By Michael Livingston
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.
On a blustery September day in 2024, 68-year-old David Holtfreter decides to go kayaking in Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/points-north-saving-david/
Great Lakes Now recently sat down with Margot Fass of the non-profit group, A Frog House. Located in Pittsfield, New York on the banks of the Erie Canal and on the edge of the Lake Ontario sub-basin. A Frog House helps to encourage ecological education, local advocacy and collaboration around clean water and thriving wetlands.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/5-reasons-to-build-a-backyard-frog-pond/
By Sachi Kitajima Mulkey
This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here.
For those who worry about climate change all the time, the results of the November election seemed to send a clear message: American voters just don’t care as much as you do.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/where-did-all-the-climate-voters-go/
By Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio
This article was republished here with permission from Wisconsin Public Radio.
After decades of work, fishery managers say lake trout have fully recovered in most of Lake Superior after the invasive, fish-killing sea lamprey decimated their numbers.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/after-a-dramatic-decline-lake-trout-have-recovered-in-most-of-lake-superior/
Wisconsin officials put a controversial pipeline reroute one step closer to construction last week when they issued permits for Enbridge Energy, a Canadian oil company, to move a section of Line 5 off of Tribal land in the far northern part of the state. Construction and agricultural industry groups cheered the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ decision.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/energy-news-roundup-line-5s-potential-reroute-plus-mining-permits-stoke-fears-of-contamination/
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.
More than 70 townships and several counties are suing the Michigan Public Service Commission, challenging whether the commission went through the right process to put in place a law giving the state authority to approve those projects.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/local-governments-appeal-state-implementation-of-renewable-siting-law/
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 Tom Grotewohl, a resident of Wakefield Township in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and founder of the Protect the Porkies campaign.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/waves-of-change-meet-protect-the-porkies-founder-tom-grotewohl/
This story is a 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.”
As winter sets in, it’s the perfect time to reflect on your year of foraging, plan for the coming seasons, and ensure your pantry is stocked and your health fortified.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/winter-wellness-pantry/
By Matt McIntosh, 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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/the-fight-to-keep-grass-carp-out-of-the-great-lakes/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/mi-and-oh-different-strategies-to-reduce-lake-erie-nutrient-pollution/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/i-speak-for-the-fish-how-native-americans-are-saving-lake-sturgeon/
By Zaria Johnson, Ideastream Public Media
This story was originally published by Ideastream.
The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency is seeking feedback on a proposed plan to better connect the region’s county parks systems to each other, and to community resources.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/navigating-northeast-ohio-without-a-car-planning-group-wants-your-ideas-on-better-parks-connections/
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/
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.
Nine-year-old Gunner Vistisen was wearing goggles, a wooden mallet in hand, standing near a blue tarp lined with pumpkins on a lot in Traverse City.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/smashing-pumpkins-in-traverse-city-to-reduce-trash/
By Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio
This article was republished here with permission from Wisconsin Public Radio.
Ski hills in Wisconsin are relying more on snowmaking and other strategies to adapt to changing snow conditions due to climate change, according to a new study.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/pressed-for-powder-study-finds-ski-areas-are-relying-more-on-snowmaking/
Over 77% of voters in Minnesota approved an extension of the Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF), that will continue to pay for conservation efforts for another 25 years. Funding for this casts a wide net, from outdoor education and trail investments, to invasive species and PFAS removal. The ENRTF was approved as an amendment to the Minnesota Constitution of the State in 1988, and generates funding from the Minnesota State Lottery.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/pfas-roundup-minnesota-votes-to-continue-conservation-and-pfas-cleanup-indiana-ends-firefighter-foam-collection-program/
By Kristoffer Tigue, 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.
Raquel Garcia has been fighting for years to clean up the air in her neighborhood southwest of downtown Detroit.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/new-federal-funds-aim-to-cut-carbon-emissions-and-air-pollution-from-us-ports/
By Matt Simon
This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here.
During his first time around as president, Donald Trump rolled back a bevy of environmental rules, withdrew from the Paris Agreement, and boosted the fossil fuel industry.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/hell-try-but-trump-cant-stop-the-clean-energy-revolution/
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 Keith Schneider, 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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/amish-farmers-partnership-with-beef-giant-produces-manure-mess/
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 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.
On July 12, 2013 the Woessner family was hiking in Indiana.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/presenting-atlas-obscura-the-mysterious-sinkholes-of-mount-baldy/
Ford is suspending production of the F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck at its plant in Dearborn, Michigan, from mid-November until early 2025 as EV sales continue to lag behind expectations. Since the electric pickup’s launch a couple of years ago, when Ford fielded more demand than it was able to meet, momentum has slowed, and the automaker has this year halved production of the Lightning and reduced its hourly workforce at the Dearborn plant by two-thirds.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/energy-news-roundup-more-energy-transition-ups-and-downs/
By Native News Online Staff, Native News Online
This article originally appeared on Native News Online. Founded in 2011, Native News Online reaches millions of Native and non-Native readers annually including American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and others interested in Native American concerns.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/national-park-service-issues-landmark-order-for-tribal-consultations/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/4-things-to-know-about-a-youth-led-court-case-against-ontarios-climate-plans/
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 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.
In Gogebic County, on the western end of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, towering old-growth evergreens carpet the landscape as it rolls down toward the deep blue of Lake Superior.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/public-hearing-draws-on-big-questions-about-upper-peninsula-copper-mining/
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/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Isabella Figueroa, Great Lakes Echo
Student researchers from Michigan State University and the University of Wisconsin are among the winners of an Environmental Protection Agency contest for innovations in sustainability.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/students-at-michigan-state-and-wisconsin-win-epa-funding-for-environmental-health-innovations/
By Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio
This article was republished here with permission from Wisconsin Public Radio.
Dozens of Wisconsin communities will receive more than $273 million from the state for drinking water projects that include removing lead pipes and addressing PFAS contamination.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/wisconsin-communities-receive-273m-for-drinking-water-projects/
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.
In the era of climate change, many Detroit homes and churches face challenging stormwater fees.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/11/great-lakes-moment-sacred-grounds/
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 Rebeka Ndosi, founder of the Maji ya Chai Land Sanctuary, a Black-led healing sanctuary just outside of Two Harbors, Minnesota.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/waves-of-change-meet-maji-ya-chai-land-sanctuary-founder-rebeka-ndosi/
By Marianne Lavelle and Dan Gearino, 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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/competing-visions-for-u-s-auto-industry-clash-in-presidential-election-with-the-ev-future-pressing-at-the-border/
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/mining-is-back-in-michigans-upper-peninsula-heres-how-it-works/
By Zaria Johnson, Ideastream Public Media
This story was originally published by Ideastream.
As election day approaches, presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris continue to campaign on issues that are top of mind for many voters like the economy, crime and immigration.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/ohio-environmental-advocates-weigh-in-2024-presidential-candidates-stance-on-climate-change/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/carp-catch-22-could-improvements-in-chicago-waterways-invite-unwelcome-guests/
This story is a 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.”
As the season shifts and the air chills, I find myself drawn to the warmth and sustenance that the wild foods of fall offer — from roots to mushrooms to nuts to herbs — and take great satisfaction in concocting nourishing recipes for my family and friends.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/a-foraged-great-lakes-woodland-chai-tea/
By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue
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/election-state-and-local-voters-consider-tax-increases-for-water-protection/
Spooky Lakes: 25 Strange and Mysterious Lakes That Dot Our Planet is a new book by Geo Rutherford. Below is an adapted excerpt from her New York Times best seller, all about Lake Superior. Follow Geo on TikTok or Instagram for more content on spooky lakes.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/spooky-lake-superior-the-ss-kamloops/
By Max Howard
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.
A northern Michigan hunter named Mitch Rompola is sitting in a tree stand waiting.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/points-north-the-biggest-buck-that-maybe-never-was/
“Nibi Chronicles,” a monthly Great Lakes Now feature, is written by Staci Lola Drouillard. A Grand Portage Ojibwe direct descendant, she lives in Grand Marais on Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior. Her nonfiction books “Walking the Old Road: A People’s History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe” and “Seven Aunts” were published 2019 and 2022, and the children’s story “A Family Tree” in 2024.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/nibi-chronicles-manoomin-as-medicine/
Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Rep. Dan Kildee introduced The Veterans Exposed to Toxic PFAS Act in July of 2023. Recently, Vice President Kamala Harris announced her support for the bill as a part of her presidential campaign. If passed, this would make it easier for veterans who were exposed to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) while serving to access medical benefits and disability.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/pfas-roundup-vice-president-harris-supports-michigan-led-plan-to-provide-medical-care-for-military-victims-of-pfas/
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/
Long after the Halloween season has ended, some of the Great Lakes’ most infamous invasive species remain a scary sight: blood-sucking parasites with suction-cup mouths, thousands of rotting fish carcasses washed ashore and sharp mussel shells that puncture the feet of unsuspecting beachgoers.
At least 188 nonnative aquatic species have been introduced to the Great Lakes, and over a third have become invasive, meaning they can have negative health, ecological and socioeconomic impacts when introduced to new ecosystems.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/great-lakes-most-unwanted-top-10-invasive-species/
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/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/the-nations-first-commercial-carbon-storage-plant-is-in-illinois-it-leaks/
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/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/i-speak-for-the-fish-wheres-the-line-in-fisheries-research/
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.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/10/consequences-of-less-ice-on-lakes-due-to-climate-change/
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/
