Blog posts by FLOW team and guest writers
Ten years to save the planet from climate change. PFAS, microplastics, and invasive species. Wetland destruction and failing, polluting septic systems. Sometimes it seems as though the only environmental news is bad news. Here’s an antidote, borne in a glass half-full. Great Lakes Piping Plover An endearing, small shorebird that nests on Great Lakes beaches,… Read more »
Is More of the Same Good Enough for the Great Lakes? Give the U.S. EPA and its Canadian counterpart points for recycling. When they released the 2022 State of the Great Lakes report last week, they offered the same characterization as in previous reports: overall, the Great Lakes are fair and unchanging. Merriam-Webster defines “fair”… Read more »
Editor’s note: This is a FLOW media release issued August 3, 2022. Members of the media can reach open water swimmer Jake Bright at jake@jakebright.com, 347-204-7576; FLOW Executive Director Liz Kirkwood at liz@flowforwater.org, 570-872-4956; and NMLK President Daniel Oginsky at dan@northmanitoulightkeepers.org, 810-360-3768. The event’s fundraising page can be found here at GoFundMe or https://gofund.me/267456f4. TRAVERSE… Read more »
This summer, Kelli Fitzpatrick has assisted FLOW in researching and writing about the threat of water commercialization and the ethics of water stewardship. Originally from Beaverton, Michigan, she now lives in Iowa, where she attends graduate school at Iowa State University. We asked her a few questions about her background, plans, and writing interests.
Our newly constituted Supreme Court acted more like “supreme rulers” than an independent judiciary, choosing politics and their fixation on narrow legal ideology over the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gases under a realistic and fair reading of federal law—the Clean Air Act, writes Jim Olson.
The Great Lakes have spawned a multitude of institutions from research to governance to the arts—but no library. Several leaders say it’s overdue. Inspired by a 2016 New York Times article about work to establish a Rocky Mountain Land Library, co-founder Deborah Burand said, “We need to do this, but make it a land and water library, a Library of the Great Lakes.”
FLOW is thrilled to welcome our ambitious and talented pair of Milliken law and policy summer interns, Irene Namae and Mary Basso. We recently interviewed Irene and Mary to get to know them, their roots, their passion for environmental advocacy, and what attracted them to FLOW.
“At FLOW, our interns jump into the fray and immediately work together with our staff to protect our precious waters,” said Executive Director Liz Kirkwood. “We are thrilled to welcome Irene and Mary to the team, and excited to benefit from their fresh energy and ideas. As our Milliken interns, they have the skills and attributes to help extend the legacy of environmental protection left by Gov. William and Helen Milliken.”
The Great Lakes rightly command our attention and affection, but maybe it’s time to take stock of Michigan’s other lake resource—the thousands of lakes distributed across the state map like freckles. Michigan’s inland lakes span a large range of sizes and occur in a variety of environments. It’s appropriate during the state’s Lakes Appreciation Month to take pride in them.
Editor’s Note: The following is a statement from Jim Olson, Senior Legal Advisor at FLOW (For Love of Water), the Great Lakes law and policy center based in Traverse City. The statement is in response to the decision today by the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) at its regular meeting to reopen the record to… Read more »
Editor’s note: This is a FLOW media release issued July 6, 2022. Members of the media can reach FLOW Deputy Director Kelly Thayer at Kelly@FLOWforWater.org or 231-944-3119; Oil & Water Don’t Mix Coordinator Sean McBrearty at smcbrearty@cleanwater.org or 616-516-7758; and Whitney Gravelle, president of the Executive Council, Bay Mills Indian Community, at wgravelle@baymills.org or 906-248-8100…. Read more »
