As moratoria expire across the Great Lakes region, advocates say ongoing affordability and debt relief are key.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/water-shutoffs-debt-infrastructure/
Michigan's energy consumption dropped 5% in 2020 which is 1% more than the national average.
The post Stay-at-home Michiganders used 5% less juice in 2020 first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.Great Lakes Echo
http://greatlakesecho.org/2021/04/20/stay-at-home-michiganders-used-5-less-juice-in-2020/
By Patrick Shea, Energy News Network
The discovery of a potential archaeological site in the Straits of Mackinac last fall has opened the door for a Michigan tribe to pursue a new, longshot legal strategy to stop the planned Line 5 pipeline tunnel project.
The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians passed a resolution in January instructing its historic preservation office to begin compiling research for an application to classify the straits as a Traditional Cultural Property, a rarely used federal designation under the National Register of Historic Places.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/cultural-property-protection-michigan-line-5/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network.
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/2021/04/michigan-fishing-rules-dnr-great-lakes/
FRANKFORT, Mich. (AP) — A popular summer town along Lake Michigan is trying to improve beach safety through technology.
Frankfort will use cellular phone networks and weather data to regularly update lights installed at the beach entrance and at the pier, 9 & 10 News reported.
Signs will explain the different lights and beach conditions.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/ap-lake-michigan-town-lights-beach-safety/
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-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Indiana:
Dozens of amendments to bills affecting Indiana environmental policy have sparked debate among lawmakers as the Legislature enters its final stretch of the session.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/drinking-water-ontario-dispute-flint-settlement-ohio-infrastructure/
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 with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/michigan-governor-minnesota-landfills-wisconsin-business-dnr/
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.
The Eastern Seaboard has the Appalachian Trail, the Western Seaboard has the Pacific Rim Trail, and the Rocky Mountains has the Continental Divide Trail.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/great-lakes-way-southern-lake-huron-western-lake-erie/
With climate action on the state and national agenda, critics of Enbridge Line 5 warn that investing in new pipeline infrastructure undermines Michigan’s pathway to carbon neutrality. Experts say it’s not so simple.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/enbridge-line-5-tunnel-michigan-energy-future-or-bad-deal/
NEWBERRY, Mich. (AP) — Repairs and restoration are coming to three historic lighthouses in Michigan.
More than $126,000 in grant funding from the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office have been awarded to the Crisp Point Light Historical Society, the North Manitou Light Keepers and St. Clair County Parks and Recreation.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/ap-grants-repairs-rehabilitation-3-lighthouses/
DETROIT (AP) — A judge on Friday rejected a sudden effort to extend Monday’s deadline to register for a share of a $641 million Flint water lawsuit settlement.
U.S. District Judge Judith Levy said she won’t upset a well-publicized 60-day deadline that was baked into a settlement involving Flint, the state of Michigan, residents who were exposed to lead-contaminated water, and other parties.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/ap-judge-rejects-effort-to-extend-sign-up-for-flint-water-cash/
For two straight summers, residents of Detroit’s Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood watched water pour into basements and pool in streets, a result of coastal flooding that will become increasingly common throughout the Great Lakes as climate change progresses.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/climate-change-flooded-michigan-neighborhoods-pay-sea-walls/
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — More than 30,000 registration forms have been received from people who want to participate in a $641 million Flint water lawsuit settlement.
The deadline is next Monday.
“The registrations are coming in at a pretty brisk pace but timing matters so I just want to repeat that deadline,” U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/ap-more-than-30000-registrations-flint-water-deal/
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Chippewa tribal officials in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan have blasted the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for putting on what they say was a poorly planned wolf season during which state-licensed hunters blew past their quota in a matter of days.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/ap-chippewa-tribes-blast-wolf-hunt/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
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/2021/03/dam-traverse-city-fish-restoration-project/
A critical juncture is reached for providing water to rural communities around the region.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/michigan-rural-water-systems-generations-inadequate-investment/
Hundreds of artistic entries from 4th and 5th grade students came in for this year’s Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner’s Kids Clean Water Calendar Contest, and Great Lakes Now Host Ward Detwiler had to decide which drawings would be printed for each month.
“Fortunately, because I’d done this last year, I knew how hard it was going to be,” Detwiler said.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/kids-calendar-art-contest-healthy-water-management/
WHITEHALL, Mich. (AP) — A change in Lake Michigan water levels has revealed a shipwreck from the 1880s that is visible in western Michigan for the first time since 2018.
Experts believe it’s the wooden spine of the Contest, said Craig Rich, director of the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/ap-shifting-sand-water-shipwreck-1880s/
In the ongoing conflict over Line 5’s presence and future in Michigan, much of the debate has been between the Canadian energy company Enbridge, Inc. and the state of Michigan, or between Michigan environmentalists and Michigan businesses.
A recent joint committee session in the Michigan Senate heard from a third party: Canada.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/enbridge-line-5-debate-canadian-representatives-impact-economy/
Climate change in the Great Lakes region means more intense storms. Already some towns are finding they’re flooding where they never have before. One city in Michigan is finding the solution is nature.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/cities-natural-infrastructure-extreme-rain-events/
If you have the good fortune to gaze at a Great Lake – any Great Lake – sometime in this strange year, you’re not likely to spot a glaring example of President Joseph R. Biden’s new emphasis on protecting the environment.
But that doesn’t mean they aren’t coming.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/air-wind-solar-great-lakes-energy-president-biden/
Last year when the Midland dams gave way, more than 21 billion gallons of water rushed into the Tittabawassee River. More than three and a quarter billion gallons of that ended up in the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/wetlands-property-damage-save-lives-floods/
By Elena Bruess, 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/2021/03/treaty-rights-line-5-oil-pipelines-controversial-history/
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration released a plan Friday to make sure Michigan will have enough propane if a controversial pipeline is shut down.
The strategy addresses a frequent objection to the Democratic governor’s demand that Enbridge Inc.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/ap-whitmer-plan-supply-propane-line-5-pipeline/
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 with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/pfas-news-roundup-indiana-introduces-pfas-bills-michigan-citizens-unhappy-about-8-month-disclosure-delay/
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/2021/03/university-michigan-discovery-lake-erie-dead-zone/
DETROIT (AP) — Lawyers who negotiated a $641 million settlement for victims of Flint’s lead-contaminated water are asking a judge to set aside up to 32% for fees and expenses for years of work on the case.
If granted, the request would total $202 million in fees and $7 million in expenses for dozens of attorneys who made a deal with the state of Michigan, Flint, a hospital and an engineering firm, according to a court filing Monday.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/ap-lawyers-32-percent-641m-flint-tainted-water-settlement/
As climate change complicates Lake Erie’s algae problem, scientists say farmers must do far more to reduce phosphorus runoff. But will enough farmers change their ways without a government mandate?
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/farmers-pollution-lake-erie-regulations/
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
In this edition: Environmentalists in Wisconsin sue EPA over regulation rollback favoring coal plants, bankruptcy plan for Ohio nuclear power company upheld by appeals court, Prairie Island tribe prepares for massive investment in renewable energy, and Ford Motors to invest millions for electric vehicle construction in southeast Michigan
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Indiana:
When the 2021 legislative session began, more than 75 bills related to the environment had been filed in Indiana’s General Assembly.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/energy-news-indiana-bills-ontario-hike-line-5-oversight-panel/
When Chris Wilson speared a 63-inch, 61-pound sturgeon, it was only moments after he lugged the fish out of his shanty before a small crowd appeared. Some trotted over from nearby shanties and one man rode up on an ATV – he wasn’t fishing but simply spending the morning checking out the season.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/sturgeon-spearing-conservation-efforts-fish/
With warming temperatures, fluctuating water levels and a series of extreme storms, Lake Superior is undergoing dramatic alterations amid climate change.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/michigan-regulations-septic-system-codes-property-rights/
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.
Detroit is well known as the automobile capital of the United States, the Arsenal of Democracy, the home of Motown and techno music, world-class architecture and building the middle class.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/marine-pollution-control-rouge-river-to-persian-gulf-oil-spill-cleanups-detroit-company/
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 with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/pfas-news-pennsylvania-utillity-michigan-officials-wait/
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-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Click on the headline to read the full story:
Illinois:
More Illinois Residents Are Turning to Lake Michigan for Their Drinking Water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/drinking-water-climate-change-withdrawals-michigan-quebec-first-nations/
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/2021/02/michigan-dams-immediate-attention-prevent-next-failure/
With warming temperatures, fluctuating water levels and a series of extreme storms, Lake Superior is undergoing dramatic alterations amid climate change.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/future-lake-superior-climate-disruption-climate-change/
Warming waters are hard on some fish, such as walleye, and more favorable to others, such as smallmouth bass. With so many environmental stresses, it’s difficult to gauge the future of individual lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/michigan-inland-lakes-ice-fishing-fish-less-ice/
Intense storm events and flooding are changing the ecology of rivers in the Great Lakes region.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/intense-storms-climate-change-harming-michigan-streams-rivers/
BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Some residents in southwestern Michigan and the Detroit area will get plumbing repairs in their homes as part of a new initiative to reduce water waste.
Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy said the “Water Leak Pilot” program is expected to highlight the benefits of reducing water waste for consumers, water suppliers and the overall community.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/ap-pilot-michigan-program-reduce-water-waste-homes/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Taylor Haelterman, Great Lakes Echo
High school students, community groups and Lake Superior State University will use landscaping this summer to reduce pollution flowing into the St. Marys River.
The project recently received $250,000 from the United States Forest Service as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a program that protects Great Lakes drinking water and habitat.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/university-st-marys-river-clean-green-boost/
By Brett Walton, 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/2021/02/water-biden-administration-deliver-environmental-justice-pledges/
The years-long saga surrounding Nestlé and its Michigan groundwater withdrawals comes to an end – in a way – as Nestlé withdraws from the situation, selling its North American water brands to another corporation.
Nestlé announced this week that it unloaded a number of U.S. and Canadian brands, including Poland Spring Brand 100% Natural Spring Water, Ice Mountain Brand 100% Natural Spring Water and Pure Life.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/nestle-north-america-bottled-water-brands-sold-investment-firm/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
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/2021/02/pfas-fish-wildlife-researchers-michigan/
Salt-speckled sidewalks, driveways and highways are synonymous with winter in the Great Lakes region. But while road salt is highly effective at deicing surfaces, the safety that salt provides for humans places a heavy burden on freshwater ecosystems.
“We have an unhealthy addiction to road salt,” said Claire Oswald, a hydrologist and associate professor at Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/road-salt-reducing-usage-great-lakes-freshwater-ecosystem/
Michigan and the Great Lakes region — with an abundance of fresh water, warming winters and less fire-prone forests — stand to attract millions of new residents in the coming years looking to escape flooded coastal areas and the parched land of the West.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/water-great-lakes-climate-refuge-prepared/
Are you a Detroit high school student interested in the environment, TV production and planning community events?
(Or maybe you know one and could share this with them?)
With funding from PBS Education, Great Lakes Now and the Belle Isle Conservancy are offering a paid internship for a high school student to help plan the April 24 Spring Clean Up on Belle Isle event AND produce a video about it to help other students and organizations have similar events to raise environmental awareness.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/pbs-great-lakes-now-belle-isle-conservancy-high-school-intern/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Eric Freedman, Capital News Service
A former top-ranking Michigan official is now overseeing national energy policy — again.
This time it’s the Biden administration’s new Secretary of Energy, former Democratic Gov.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/former-michigan-governor-leads-national-energy-policy/
By Brett Walton, 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/2021/02/high-demand-new-michigan-water-infrastructure-grants/
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 with PFAS-related developments in the Great Lakes area.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/pfas-minnesota-biden-epa-regulations/
By Steve Carmody, 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/2021/02/glwa-dwsd-oakland-county-overflows-rouge-river/
