News

Michigan Officials Direct Nestlé to Reexamine Impact to Freshwater Resources of Increased Pumping Proposal

August 9, 2017

Reports and HandoutsJim Olson on Great Lakes Compact (Video)Media ReleasesRelated PostsThe Council of CanadiansMore on Nestlé Water Grab Acting in part on scientific evidence developed and submitted by FLOW and our expert team, the Michigan Department of Environmental has directed Swiss water-bottling giant Nestlé to reassess the likely impact on local wetlands, streams, and natural springs of its… Read more »

Great Lakes from Space

We Unite Over Water

July 28, 2017

  In our culture a river is typically a boundary, differentiating one domain from another. The Mississippi River, for example, is the border of 10 states. There’s another way to look at a river—as the center of a basin, accepting and uniting all of its tributary waters. And its tributary people. I’ve lived in several… Read more »

Osceola County Site Visit –  Stealing Michigan’s Invisible Resource

July 5, 2017

 This article is a follow-up to my January post on “Groundwater – Invisible but Precious.”On a recent bike tour in northern Michigan, I decided to put Evart on the itinerary and stop by the area where Nestle Waters North America is hoping to increase their taking of Michigan groundwater. Nestle would like to increase the… Read more »

FLOW Board Member Calls HB 4205 Contender for Worst Michigan Environmental Bill of 21st Century

May 4, 2017

The Michigan legislature has introduced what is a sure contender for the worst Michigan environmental bill of the 21st century.  The bill, HB 4205, would prohibit all state agencies from promulgating any administrative rule that is more stringent than an applicable federal standard.  With the federal government actively seeking to dismantle historic environmental protections by… Read more »

Keeping Our Great Lakes Clean

April 22, 2017

  Some of my favorite childhood memories include hiking trips across Northern Michigan and taking in the beauty that is our Great Lakes. As my own children grew up, we regularly went on family trips across Michigan because I wanted to make sure the natural wonders of our state could be passed along to the… Read more »

Happy Birthday, Governor Milliken

March 20, 2017

Celebrating a great former governor of Michigan If Michigan has ever had an environmental governor, it was William G. Milliken, Traverse City’s son, who turns 95 on March 26. The woods and waters of the Traverse City area, Milliken said, and particularly summer days at a family cottage near Acme, bonded him to nature in… Read more »