Blog posts by FLOW team and guest writers
By: Carrie La Seur, Legal Director — Stand aside Silicon Valley, the next big tech disruptor might be a giant manure scooper. Why? Because the Great Lakes, the largest freshwater system on Earth, are becoming a sea of livestock excrement. Traverse City is pleasantly distant from the factory farms of central and southern Michigan – but… Read more »
Chelsea Thompson, Legal Assistant Chelsea Thompson, our new legal assistant joined the team in December 2024 with a strong senvironmental sciences background from Alma College. FLOW is a dream job for Chelsea, who has aspirations to go to law school in coming years, to combine her love for the environment and developing strategies for how… Read more »
By Tony Spaniola Tony Spaniola co-founded and co-chairs the Great Lakes PFAS Action Network. He also co-founded the Need Our Water (NOW) community action group in Oscoda, Michigan, and serves on the Leadership Team of the National PFAS Contamination Coalition. PFAS contamination in Michigan was first discovered in March of 2010 in my home community… Read more »
On February 5, Governor Gretchen Whitmer unveiled her proposed executive budget for fiscal year 2026, totaling $83.5 billion, to the House and Senate Appropriations committees. Protecting air, land, and water infrastructure were among her top priorities. The Director of the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), Phil Roos stated, “The Governor’s budget proposal… Read more »
This winter, areas downwind of the Great Lakes have received enormous amounts of lake effect snow. Can climate change be occurring when storms are piling up record snow? Yes – in fact, this phenomenon is entirely consistent with climate change models. Lake-effect snow develops when cold air moves over a relatively warm large body of… Read more »
We’re thrilled to announce that FLOW has moved to a new location on Lake Avenue in downtown Traverse City! This move is more than just a change of address—it’s a reflection of our deep connection to the waters we work so hard to protect. Being situated on Lake Avenue feels especially meaningful, as our mission… Read more »
On a snowy day, drivers feel relief when road salt helps clear the way of slippery spots. But, though necessary under certain circumstances, road salt is a major polluter of Michigan’s rivers, inland lakes and the Great Lakes. Winter Salt Week is an opportunity to learn about the environmental impacts of road salt and alternatives… Read more »
On the 40th anniversary of Michigan state government’s Office of the Great Lakes, its new State of the Great Lakes report provides an important narrative about the many outstanding efforts to protect and restore these world-class waters. But, as has been true with the previous 39 reports, it makes little effort to gauge the health… Read more »
An on-line tool provided by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) enables Michiganders to identify and map sites of environmental contamination in their neighborhoods or across the state. Called the Ride Mapper (an acronym for Remediation Information Data Exchange), the interactive tool displays as of January 15 of this year a… Read more »
January 14, 2025 Lansing, Mich. – Today, attorneys representing several tribal nations and environmental groups asked the Michigan Court of Appeals to reverse the Michigan Public Service Commission’s flawed December 2023 order approving a permit for Enbridge to build a tunnel for its Line 5 oil pipeline beneath the lakebed of the Straits of Mackinac…. Read more »
