Blog posts by FLOW team and guest writers
Powered by gifts of support, FLOW works to ensure that the Great Lakes, groundwater, and drinking water are healthy, public, and protected for all. Using public trust law, science, citizen action, and the arts to raise awareness and protect public water, FLOW’s team of lawyers and policy experts crafts real solutions to complex problems facing… Read more »
❄On this first day of winter, FLOW is celebrating the water cycle in all of its glorious forms. Let It Snow! ❄ #WinterSolstice2022 (Snowflake design by Miles Dupuis Carey)
Above: Lucy Jones photographs stickers featuring her original designs for advertising on her Up North Jewelry website and social media. (All photos courtesy of Lucy Jones) When FLOW first wrote about Lucy Jones—the inspiring Traverse City teen who creates and sells jewelry to benefit the Great Lakes—last February, our supporters were moved by her environmental… Read more »
Above: Appreciating the water cycle and all the many forms it takes, including snowflakes and rainbows over Lake Michigan. (Photo/Kelly Thayer) By Dave Dempsey Last month marked the end of my 40th year of environmental advocacy. Looking ahead to 2022 in 1982, I may have thought humans would have colonized the moon by now—or better… Read more »
In a time of seemingly overwhelming environmental challenges, it is important to remember that many unheralded individuals are working successfully to protect the Great Lakes. John Hartig profiles some of them in his new book, Great Lakes Champions. FLOW asked Hartig about the book’s message, the people he profiles, and the overall health of the… Read more »
Above: The clear waters of Great Sand Bay on Lake Superior north of Eagle River, Michigan, on the Keweenaw Peninsula. (Photo/Kelly Thayer) You will not find the word “water” on Tuesday’s statewide general election ballot in Michigan. That hasn’t always been true. In 1968, 1988, 1998, and 2002, water appeared in the form of statewide… Read more »
Above: Aerial view of White Lake near Montague, Michigan, with Duck Lake visible to the south. (Photo/Doc Searls) By Tanya Cabala I was a young adult before I knew anything about the Clean Water Act, its passage in 1972, its relationship to my community, or even its initial promise of “zero discharge,” still unfulfilled to… Read more »
Waves roll in on Lake Superior. (Photo/NPS) About the author: Nancy Langston is the Distinguished Professor of Environmental History at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Langston is the author of five books, including two on the Great Lakes. She served for six years on the Lake Superior Binational Forum. By Nancy… Read more »
Editor’s note — See FLOW’s additional coverage of the Clean Water Act and the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement here: Considering Michigan’s Overlooked Resource—Inland Lakes—on the 50th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act — October 18, 2022 The State of Water Quality in Michigan — October 13, 2022 Where Do We Stand on the 50th Anniversary… Read more »
Bass Lake in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (Photo/Kelly Thayer) Editor’s note—See FLOW’s additional coverage of the Clean Water Act and the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement here: Clean Water: It’s About Holding Officials Accountable — October 18, 2022 The State of Water Quality in Michigan — October 13, 2022 Where Do We Stand on the… Read more »
