A few months ago, I was riding on Amtrak’s new Borealis line from St. Paul, Minn., to Chicago. The train was packed that day, and the new line has proved popular.
My coach seat was much nicer than any airline. Plus, I didn’t have to go through security.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/03/what-would-the-great-lakes-region-be-like-with-bullet-trains/
By Peter Blanchard and Jenna Watson, Mirror Indy
Mirror Indy is a part of Free Press Indiana, a nonprofit news organization dedicated to ensuring all Hoosiers have access to the news and information they need.
Every week for the past 10 years, Aaron Thomas has brought his recycling to the city’s dropoff location in Garfield Park.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/01/why-indy-wont-have-curbside-recycling-until-at-least-2028/
Melting ice. Wildfire smoke. Crop losses. Climate change is already having an impact on the Great Lakes region. According to a 2022 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in order to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius, humanity would have to reach net-zero emissions by the 2070s.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/environmentalists-industry-divided-over-energy-permitting-bill/
A 2022 report titled Promises Half Kept at the Half Century Mark, by the Environmental Integrity Project, released on the Clean Water Act’s 50th anniversary said the law is “falling short of its original goals.”
Michigan, for example, has the 4th largest number of impaired lakes, reservoirs and streams assessed for water contact recreation in the U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/can-environmental-law-move-beyond-bedrock-1970s-legislation-while-adapting-to-current-and-future-challenges/
By Gautam Jain, Columbia University
is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.
As the U.S. prepares for another Trump administration, one area unambiguously in the incoming president’s crosshairs is climate policy.
Although he has not released an official climate agenda, Donald Trump’s playbook from his last stint in the Oval Office and his frequent complaints about clean energy offer some clues to what’s ahead.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/trump-climate-policy-impact/
By Tik Root, Grist
This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here.
Donald J. Trump will once again be president of the United States.
The Associated Press called the race for Trump early Wednesday morning, ending one of the costliest and most turbulent campaign cycles in the nation’s history.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/trump-wins-planet-loses/
By Emily Jones and Gautama Mehta, Grist
This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here.
The U.S. power grid is at a critical crossroads. Electricity generation, like every other industry, needs to rid itself of fossil fuels if the country is to play its role in combating the climate crisis — a transition that will have to happen even as energy providers scramble to meet what they claim is an unprecedented spike in electricity demand, attributed to the rise of AI.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/the-race-for-clean-energy-is-local/
By Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio
This article was republished here with permission from Wisconsin Public Radio.
Outside a September rally with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, Ashland business owner and Democrat Will Pipkin set up signs with a cavalcade of slogans, including “Another cat lady for democracy” and “Without a healthy climate, there’s no freedom.”
Pipkin said he’s backing Vice President Kamala Harris and Walz in the presidential race because they’re the most progressive choice, and he thinks they would continue President Joe Biden’s work on green initiatives and climate change.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/climate-change-isnt-a-top-issue-in-this-election-some-wisconsin-voters-say-it-should-be/
This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here.
Helene and Milton, the two massive hurricanes that just swept into the country — killing hundreds of people, and leaving both devastation and rumblings of political upheaval in seven states — amounted to their own October surprise.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/the-climate-stakes-of-the-harris-trump-election/
Great Lakes Now, Ideastream Public Media, Native News Online, Planet Detroit, Wisconsin Public Radio, and Grist held a discussion last week about the national, regional and statewide climate implications of the upcoming election.
Great Lakes Now Host Anna Sysling moderated a panel of journalists as they spoke about the big topics they are covering and thinking about in advance of voting day.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/virtual-town-hall-what-does-election-mean-for-great-lakes-climate-and-environment/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; 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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/michigan-a-top-winner-of-climate-funds-trump-wants-to-revoke/
By Zaria Johnson, Ideastream Public Media
This story was originally published by Ideastream.
A recent lawsuit suit accusing Campbell Soup of discharging excessive amounts of phosphorus and other contaminants into Northwest Ohio waterways is highlighting challenges the state faces in targeting harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/campbell-soup-pollution-lawsuits-raise-concerns-about-additional-northeast-ohio-phosphorus-sources/
This article, first posted here, was republished with permission from Wisconsin Watch.
By Bennet Goldstein, Wisconsin Watch
Last week, a divided Wisconsin Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that limited the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ ability to regulate PFAS and other emerging contaminants under the state’s long-standing spills law.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/03/efforts-to-thwart-regulation-of-pfas-polluters-move-down-parallel-tracks/
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/
August 8, 2023
Fresh is a biweekly newsletter from Circle of Blue that unpacks the biggest international, state, and local policy news stories facing the Great Lakes region today. Sign up for Fresh: A Great Lakes Policy Briefing, straight to your inbox, every other Tuesday.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/fresh-chicago-broils-citizens-scientists-study-heat-island-effect/
From fishing to enjoying a summer day at the beach, the Great Lakes provide enjoyment, comfort and a sense of home to the region. But these bodies of water were not always secure, as the lakes and connecting rivers were considered dangerous due to high pollution spots.
The Great Lakes region has seen some of the most historic river fires.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/08/amendment-to-clean-water-act-improves-great-lakes-through-critical-observation-collaboration/
On May 25, the Supreme Court ruled 9 to 0, changing wetland protection in The Clean Water Act. The Sackett family, who took on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), were being fined $40,000 a day for building their Idaho property too close to an unnamed tributary. That tributary feeds into a creek, and that creek feeds into Priest Lake.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/07/what-are-wetlands-for-anyway/
June 27, 2023
Fresh is a biweekly newsletter from Circle of Blue that unpacks the biggest international, state, and local policy news stories facing the Great Lakes region today. Sign up for Fresh: A Great Lakes Policy Briefing, straight to your inbox, every other Tuesday.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/06/fresh-federal-judge-orders-line-5-shutdown-on-tribal-land-in-wisconsin/
This article was republished here with permission from Planet Detroit.
By Brian Allnutt, Planet Detroit
The Supreme Court’s recent ruling to significantly reduce Clean Water Act wetlands protections has caused alarm among environmental advocates who fear it will endanger crucial habitats and human health and safety.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/06/what-does-the-supreme-courts-wetland-ruling-mean-for-michigan/
May 16, 2023
Fresh is a biweekly newsletter from Circle of Blue that unpacks the biggest international, state, and local policy news stories facing the Great Lakes region today. Sign up for Fresh: A Great Lakes Policy Briefing, straight to your inbox, every other Tuesday.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/fresh-wisconsin-law-protect-watersheds-farm-runoff/
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
Jury convicts all four defendants in ComEd bribery trial — and fires a warning shot at Michael Madigan — Chicago-Sun Times
A jury finds all four defendants guilty of bribery conspiracy in a case involving former ComEd executives accused of arranging jobs, contracts and money for allies of former democratic Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan in exchange for favorable legislation.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/05/energy-news-roundup-hydrogen-fuel-plant-michigan-un-recommends-shutting-down-line-5/
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/2023/04/great-lakes-take-global-stage/
In 2014, Detroit and Michigan received international attention on a water issue, but it wasn’t the spotlight either would have wanted.
The United Nations dispatched an official human rights rapporteur to Detroit to document the harm caused by water shutoffs based on the inability to pay. “There was no water for food or toilets or for care of the elderly or kids, people had to go to public parks and put water in cans,” water rights advocate Maude Barlow told Great Lakes Now in a 2022 interview.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/02/hope-springs-eternal-for-michigan-legislator-who-champions-drinking-water-equity/
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/2023/02/new-u-s-climate-law-could-make-midwest-water-contamination-worse/
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/2023/02/right-to-water-2023-michigan-ends-shutoffs/
By Lee Chilcote, The Land
This story is part of a collaborative series, from the Institute for Nonprofit News, The Land and four other news partners, examining climate resilience across the Great Lakes. This reporting was made possible with support from the Joyce Foundation.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/01/circular-economy-programs-reduce-waste-build-jobs/
By Rebecca Fedewa, 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/2023/01/bridge-circle-of-blue-discuss-michigan-water-priorities/
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/2023/01/michigan-democrats-aiming-erase-business-friendly-environmental-laws/
By Michael Phillis, Associated Press
President Joe Biden signed a large defense bill on Friday that includes a water bill that directs the Army Corps of Engineers on major infrastructure projects to improve navigation and protect against storms worsened by climate change.
The biggest project by far this year is a $34 billion Texas coastal barrier featuring massive floodgates and other structures to protect the Houston region with its concentration of oil refineries and chemical plants, at risk during major hurricanes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/ap-bidens-signature-advances-major-projects-water-bill/
Since 2020 when Democrats swept into power by winning the presidency and taking control of both chambers of Congress, Great Lakes programs have had a tailwind of funding support from Washington.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provided a $1 billion windfall for the region to accelerate clean up of the multiple toxic sites known as Areas of Concern that remain from the peak industrial period in the 1950’s and 1960’s.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/smooth-sailing-or-choppy-waters-for-great-lakes-programs/
Should natural resources like the Great Lakes have the same legal right to protection from harm as a person has? Including the right to be free from exploitation as a commodity for financial gain?
New York state Assemblyman Patrick Burke thinks so and has introduced formal legislation that would provide for those rights.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/12/buffalo-legislator-calls-for-protection-for-great-lakes/
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/2022/10/pfas-news-roundup-petition-says-epa-loophole-lets-forever-chemicals-evade-review/
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/2022/10/septic-pollution-michigan-lawmakers-reform/
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ administration is trying again to limit the levels of a group of chemicals known as PFAS in Wisconsin’s groundwater.
The Wisconsin State Journal reported that Evers authorized the Department of Natural Resources last week to begin work on administrative rules establishing limits.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/ap-evers-administration-efforts-limit-pfas/
When we think of our cherished dogs, most of us don’t easily make a connection to environmental policy or protecting the Great Lakes.
But that’s the path Traverse City’s Dave Dempsey followed in his latest book release, Half Wild: People, Dogs and Environmental Policy.
The premise of the book examines our tendency to engage in binary thinking on protecting the environment and the Great Lakes, much like dogs who are domesticated but retain long-ingrained wild tendencies.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/09/dave-dempsey-people-dogs-and-environmental-policy/
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
Solar, storage projects set to bring jobs, tax revenue to Illinois coal communities — Energy News Network
Six retired coal plants in downstate Illinois will soon receive solar panels and become renewable energy storage sites.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/energy-news-roundup/
By Kari Lydersen, Energy News Network
This story was first published on the Energy News Network and was republished here with permission.
A recent state procurement formalizes plans to put solar and storage on the site of several retired coal plants. The owners will receive grants and higher-value renewable energy credits to finance the projects.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/solar-storage-projects-set-to-bring-jobs-tax-revenue-to-illinois-coal-communities/
Broadcasting in our monthly PBS television program, The Catch is a Great Lakes Now series that brings you more news about the lakes you love. Go beyond the headlines with reporters from around the region who cover the lakes and drinking water issues. Find all the work HERE.
In Milwaukee, officials are working to eliminate combined sewage overflows that can pour pollution into local waterways including Lake Michigan.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/the-catch-pollution-problems/
By Kyla Russell, National Newspaper Association Foundation News Fellows Program
Great Lakes Now is publishing this story in conjunction with the National Newspaper Association Foundation’s News Fellows Program. In March, during NNA’s Community Newspaper Leadership Summit, a group of student journalists met with experts and policy leaders in Washington D.C.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/indiana-changing-tone-toward-wind-energy/
By Christopher Bonasia, The Energy Mix
This story originally appeared in The Energy Mix and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.
The sudden rise in fertilizer prices since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could have implications for global emissions by reducing how much of it farmers use in their fields.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/07/soaring-fertilizer-prices-emissions-farmers/
June 14, 2022
Fresh is a biweekly newsletter from Circle of Blue that unpacks the biggest international, state, and local policy news stories facing the Great Lakes region today. Sign up for Fresh: A Great Lakes Policy Briefing, straight to your inbox, every other Tuesday.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/fresh-research-highlights-gaps-in-federal-air-pollution-data/
In February 2021, Detroit’s Michelle Martinez was excited like she hadn’t been in years about the potential of progress on core environmental and climate justice issues.
President Donald Trump, who took the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accords and was rolling back Obama-era environmental protections, was out of office.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/michigan-gov-plan-action/
By Eleanore Catolico, Energy News Network
This story was first published on the Energy News Network and was republished here with permission.
This article is co-published by the Energy News Network and Planet Detroit with support from the Race and Justice Reporting Initiative at the Damon J.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/agencies-environmental-data-residents/
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Legislation criticized by opponents as a vehicle for-profit water companies to take over municipal water authorities in Pennsylvania by imposing expensive regulations on them passed the Republican-controlled state Senate on Tuesday.
Opponents also warned that the bill will precipitate ratepayer increases when water authorities must meet the new regulations or after they are forced to sell out to for-profit water companies.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-pennsylvania-senate-bill-rates/
By Michael Hill, Associated Press
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York lawmakers have passed a milestone environmental measure designed to tap the brakes on the spread of cryptocurrency mining operations that burn fossil fuels.
Both supporters and opponents say that the closely watched bill, approved early Friday by the state Senate, is the first of its kind in the U.S.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-landmark-bill-limit-cryptomining/
MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. (AP) — At least 15 people who attended a public affairs conference last week on Michigan’s Mackinac Island have tested positive for COVID-19, including U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
The gathering is put on each year by a business group, the Detroit Regional Chamber, and attracts more than 1,000 public officials, journalists and others who discuss a variety of political and policy issues.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/ap-covid-michigan-event/
This month of The Catch features stories from our partners in the Great Lakes News Collaborative. The collaborative’s investigation of the cost of water in the Great Lakes region was the focus of the latest episode.
In Chicago, journalist Laura Gersony is rolling out a new biweekly offering from Circle of Blue called Fresh: A Great Lakes Policy Briefing.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/06/the-catch-policy-news-great-lakes-region/
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/2022/06/toxic-hot-spots-michigan-great-lakes-states/
By Janet McConnaughey, Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — About $33 million of the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan recently signed into law by President Joe Biden will go toward cleanning up 277 of an estimated 15,000 abandoned oil and gas wells on federal land, the nation’s interior secretary said Wednesday.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/ap-infrastructure-plan-clean-up-wells/
Great Lakes Now episodes are packed with important information on current topics.
In “Water’s True Cost,” learn about the aging infrastructure problem in Michigan and how many households struggle to pay their water bills. And in “The Catch” we look at the same problem in Ontario, the problem of Michigan’s lacking sewer regulations, and a new series on Great Lakes policy.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05/waters-true-cost-the-great-lakes-now-episode-quiz/
