heat maps of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/12/documentary-explores-climate-resilience-in-northern-michigan/
Science Says What? is a monthly column written by Great Lakes now contributor Sharon Oosthoek exploring what science can tell us about what’s happening beneath and above the waves of our beloved Great Lakes and their watershed.
Invasion of the earthworms! It sounds like a bad Hollywood movie, but science can be stranger than fiction.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/11/science-says-what-global-worming-and-the-great-lakes/
On Nov. 15, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against Purchase-headquartered Pepsico and its subsidiary Frito-Lay, citing a host of issues with the proliferation of its single-use packaging litter in and around a downtown Buffalo waterway.
The Buffalo River runs through the city before flowing into Lake Erie 20 miles upstream from Niagara Falls.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/11/new-york-state-sues-pepsico-over-plastic-pollution-in-buffalo/
Nestled on the shores of Lake Michigan on Jones Island, Milwaukee’s newly updated port is emerging as a potential force in the city’s economy. Port Milwaukee aims to unlock opportunities for business, industry, and the community with updated facilities to include agricultural exports. The port’s backers hope the ripple effects will redefine Milwaukee’s role in the Great Lakes economy.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/11/remaking-port-milwaukee-into-a-great-lakes-trade-hub/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois
Halpin supports lifting Illinois nuclear plant moratorium as part of clean-energy solution — Local 4 News
An Illinois state senator says he backed a bill to lift the state’s nuclear moratorium to advance modular reactor research and “provide a bridge” during the renewable energy transition.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/11/energy-news-roundup-renewable-energy-fuels-major-economic-payoffs-in-rural-indiana-amazon-announces-its-first-michigan-solar-farm-project/
Keep up with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois
Forever chemicals’ toxic legacy at Chicago’s airports — Chicago Sun-Times
Firefighting foam containing PFAS contaminated groundwater under Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports, a military investigation found.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/11/pfas-news-roundup-wastewater-is-key-contributor-of-forever-chemicals-pollution-according-to-report/
By Elizabeth Mack, Michigan State University, Edward Helderop, University of California, Riverside and Tony Grubesic, University of California, Riverside
is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Detroit residents got a break from water shut-offs.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/11/after-a-pandemic-pause-detroit-restarts-water-shut-offs-part-of-a-nationwide-trend-as-costs-rise/
By Joey Cappelletti, Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan is on the verge of implementing one of the nation’s most ambitious clean energy mandates, aiming to be carbon-free by 2040 in what is a pivotal test of the Democrats’ environmental goals in a state with a long-standing manufacturing legacy.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/11/ap-michigan-could-implement-ambitious-clean-energy-mandates-and-have-carbon-free-electricity-by-2040/
Waves of Change is a new online interview series highlighting the diverse faces and perspectives shaping the environmental justice movement throughout the Great Lakes region.
This month, we spoke with Alicia Smith, executive director of the Junction Coalition, a community nonprofit based in Toledo, Ohio made up of four pillars of justice: Environmental, Social, Economic and Peace Education.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/11/waves-of-change-meet-exec-director-alicia-smith/
By Maxwell Howard
Points North is a biweekly podcast hosted by Daniel Wanschura and Morgan Springer about the land, water and inhabitants of the Upper Great Lakes.
This episode was shared here with permission from Interlochen Public Radio.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/11/points-north-ghost-towns-lost-and-found/
