By Anna Liz Nichols, Associated Press/Report for America Writer
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Nature is returning to craters left from lakes drained by two dams that failed in May during torrential rain in mid-Michigan.
But not always in a good way.
“Shortly a…
Calling their communities sacrifice zones for being home to hazardous waste storage sites, residents in a Detroit neighborhood are taking a stand.
Last week, residents with support from the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center filed a formal complaint …
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
In this edition: Controversial open-pit sulfide mine in UP faces major delays due to COVID-19, utility companies in Ohio and Illinois set…
Mass water shutoffs in Detroit following the city’s bankruptcy proceedings brought the issue of water affordability and water shutoffs into public notoriety in the U.S. in 2014.
The threat of COVID-19 brought the issue back to the forefront as th…
Michigan is at the forefront of states in the U.S. when it comes to taking action against per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, a group of manmade chemicals found in a wide range of consumer products as well as firefighting foam.
On Monday, Mic…
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.
Guy O. Williams knew very little abo…
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up wi…
From lead pipes to PFAS, drinking water contamination is a major issue plaguing cities and towns all around the Great Lakes. Cleaning up contaminants and providing safe water to everyone is an ongoing public health struggle.
Keep up with drinking water…
By Ed White, Associated Press Writer
DETROIT (AP) — Flint residents whose health and homes were harmed by lead-contaminated water scored a legal milestone Wednesday when the Michigan Supreme Court said they could proceed with a lawsuit against public o…
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Carin Tunney, Great Lakes Now
A million-dollar grant to study aquaculture aims to boost the number of fish farms in the Great Lakes region.
Aquaculture refers to raising fish b…
By John Flesher, AP Environmental Writer
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Recent damage that prompted the temporary shutdown of an Enbridge oil pipeline in a channel linking two of the Great Lakes may have been done by vessels working for the company, accor…
By John Flesher, AP Environmental Writer
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer criticized Enbridge Inc. on Wednesday for what she described as the company’s refusal to make an airtight pledge to pay for damages caused by a po…
With two segments in the latest episode of the Great Lakes Now monthly program, producer David Ruck is bringing audiences insight about two major issues in the Great Lakes region: how pollution from farmland impacts water quality and what financial cos…
By John Flesher, AP Environmental Writer
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Michigan sought a written pledge Friday from Enbridge Inc. to cover costs that would arise if oil were to leak from its dual pipelines that extend across a channel linking two of the …
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up wi…
From lead pipes to PFAS, drinking water contamination is a major issue plaguing cities and towns all around the Great Lakes. Cleaning up contaminants and providing safe water to everyone is an ongoing public health struggle.
Keep up with drinking water…
Great Lakes states and provinces have opened up their parks to overnight campers again now that COVID-19 closures have been lifted.
In March, national parks were closed in Canada, along with Ontario provincial parks. In the U.S., while parks remained o…
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Protections to prevent water shutoffs during the coronavirus pandemic are being extended to the end of the year under an order signed Wednesday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Since March, 2,477 Michiganders have had their water restore…
By Bobby Caina Calvan, Ellen Knickmeyer, and John Flesher, Associated Press Writers
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue tromped through a strawberry festival in central Florida, detailing the government’s new trade pa…
Nestle might be selling its contentious Michigan bottled water brand, but water rights activists in the Great Lakes region aren’t so quick to let go of the issue.
Swiss-based Nestle recently announced it’s looking for buyers for its North America regio…
Fatbergs — massive buildups of wipes and hygiene products congealed with greases and oils — make for a cringe-worthy topic. And the damage they cause to sewer systems can be a huge amount of trouble for the people in charge of those sewer systems.
That…
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.
Scientists have predicted that warme…
By John Seewer, Associated Press Writer
The U.S. headed into the Fourth of July weekend with many parades and fireworks displays canceled, beaches and bars closed, and health authorities warning that this will be a crucial test of Americans’ self…
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer doesn’t need another crisis.
For six of her 18 months in office she’s been grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic that grips Michigan and shows few signs of abating. Then came a May rain deluge that contributed to the failu…
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up wi…
By John Flesher, AP Environmental Writer
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan judge Wednesday allowed Enbridge to resume pumping oil through a Midwestern pipeline, nearly a week after shutting it down because of damage to a structure that anchors a s…
Angel Welke and her husband Paul own and operate Island Airways, the committed aviation service provider for Beaver Island. As such, the Welkes run the air ambulance that serves the island, which is located in the northern part of Lake Michigan and is …
Arenac County, Michigan Wednesday, July 8, 2020 CCO Meeting 1-2 pm | Open House to be scheduled The meeting will be held online. For information on attending this meeting please send your name and local address to Edgar.Patino@ogilvy.com and you will be provided with information on joining the meeting. Iosco County, Michigan Thursday, July 9, […]
Close your eyes for a moment and imagine you are on a roller coaster ascending the first and highest hill on the ride. You hear the click, click, click as the car slowly climbs to the top and you start getting excited, even nervous, the closer you get …
By Ed White, Associated Press Writer
DETROIT (AP) — A judge shut down an energy pipeline in Michigan’s Great Lakes on Thursday, granting a request from the state after the owner reported problems with a support piece far below the surface.
Enbridge Inc…
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
In this edition: Ontario Power Generation formally withdraws its application to construct a repository for nuclear waste near Lake Huron;…
MACKINAW CITY, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s attorney general on Monday asked a judge to shut down a pipeline in the Great Lakes after an energy company discovered that an anchor support had shifted deep below the surface.
Enbridge Inc. insists the Lin…
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up wi…
In March, COVID-19 brought the Great Lakes economy and society in general to a grinding halt.
Three months later, it’s not yet business as usual and challenges remain.
That’s the consensus of a group of Great Lakes industries and scientific researchers…
It’s still a pandemic, so we didn’t get to attend a gala – in fact I was still in filthy workout clothes when I got the news on Saturday night.
But I can’t imagine it was any less thrilling for any of us on the Great Lakes Now team that produced “The F…
By Herbert G. McCann, Associated Press Writer
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer demanded Friday that Enbridge Energy provide proof that the damage to one of its dual oil pipelines under the Straits of Mackinac will not pose a threat to the area.
The Alber…
From lead pipes to PFAS, drinking water contamination is a major issue plaguing cities and towns all around the Great Lakes. Cleaning up contaminants and providing safe water to everyone is an ongoing public health struggle in the region.
Keep up with …
Michigan’s dam safety program has been under intense scrutiny since the epic failure in Midland in May displaced 10,000 people.
Multiple lawsuits have ensued between Michigan, dam owner Boyce Hydro and citizens impacted by the failure, with each claimi…
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
NASA’s Earth Observatory worked up this cool comparison to show the impact of the recent dam bursting in Midland.
The images above were captured by Operational Land Imager (OLI) …
June 12, 2020 This week: Speaking Common Threads in Our Communities Through Poetry +No Water Service Restoration Chicago+ Anishinaabe Lead on Adapting to Climate Change + Michigan Senators Introduce a Bill to Protect Waterways and Public Health Speaking of Common Threads in Our Communities Through Poetry Freshwater Future staff member Brandon Tyus expressed his reactions […]
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
In this edition: Federal grant launches pilot program for nuclear plants to produce hydrogen for fuel cells; Canadian barge loaded with f…
By John Flesher, AP Environmental Writer
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that legislators did not violate the state constitution by allowing construction of an oil pipeline tunnel beneath a channel linking two o…
The state of Michigan on Tuesday put blame for the May dam failure that flooded Midland, Michigan, and displaced 10,000 people squarely on the dam’s owner, Boyce Hydro.
Michigan filed a lawsuit this week against Boyce Hydro seeking compensation, civil …
By Claudia Lauer and John Flesher, Associated Press Writers
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Mayor Jim Kenney kicked off a recent briefing on Philadelphia’s coronavirus response with an unusual request for residents: Be careful what you flush.
Between mid-Mar…
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up wi…
The animals at various aquariums are dealing with their own COVID-19 lockdown struggles as they adjust to new routines, new procedures and a distinct lack of the public, and each animal handles it a little differently.
Thanks to Great Lakes aquariums l…
For three long days, Terri Trotter – president and CEO of the Midland Center for the Arts – waited anxiously for floodwaters to recede far enough that a team of experts could assess the damages at Heritage Park and the Doan Center in downtown Midland, …
There are cockroaches roaming the aquarium at the Belle Isle Conservancy.
But don’t worry, they’re supposed to be there.
Unlike the smaller, more common roaches you might find in a dirty or old building, these cockroaches are Madagascar hissing cockroa…
The controversial project to replace the existing 67-year-old Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac with a pipeline in a tunnel under the straits remains an issue between Enbridge Energy and the state of Michigan.
A new point of contention in the …
HOUGHTON, Mich. (AP) — Wolves and moose won’t notice much human company at Isle Royale National Park.
The remote island in Lake Superior said it’s delaying the summer opening because of coronavirus restrictions. Camping might become availab…