Blog Posts

Blog posts by FLOW team and guest writers

State should end discussion, take action on Line 5

When the police pulls a resident over for going 100 mph in a 55-mph zone, they don’t cluck their tongues — they click their ticket books. But when Michigan’s state government catches Enbridge Energy putting the Great Lakes at risk by failing again to disclose dangerous conditions on its Line 5 oil pipelines in the… Read more »

Friday Favorites – the Mackinac Bridge

Friday Favorites is our new series where we explore some of our favorite places in and around the Great Lakes. The Mighty Mac, the Big Mac, the Mackinac Bridge. One of the most iconic sights in the Great Lakes region, the Bridge has always been a source of wonder for me. My family took trips… Read more »

Courtroom Showdown Coming Friday over Line 5 Shutdown

Streaming live online this Friday morning, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and members of her staff—attorneys Peter Manning, Bob Reichel, and Dan Bock, steeped in water and natural resources law—will make historic arguments that will lead to a shutdown of Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac to protect the public trust of all of Michigan’s citizens, now and in the future, in Attorney General Dana Nessel On Behalf of the People of Michigan v. Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership, et al., before Ingham County Circuit Court Judge James S. Jamo.

“Water Is the Essence of Life”

photo: Nancy May By JoAnne Cook, FLOW Board Member and former Tribal Court Judge The Anishinaabek, who are the Indigenous people from the Great Lakes area, are born with an innate sense of our connection to everything around us. We feel the connection between us and all things in creation, whether it’s people, plants, or… Read more »

The Forgotten Great Lake?

The idea that Lake Huron is an overlooked or forgotten lake has even seeped into our government. A report issued by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality posed the question whether Huron is a victim of amnesia. It’s not the biggest Great Lake, the dirtiest, the most populated or the purest. It’s just unlike any… Read more »

A Mother’s Day Letter to My Children

Dear Ones, Every Mother’s Day, I take a walk along the lake. Some years, blue waters mirror blue skies, scattering light across small waves. I find myself stopping a lot on those walks, head tilted toward the sun. I feel it all: warmth, joy, awed gratitude for you three babies who are no longer babies…. Read more »

Oil & Water Don’t Mix: Potential Harm from Enbridge Pipelines in the Straits Stretches from Governor’s Mansion on Mackinac Island to Governor’s Desk

Oil & Water Don’t Mix: Potential Harm from Enbridge Pipelines in the Straits Stretches from Governor’s Mansion on Mackinac Island to Governor’s Desk By Kelly Thayer, FLOW Contributor September 9, 2014 It was a chilling portrait of a place accustomed to grandeur: Mackinac Island swallowed by a sea of oil. Passenger ferries and all other… Read more »

State Gets Report on Straits of Mackinac Pipelines

http://www.wilx.com/home/headlines/State-Gets-Report-on-Straits-of-Mackinac-Pipelines-278321971.html   Officials from a pipeline company are seeking to reassure Michigan officials who are conducting a safety review of lines including those running beneath the Straits of Mackinac. The Michigan Petroleum Pipeline Task Force announced Monday it got an update last month about Enbridge Energy Partners LP’s Line 5. It includes two lines that… Read more »

‘Biggest Fracking Victory Ever!’ as New York Bans Dangerous Drilling in State

Published on Wednesday, December 17, 2014 by Common Dreams ‘Biggest Fracking Victory Ever!’ as New York Bans Dangerous Drilling in State ‘Fracking has no place in New York or anywhere,’ says prominent activist after announcement by Gov. Andrew Cuomo by Jon Queally, staff writer Anti-fracking protesters outside Governor Andrew Cuomo’s policy summit in 2012. (Photo:… Read more »