Calling their communities sacrifice zones for being home to hazardous waste storage sites, residents in a Detroit neighborhood are taking a stand.
Last week, residents with support from the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center filed a formal complaint …
Michigan is at the forefront of states in the U.S. when it comes to taking action against per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, a group of manmade chemicals found in a wide range of consumer products as well as firefighting foam.
On Monday, Mic…
Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Guy O. Williams knew very little abo…
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up wi…
From lead pipes to PFAS, drinking water contamination is a major issue plaguing cities and towns all around the Great Lakes. Cleaning up contaminants and providing safe water to everyone is an ongoing public health struggle.
Keep up with drinking water…
By Marina Villeneuve, Associated Press Writer
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Clean water activists hope that water suppliers will remove an industrial pollutant under new water standards adopted Thursday in New York.
The state’s Public Health and Health Pla…
By Ed White, Associated Press Writer
DETROIT (AP) — Flint residents whose health and homes were harmed by lead-contaminated water scored a legal milestone Wednesday when the Michigan Supreme Court said they could proceed with a lawsuit against public o…
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
In this edition: Great Lakes states join others to sue EPA over new reading of Clean Water Act rule limiting their oversight capacities, …
By John Flesher, AP Environmental Writer
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer criticized Enbridge Inc. on Wednesday for what she described as the company’s refusal to make an airtight pledge to pay for damages caused by a po…
With two segments in the latest episode of the Great Lakes Now monthly program, producer David Ruck is bringing audiences insight about two major issues in the Great Lakes region: how pollution from farmland impacts water quality and what financial cos…
By Jessica Heiges, University of California, Berkeley and Kate O’Neill, University of California, Berkeley, The Conversation
is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.
COVID-19 is changing how …
By John Flesher, AP Environmental Writer
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Michigan sought a written pledge Friday from Enbridge Inc. to cover costs that would arise if oil were to leak from its dual pipelines that extend across a channel linking two of the …
Scientists believe a dry spring in Lake Erie’s western basin watershed will help keep the annual harmful algal bloom in check this summer and early autumn.
The bloom’s biomass is expected to rank 4.5 on a scale of 10 in terms of severity, according to …
From lead pipes to PFAS, drinking water contamination is a major issue plaguing cities and towns all around the Great Lakes. Cleaning up contaminants and providing safe water to everyone is an ongoing public health struggle.
Keep up with drinking water…
By John Flesher, AP Environmental Writer
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Lake Erie’s annual blob of pea-green algae is expected to be smaller this summer than a year ago following a relatively dry spring, but that doesn’t necessarily reflect si…
By Beth Edwards, Indiana Environmental Reporter
Once known as the City of Mineral Water for the healing power of its spring-fed spas, Martinsville, Indiana, now faces the specter of health threats caused by the contamination of its water supply.
For th…
Fatbergs — massive buildups of wipes and hygiene products congealed with greases and oils — make for a cringe-worthy topic. And the damage they cause to sewer systems can be a huge amount of trouble for the people in charge of those sewer systems.
That…
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer doesn’t need another crisis.
For six of her 18 months in office she’s been grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic that grips Michigan and shows few signs of abating. Then came a May rain deluge that contributed to the failu…
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up wi…
By John Flesher, AP Environmental Writer
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan judge Wednesday allowed Enbridge to resume pumping oil through a Midwestern pipeline, nearly a week after shutting it down because of damage to a structure that anchors a s…
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…
Close your eyes for a moment and imagine you are on a roller coaster ascending the first and highest hill on the ride. You hear the click, click, click as the car slowly climbs to the top and you start getting excited, even nervous, the closer you get …
By Ed White, Associated Press Writer
DETROIT (AP) — A judge shut down an energy pipeline in Michigan’s Great Lakes on Thursday, granting a request from the state after the owner reported problems with a support piece far below the surface.
Enbridge Inc…
Fighting Fatbergs
SEGMENT 1 | Macomb County, Michigan
In 2019, a 19-ton glob of garbage and waste clogged a southeast Michigan sewer.
Called a “fatberg,” the blockage was made of fats, oils and greases bound together mainly by disposable wipes. Great L…
MACKINAW CITY, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s attorney general on Monday asked a judge to shut down a pipeline in the Great Lakes after an energy company discovered that an anchor support had shifted deep below the surface.
Enbridge Inc. insists the Lin…
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up wi…
The Trump administration has made a habit of rolling back federal environmental protections over the past few years.
According to The New York Times, 100 environmental rules have been reversed since President Donald Trump took office. Among those rules…
It’s still a pandemic, so we didn’t get to attend a gala – in fact I was still in filthy workout clothes when I got the news on Saturday night.
But I can’t imagine it was any less thrilling for any of us on the Great Lakes Now team that produced “The F…
By Herbert G. McCann, Associated Press Writer
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer demanded Friday that Enbridge Energy provide proof that the damage to one of its dual oil pipelines under the Straits of Mackinac will not pose a threat to the area.
The Alber…
This is the third in a three-part series that will explore the history of Lake Superior and the Boundary waters, the communities affected by two proposed copper mines, the arguments in favor and against the mines, and what the mines might mean for the …
From lead pipes to PFAS, drinking water contamination is a major issue plaguing cities and towns all around the Great Lakes. Cleaning up contaminants and providing safe water to everyone is an ongoing public health struggle in the region.
Keep up with …
This is the second in a three-part series that will explore the history of Lake Superior and the Boundary waters, the communities affected by two proposed copper mines, the arguments in favor and against the mines, and what the mines might mean for the…
This is the first in a three-part series that will explore the history of Lake Superior and the Boundary waters, the communities affected by two proposed copper mines, the arguments in favor and against the mines, and what the mines might mean for the …
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The federal government is seeking the public’s input on its plan to clean up groundwater contamination at a Superfund site in Indianapolis that’s tainted with chemicals used by a dry cleaning company.
The U.S. Environmen…
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.
A new study on cleaning up Great Lak…
A lot of focus has been placed on Dow Chemical Company—which is headquartered in Midland, Michigan—after two dams breached and flooded many areas around Midland County including near a Superfund site.
Dow stated in a press release Thursday that there w…
By John Flesher, AP Environmental Writer
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — It took seven years to settle on a plan for cleansing two rivers and floodplains polluted with dioxins from a Dow Chemical Co. plant in central Michigan. The work itself has lasted ne…
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of widespread man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or the human body and have been flagged as a major contaminant in sources of water across the country.
Keep up wi…
The virus can be detected in infected people’s feces – sometimes even before they begin exhibiting symptoms.
Read Now at Great Lakes Now.
By Walker Orenstein and Gabe Schneider, MinnPost, through the Institute for Nonprofit News network
In late April, former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign held a virtual event with Minnesota supporters to promote the Democrat’s plans to address clima…
The state agency that has to green light Enbridge Energy’s controversial pipeline in a tunnel project in the Straits of Mackinac hit the pause button on the process last week when it told the company it needs additional information.
The new pipeline wo…
Over the last two decades, Milwaukee’s Walnut Way neighborhood has gradually transformed from lifeless parcels to green space and become a model for others.
Read Now at Great Lakes Now.
Keep up with energy-related developments in the Great Lakes area with Great Lakes Now’s biweekly headline roundup.
In this edition: Indiana residents are worried about insufficient measures being taken to address pollution during coal ash pond closure;…
Warmer waters, heavier storms and nutrient pollution are a triple threat to Great Lakes cities’ drinking water.
Read Now at Great Lakes Now.
Perched on the western shore of the world’s greatest lake, an inland port city offers lessons for resilience in uncertain times.
Read Now at Great Lakes Now.
As the author of Great Lakes Now’s Collection of Lesson Plans, educational consultant Gary Abud Jr. is now providing more support for parents, teachers and caregivers who want to incorporate Great Lakes learning into their time with children and studen…
A big storm can overwhelm a treatment plant’s capacity, leading to storm and wastewater bypassing the plant and ending up untreated in the lake.
Read Now at Great Lakes Now.
This year’s Earth Day is a special one, and not just because it’s the 50th anniversary of the event.
With stay home orders and heavy social distancing recommendations in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the usual large gatherings of people to show suppo…
Great Lakes Now is sharing work from our partners in a project on what climate change means for Great Lakes cities. Here is the initial piece in the series.
Read Now at Great Lakes Now.
As the author of Great Lakes Now’s Collection of Lesson Plans, educational consultant Gary Abud Jr. is now providing more support for parents, teachers and caregivers who want to incorporate Great Lakes learning into their time with children and studen…