Blog Posts

Blog posts by FLOW team and guest writers

Groundwater Awareness Week: March 10-16, 2024

Here’s a riddle: what resource is critical to our public health, environment and economy and invisible to the naked eye? That should be easy. The answer is groundwater. By its nature out of sight, and therefore out of mind, groundwater is an indispensable resource in Michigan and around the world, but frequently wasted and polluted… Read more »

WEBINAR: The Ethics of Sharing Great Lakes Water – April 17, 2024

With worsening water scarcity in the US and around the world, pressures to share Great Lakes water will grow. The Great Lakes Compact allows water to be diverted outside of the watershed basin for “short-term humanitarian emergencies.”  But what does this mean, and who defines it? What are the ethics of sharing water? Is it right, and… Read more »

FLOW’s Legislative Recommendations for Michigan’s 102nd Legislature

PDF DOWNLOAD: FLOW Legislative Recommendations for 102nd Legislature As a non-partisan, nonprofit law and policy center, a key component of our mission is to help Michigan’s elected leaders uphold their duties under Article IV, Section 52 of the state constitution, the Michigan Environmental Protection Act, and the public trust doctrine to protect the waters of… Read more »

The new abnormal: Ice cover and the ecology of the Great Lakes

Why is less Great Lakes ice a bad thing? This year’s historically low Great Lakes ice coverage has attracted considerable attention. Less has been said, however, about what reduced ice means for the ecology of the Great Lakes. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, effects can be profoundly… Read more »

How the Great Lakes Will Benefit from Governor Whitmer’s Energy Plan

Originally published October 6, 2023; updated February 29, 2024 In what is among the most comprehensive clean energy initiatives in the country, Michigan has become the first industrialized swing state to enact laws requiring 100 percent of electric power to come from carbon-free sources by 2040. The ambitious legislative agenda, fulfilling Governor Whitmer’s MI Healthy… Read more »

Michigan eliminates counterproductive environmental rules committee

The Michigan Legislature recently completed action on a bill eliminating the Environmental Rules Review Committee (ERRC). The ERRC gave polluters and developers an avenue for stopping, slowing, or weakening proposed environmental protection rules. Six of the eleven seats on the committee six were designated for industries regulated by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes,… Read more »

Indiana Wetland Protection Rollback Threatens Great Lakes

A new Indiana law that weakens the state’s wetland protection framework will have repercussions beyond Indiana’s borders. Indiana’s move follows a U.S, Supreme Court ruling last year that gutted federal wetland protection under the Clean Water Act and gave states leeway to weaken their wetland protections. The ruling removed federal protection for about 50% of… Read more »

Happy Birthday to our founder, Jim Olson!

This week, we’re celebrating not only a remarkable individual but also an inspiring force behind the mission of FLOW. It’s our founder Jim Olson’s birthday! Jim’s unwavering commitment to keeping the waters of the Great Lakes Basin healthy, public, and protected has paved the way for positive change. As we commemorate this special day, we… Read more »

A Festering Issue: Why Michigan Can’t Afford to Cave to Big Manure

The Battle Over Regulating Biodigesters The current West Michigan controversy surrounding permitting for a facility that processes pre-consumer food waste into fuel is a stark reminder of the delicate balance between environmental protection and economic interests. While proponents of the facility tout its benefits in terms of waste reduction and energy production, a closer look… Read more »

Water, Clean Energy Budget Boosts in Governor’s Budget

Funds to help communities deal with stormwater pollution triggered by climate change and to support water infrastructure are among budget increases proposed by Governor Whitmer. Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning October 1 also includes some increases for clean energy initiatives that build on climate legislation that became law last year…. Read more »