Blog posts by FLOW team and guest writers
“Let’s go to the creek!” Wide eyes and an expectant smile stared up at my dad. Growing up with a state park behind our house, I felt the creek had a mystical quality. We would explore for what felt like days, sliding down the hill, peering in the fox den, but mostly just crashing through… Read more »
What a difference 100 years makes. In 1918, a US-Canadian commission reported on the condition of the boundary waters between the two countries with an emphasis on the connecting waters of the Great Lakes. In the words of the International Joint Commission, the situation was a disgrace. It was also fatal to thousands. At the… Read more »
FLOW’s organizing principle is the public trust doctrine. What sounds like an exotic concept is quite simple. This centuries-old principle of common law holds that there are some resources, like water and submerged lands, that by their nature cannot be privately owned. Rather, this commons – including the Great Lakes — belongs to the public. … Read more »
When a special interest group backs bad legislation, it’s almost par for the course that the group will try to doctor its proposal with seemingly innocuous rhetoric. But deplorable legislation now before the Michigan House of Representatives is so one-sided and anti-environmental that attempts by the State Chamber of Commerce to cloak it in good… Read more »
FLOW’s organizing principle is the public trust doctrine. What sounds like an exotic concept is quite simple. This centuries-old principle of common law holds that there are some resources, like water and submerged lands, that by their nature cannot be privately owned. Rather, this commons – including the Great Lakes — belongs to the public. … Read more »
Since the 1970s, Michiganders have benefited from – and agreed on the need for – basic environmental protections. Our health, recreation and tourism economy and quality of life have improved since the days of rivers with dead zones and skies blackened by smoke. Now the Michigan Legislature threatens to undo all that. In a move… Read more »
Today, February 2, is World Wetland Day. A 2012 UN Report says from 1900 to 2012, the world lost 50% of its wetlands. As humans, we value our productivity. We want to gut the unnecessary and utilize every minute and every inch to its full potential. However, when we aim for 100% productivity, our first… Read more »
“This is our ‘New American Moment,’” President Trump said in the State of the Union speech. “There has never been a better time to start living the American dream.” He talked of building “gleaming new roads, bridges, highways, railways, and waterways across our land.” But based on an outline released last week, the President’s plan… Read more »
Editor’s note: FLOW’s organizing principle is the public trust doctrine. What sounds like an exotic concept is quite simple. This centuries-old principle of common law holds that there are some resources, like water and submerged lands, that by their nature cannot be privately owned. Rather, this commons – including the Great Lakes — belongs to… Read more »
Environmentally, Michigan once strived to be the best. Now the Michigan Senate’s policy goal is to sink down with the rest. Two bills approved last week by the Michigan State Senate, Senate Bills 652 and 653, would lead to a deteriorating environment in Michigan. They create two supercharged boards dominated by pollution interests to govern environmental rulemaking and… Read more »
