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/
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:
A boil water advisory announced Thursday for the town of Eaton has been lifted after the issue was repaired and testing showed the water was safe, the town announced Saturday night.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/drinking-water-great-lakes-lead-schools-minnesota-water-exhibit-wisconsin/
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/canadian-government-water-insecurity-first-nations-communities/
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/
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — The Biden administration said Wednesday it was delaying the effective date of a policy intended to prevent lead pollution of drinking water, continuing a decades-old debate over how to remove a serious health hazard to children.
The Environmental Protection Agency said it was suspending a regulatory rewrite completed by the Trump administration in December, which is being challenged in court by numerous states and advocacy groups.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/ap-biden-epa-trump-rule-lead-drinking-water/
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development and North Carolina regulator Michael Regan to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, picking up the pace for confirmations in President Joe Biden’s Cabinet.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/ap-senate-confirms-fudge-regan-epa/
Deep below the cold, dark surface of Lake Superior, sensors strung like pearls along a vertical steel cable sway with the currents. Recording the lake’s dropping temperatures as winter sets in, their gentle rhythm belies their worrying readings: the lake is getting warmer.
Jay Austin heaved several of these science experiments off a boat last fall – tossing concrete blocks into the deep water to anchor the cable of sensors stretching down from floating platforms just below the surface.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/lake-superior-researchers-impact-warming-winters/
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/
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Payments for dead wolves. Unlimited hunting of the animals. Shooting wolves from the air.
Wolf hunting policies in some states are taking an aggressive turn, as Republican lawmakers and conservative hunting groups push to curb their numbers and propose tactics shunned by many wildlife managers.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/ap-us-states-wolf-kills-pushed-by-republicans/
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/
LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) — The city of La Crosse filed a lawsuit Thursday against a host of chemical manufacturers that produced firefighting foam linked to groundwater contamination around the city’s airport.
Tests have revealed at least 40 wells around the airport on French Island are contaminated with man-made chemicals known as PFAS.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/ap-la-crosse-sues-foam-makers-pfas-pollution/
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia and three other municipalities in Pennsylvania sued the state Wednesday over what they say was a covert abuse of legislative power to block local bans or taxes on plastic bags that retailers give out to customers and, they say, end up as pollution and litter.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/ap-pennsylvania-court-plastic-bag-bans/
By Alessandra Jerolleman, Eos
This story originally appeared in Eos and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.
In the United States, 2020 will be remembered not just for a global pandemic but also for a series of back-to-back and record-breaking disasters that affected much of the country, including many rural communities.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/03/building-resilience-rural-america/
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/
Two simple, white signs marked “WPSC” on small posts are all that mark its existence to most of the public. The posts sit on either side of a narrow road that turns to gravel then disappears shortly after into the woods and is the gateway to the oldest continuously operating – and most storied – waterfowl hunting club in North America.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/winous-point-conservation-research-history-oldest-hunting-clubs/
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday reversed an appeals court’s rejection of a critical air emissions permit for the planned PolyMet copper-nickel mine and sent the case back for further proceedings.
The Supreme Court ruled that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency was not required under federal law to investigate allegations by environmental groups and a Native American tribe of “sham permitting.”
PolyMet and the state agency took the case to the state’s highest court after the Minnesota Court of Appeals last March sent the air permit for the $1 billion mine back to the regulators for further review.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/ap-minnesota-supreme-court-victory-polymet-copper-mine/
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 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/2021/02/minnesota-plan-pfas-contamination/
CLOQUET, Minn. (AP) — Jason Goward was overjoyed to get a high-paying job on Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline project.
The job, clearing ground with a contractor for the Canadian energy company, meant he could at last pay child support for his two young sons.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/ap-enbridge-line-3-divides-indigenous-lands-people/
Great Lakes watchers were pleased that newly elected President Joe Biden’s first phone call to a foreign leader went to Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, hoping the call signals the beginning of more harmonious relations in the basin.
The previous four years under Donald Trump had been rocky.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/cross-border-biden-administration-canada-cooperation-great-lakes/
After spending several months reporting on the PFAS crisis, an alarming realization hit — taco night might be poisoning me.
I learned that the type of nonstick pans that I used to fry the fish usually contain the toxic chemicals, also called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Research alerted me to their use in some types of parchment paper used to roll tortillas, while the aluminum foil in which I wrapped leftovers raised a red flag with its “nonstick” label.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/pfas-home-testing-pets-blood-household/
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/
By Ilana Cohen, Climate Tracker
This story originally appeared in Climate Tracker and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.
Last November, youth climate activists helped elect U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/youth-climate-activists-biden-white-house/
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/
By Terri Cook, Eos
This story originally appeared in Eos and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.
During the mid-1930s, in the wake of devastating Dust Bowl–era storms, the U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/big-benefits-from-experimental-watersheds/
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/
A year ago, the Pellston Youth Water Council, with the help of Freshwater Future, initiated an investigation sampling water in homes near the Pellston Regional airport, discovering high concentrations of toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Recently, over a gallon of PFAS was released into the environment after a firefighting testing incident at the same airport. For a community already dealing with filters and alternative water sources for their needs, additional spills of these substances only heighten concerns. While Michigan has set drinking water standards for several types of the more than 5,000 types of PFAS, more safeguards are needed in airports and other locations with high PFAS use. Checkout our PFAS regulatory chart to see where different jurisdictions in the Great Lakes region fall in regulating these harmful chemicals.
Chicago wins the $30 million a year deal securing it as a water supplier for Joliet, IL. The needed regional water infrastructure upgrades are expected to triple Joliet’s residential water rates in the coming decade. For those wondering why Joliet doesn’t have to meet the requirements of the Great Lakes Compact in order to receive this Great Lakes water in a city outside of the Great Lakes basin, it is because of Chicago’s Supreme Court consent decree that allows the state of Illinois to determine where the water allocated through the decree is utilized.
Due to COVID-19, some cities have been hit hard economically, and Pickering, Ontario is no different. The municipality however, has been quietly ‘cutting red tape’ to bypass the opportunity for input of the community by using “Minister’s Zoning Orders,” which bypass normal planning processes, including the right of residents to appeal. As a result, wetlands are in peril of being destroyed in order to build new development projects. The community is concerned that without wetlands during stints of heavy rain or heavy snow melt, excess water would have no choice but to flood nearby home basements and increase erosion to shoreline communities.
Please meet Freshwater Future’s Board Chair, Stephanie Smith. Smith has an unwavering commitment to water, Freshwater Future, and our Great Lakes partners and communities. Throughout her career, her reach has extended across the world to over 17 different countries with the same goal of water protection.
Join us on February 25, 2021 at 10am EST to learn more about Freshwater Future’s grant programs. This informal webinar will provide a brief overview of our grants programs and how to apply. There will be plenty of time for questions and answers. In the meantime, check-out Freshwater Future’s 2021 Grant Opportunities guidelines to see if your organization is eligible.
Blog – Freshwater Future
https://freshwaterfuture.org/freshwater-weekly/freshwater-weekly-february-12-2021/
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/
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — As Indiana lawmakers debate dozens of bills addressing environmental matters, tensions are flaring over whether the state should adopt greener initiatives or step back current policy affecting water, energy and other resources.
While some measures in the General Assembly could bring reductions to Indiana’s carbon emissions and make stricter penalties for polluters, others would spur regulatory rollbacks that environmental advocates say could have long-lasting and damaging effects.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/ap-indiana-lawmakers-debate-environmental-regulation-rollbacks/
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/
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:
A series of water main breaks in Joliet this week prompted a boil water order in case of cross contamination during repairs.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/02/drinking-water-waukesha-lake-michigan-groundwater-contamination-ontario/
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/
