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Energy sector holds its breath as nuclear power inches forward

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

Uncertainty abounds in the energy sector as President Donald Trump returns to office. In his inaugural address on Monday, Trump promised to “revoke the electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto industry.” Trump has already begun the process of reversing Biden-era policies meant to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles and reduce emissions from gas cars.

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Nicole Pollack, Great Lakes Now

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I Speak for the Fish: Why do mudpuppies matter?

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. 

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Kathy Johnson, Great Lakes Now

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Fact or Fake? Readers can test their Great Lakes knowledge with excerpts from this new book

Great Lakes Fact or Fake? is a new book by Dave Dempsey. Below are adapted excerpts from the book, which bring readers along while he answers 41 myths about the Great Lakes.

Drinking Sewage

FACT or FAKE?

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https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/01/fact-or-fake-readers-can-test-their-great-lakes-knowledge-with-excerpts-from-this-new-book/

Dave Dempsey

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Life on the frontlines of Ontario’s critical mineral boom

By Emma McIntosh, The Narwhal

Photography by Christopher Katsarov Luna

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan, Circle of Blue, Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS, Michigan Public and The Narwhal 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.

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https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/01/life-on-the-frontlines-of-ontarios-critical-mineral-boom/

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Regulators say Detroit SO2 pollution under control after years of exceeding federal standards

By Brian Allnutt, Planet Detroit

This article was republished with permission from Planet Detroit. Sign up for Planet Detroit’s weekly newsletter here.

Michigan regulators will hold an online public hearing on Jan. 28 to discuss redesignating parts of southwest Detroit and Downriver as meeting federal sulfur dioxide (SO2) air quality standards.

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https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/01/sulfur-dioxide-redesignation-detroit/

Planet Detroit

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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).

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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

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Fertilizer from Sewage, a Utility Money Maker, Faces Uncertain Future

By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan, Circle of Blue, Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS, Michigan Public and The Narwhal 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.

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Circle of Blue

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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.

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

Gary Wilson, Great Lakes Now

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Many elderly Ohioans feel unprepared for severe weather, study finds

This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.

By Clara Lincolnhol, Great Lakes Echo

Ohio took a beating from a record-breaking 73 tornadoes in 2024. Twisters and other severe weather events are becoming more common in the Midwest due to climate change, and seniors are more at risk.

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https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/01/many-elderly-ohioans-feel-unprepared-for-severe-weather-study-finds/

Great Lakes Echo

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Public comment opens on a plan to clear trees for solar near Gaylord

By Izzy Ross, Interlochen Public Radio and Teresa Homsi, WCMU

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.

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https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/01/public-comment-opens-on-a-plan-to-clear-trees-for-solar-near-gaylord/

Interlochen Public Radio

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First Nations around Ontario’s Lake Nipigon come together to protect their waters

By Fatima Syed, The Narwhal

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan, Circle of Blue, Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS, Michigan Public and The Narwhal 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.

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https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/01/first-nations-around-ontarios-lake-nipigon-come-together-to-protect-their-waters/

The Narwhal

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Cargo tonnage lagging at Great Lakes ports as shipping season nears its end

By Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio

This article was republished here with permission from Wisconsin Public Radio.

The amount of cargo moving through ports on the Great Lakes is trailing behind shipments at the same time last year as the shipping season nears its end.

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https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/01/cargo-tonnage-lagging-at-great-lakes-ports-as-shipping-season-nears-its-end/

Wisconsin Public Radio

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

Nicole Pollack, Great Lakes Now

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A Great Lakes ‘Pompeii’? Lake Huron’s depths hold secrets of human history

By Kelly House and Aaron Martin, Bridge Michigan

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal 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.

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Bridge Michigan

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Michigan’s State of the Great Lakes report: a lot of work ahead

By Lester Graham, Michigan Public

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal 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.

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https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/01/michigans-state-of-the-great-lakes-report-a-lot-of-work-ahead/

Michigan Public

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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.

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

John Hartig

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Points North: The Squeaky Sand Phenomenon

By Daniel Wanschura

Points North is a biweekly podcast about the land, water and inhabitants of the Great Lakes.

This episode was shared here with permission from Interlochen Public Radio.

Meghan Hetfield and Roni Pillischer drove across New York to witness their first total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.

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Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/01/points-north-squeaky-sand-phenomenon/

Interlochen Public Radio

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Winter Wellness Pantry: Elderberry Elixir

Part of “A Year in the Wild Kitchen of the Great Lakes,” a series in partnership with expert forager Lisa M. Rose, with the mission of nurturing a deeper connection with the natural world through foraging. To get started with your foraging journey, begin here with our “Framework to Sustainable and Safe Practices” and check out Part 1 of “Winter Wellness Pantry” for tips and tricks to stay healthy this winter with wild herbs of the Great Lakes. 

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https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/01/winter-wellness-pantry-elderberry-elixir/

Lisa M. Rose

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Elevated levels of radium found in Western Pennsylvania’s freshwater mussels

By Kiley Bense, Inside Climate News

This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here.

Sixty-two years ago, Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” connected disappearing populations of bald eagles to the presence of the pesticide DDT in the birds’ food chain.

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Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/01/elevated-levels-of-radium-found-in-western-pennsylvanias-freshwater-mussels/

Inside Climate News

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Chicago keeps its New Year’s resolution: All city buildings now use 100% clean power

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.

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https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/01/chicago-renewable-energy-black-diamond-solar/

Grist

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Planet Detroit’s top 5 environmental stories of 2024

By Nina Misuraca Ignaczak, Planet Detroit

This article was republished with permission from Planet Detroit. Sign up for Planet Detroit’s weekly newsletter here.

This year brought a whirlwind of changes and challenges for Michigan’s environment and energy future. From smoky skies to dark money scandals, the stories we covered revealed how deeply personal and interconnected these issues are for all of us who call this state home.

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https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/12/planet-detroits-top-5-environmental-stories-of-2024/

Planet Detroit

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Cuyahoga Valley National Park celebrates 50 years of environmental stewardship

By Zaria Johnson, Ideastream Public Media

This story was originally published by Ideastream.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park is turning 50, and celebrating the milestone by highlighting decades of expansion, development and environmental preservation.

In September, the park kicked off hikes, happy hours and scavenger hunts — events that will continue through the end of 2025 — to showcase how far Northeast Ohio’s national park has come since its founding in 1974.

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Ideastream Public Media

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Points North: Complete With His Language

By Daniel Wanschura

Points North is a biweekly podcast about the land, water and inhabitants of the Great Lakes.

This episode was shared here with permission from Interlochen Public Radio.

Kenny Pheasant didn’t know it then, but he first became a teacher at a grocery store meat counter on Manitoulin Island.

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https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/12/points-north-complete-with-his-language/

Interlochen Public Radio

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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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Staci Lola Drouillard

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Climate takes its toll on the “cherry capital of the world”

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.

Walking between rows of dormant cherry and apple trees in mid-November, Raul Gomez, operations manager at Wunsch Farms on the Old Mission Peninsula, pointed out sweet cherry varieties like black pearls.

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Interlochen Public Radio

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Walleye Numbers are Down in Lake Erie

Ohio Division of Wildlife (ODW) officials have released their 2024 trawl survey indexes for Lake Erie’s two most-sought sportfish: yellow perch and walleye. This year’s results bring an end to a streak of wildly successful hatches for walleye. For yellow perch two of Ohio’s three management zones were above average, with the third zone down by 70% over last year.  

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James Proffitt, Great Lakes Now

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Waves of Change: Meet creative, organizer and educator Antonio Cosme

Waves of Change is an online interview series highlighting the diverse faces and perspectives shaping the environmental justice movement throughout the Great Lakes region.

This month, we spoke with Antonio Cosme, an Indigenous-descended creative, organizer and educator from southwest Detroit whose current work spans conservation, environmental justice and traditional ecological activities.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

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https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/12/waves-of-change-meet-creative-organizer-educator-antonio-cosme/

Great Lakes Now

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Energy News Roundup: Wisconsin reacts to oil spill as pipeline fight continues

The company planning a controversial pipeline reroute in northern Wisconsin recently told officials that it spilled approximately 69,300 gallons of crude oil in the southern part of the state, making this Wisconsin’s largest oil spill since at least 2012. Enbridge first reported the spill, which was caused by an underground equipment failure on its Line 6 pipeline, on Nov.

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https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/12/energy-news-roundup-wisconsin-reacts-to-oil-spill-as-pipeline-fight-continues/

Nicole Pollack, Great Lakes Now

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Wolves could expand across the eastern U.S. — but they might need help

This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.

By Ruth Thornton, Great Lakes Echo

Gray wolves could thrive in the eastern United States well beyond their current range in the Great Lakes region, but they might have a hard time reaching other suitable habitats without human intervention, researchers say.

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Great Lakes Echo

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Invasive Species Control in the North American Great Lakes

Below is an adapted excerpt from Beyond the Sea: The Hidden Life in Lakes, Streams, and Wetlands by David Strayer. Copyright 2024. Published with permission of Johns Hopkins University Press.

Biological invasions sometimes are seen as an inevitable result of modern life, but like other human impacts on inland waters, we can control them if we choose to do so.

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https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/12/invasive-species-control-in-the-north-american-great-lakes/

David Strayer

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No flood gauges, no warning: 99% of US streams are off the radar amid rising flash flood risks – we saw the harm in 2024

By Julie Arbit, Brad Bottoms, and Branko Kerkez, University of Michigan

 is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.

Flooding is one of the deadliest and costliest natural disasters in the U.S., causing billions of dollars in damage each year.

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The Conversation

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Leaking valve on oil pipeline spills nearly 70K gallons of oil in Jefferson County

By Rob Mentzer, Wisconsin Public Radio

This article was republished here with permission from Wisconsin Public Radio.

A valve failure on an Enbridge Energy oil pipeline in Wisconsin caused a spill that dumped some 69,000 gallons of oil into the ground.

The spill happened on the morning of Nov.

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https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/12/enbridge-oil-spill-jefferson-county-wisconsin-pipeline/

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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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Kathy Johnson, Great Lakes Now

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Safe Drinking Water Act Turns 50

By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan, Circle of Blue, Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS, Michigan Public and The Narwhal 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.

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Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/12/safe-drinking-water-act-turns-50/

Circle of Blue

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Michigan eyes hunting, fishing, boating fee increases, change to park fees

By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal 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.

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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.

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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

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Agricultural runoff damages our water and kills wildlife. Could a simple drainage stopper be the solution?

The sight of the first snow on the horizon of Bill Wiley’s 500-acre farm in Shelby County, Ohio, is a welcome relief. The 2024 growing season has been incredibly dry.

“We are about eight inches behind regular precipitation for the year,” he said.

But Wiley, who farms corn, soybeans, wheat, pumpkins and gords, has installed two inline water control structures that control the flow of drainage water from two of his fields.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

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https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/12/agricultural-runoff-damages-our-water-and-kills-wildlife-could-a-simple-drainage-stopper-be-the-solution/

Stephen Starr

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The past, present and future of a changing Lake Ontario

By Daniel Macfarlane

This story is an excerpt from Daniel Macfarlane’s book The Lives of Lake Ontario: An Environmental History.

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan, Circle of Blue, Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS, Michigan Public and The Narwhal 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.

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The Narwhal

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Construction will soon begin on project to keep invasive carp out of Great Lakes

By Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio

This article was republished here with permission from Wisconsin Public Radio.

Efforts to build a barrier to keep invasive carp out of the Great Lakes are one step closer to reality.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Wednesday that it awarded the first construction contract on the $1.15 billion project at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam on the Des Plaines River in Joliet, Illinois.

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Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/12/construction-will-soon-begin-on-project-to-keep-invasive-carp-out-of-great-lakes/

Wisconsin Public Radio

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Points North: The Iceman Giveth, The Iceman Taketh

By Ellie Katz

Points North is a biweekly podcast about the land, water and inhabitants of the Great Lakes.

This episode was shared here with permission from Interlochen Public Radio. 

Every November, mountain bikers flock to the woods of northern Michigan for the Iceman Cometh Challenge, a 30-mile mountain bike race that starts at a small town airport, cuts through steep forested hills, and ends at a campground.

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Spotlight on complexity of bottled water issues, as BlueTriton exits Ontario

Activist group, Water Watchers, had reason to celebrate last month when water bottler BlueTriton announced it will cease operations in Puslinch, Ontario in January, 2025. The group’s website beamed “We Won” and said the exit was a “historic win for water justice.”

To get a better understanding of the issues surrounding bottled water in Ontario, Canada, Great Lakes Now contacted Arlene Slocombe, executive director of Water Watchers and McMaster University Professor, Dawn Martin-Hill and founder of the Indigenous Studies Program at McMaster University. 

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Gary Wilson, Great Lakes Now

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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.

Tucked about a mile offshore from Lake Michigan, in Charlevoix County, sits Norwood Centennial Farms.

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Energy News Roundup: Bad news for rooftop solar customers

Customers who paid Sun Badger Solar for installations that never came won’t get a refund — at least for now. The Wisconsin-based company’s limited remaining assets will instead be used to cover a fraction of its employees’ unpaid wages. The Wisconsin Department of Workforce development expects to receive about $126,000 to go toward employee compensation.

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Deep in the UP, an abandoned mine could offer hope for green energy fights

By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal 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.

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Pruning your oak trees now could avoid a killer fungus

By Lester Graham, Michigan Public

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal 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.

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The hidden rivers fueling urban floods

Flooding can destroy property and have serious effects on human health. And it can follow patterns of housing discrimination from almost a century ago. Ghost streams are waterways that were filled in or covered up during city development, and they’re a contributing factor to flooding events.

Many ghost streams are underneath historically redlined neighborhoods.

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Canada is one step closer to burying nuclear waste in northwestern Ontario

By Fatima Syed, The Narwhal

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan, Circle of Blue, Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS, Michigan Public and The Narwhal 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.

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NOAA to study Great Lakes climate change with underwater robots

This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.

By Georgia Hill, Great Lakes Echo

As climate change increasingly shapes the Great Lakes region’s ecology and economy, scientists plan to use underwater robots to gather previously inaccessible data they say will help communities adapt.

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Great Lakes Moment: Michigan’s Port of Monroe fosters a blue economy that welcomes wildlife

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.

Historically, the prevailing thinking was that society could have either a healthy economy or healthy biodiversity, but not both.

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John Hartig