Search Results for: groundwater

The Kids are All Right: FLOW Partners to Lift Up the Youth Water Movement

March 24, 2022

You’ve heard, no doubt, of Greta Thunberg, the 19-year-old Swedish environmental activist. But you have probably not heard yet of Bebe Schaefer and Rachel Roberts, two students at American University in Washington, D.C., who recently launched the nonprofit organization Water&, on a “constant journey of collective action.” We at FLOW are thrilled to join hands with Water& and other young adult-led organizations in the Great Lakes Basin, and in our nation’s capital, to expand hope and leadership in the protection of our public waters. We intend this effort to support not just the youth climate movement, but also help feed the emerging“youth water movement” focused on a clean environment, public health, and equitable outcomes.

FLOW to Michigan Public Service Commission: No Enbridge Oil Tunnel Without Authorization Under Public Trust Doctrine

March 16, 2022

Editor’s Note: FLOW submitted the following comments today to the Michigan Public Service Commission in advance of the MPSC’s March 17, 2022, public meeting regarding Enbridge’s oil tunnel proposed through public bottomlands in the Straits of Mackinac. See the MPSC’s March 17 meeting agenda, and learn about the opportunity to comment in person or online…. Read more »

DNR Director Concerned about Climate Change, Accelerating Threats to Natural Resources

March 3, 2022

Managing one of the oldest agencies in Michigan state government is the job of the youngest person ever appointed as its director. Dan Eichinger was 37 when Governor Gretchen Whitmer appointed him in 2019 to run the 101-year-old Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which was originally called the Department of Conservation. FLOW asked Eichinger to discuss what he regards as his most important accomplishments and the biggest challenges facing the DNR, which manages the state’s fish and wildlife, state parks, state forests, and more. Not surprisingly, climate change policy figures in both what’s been done and what’s yet to be tackled.

Happy Birthday to Jim Olson: Legal Lion for the Environment

February 24, 2022

Those working on Michigan environmental issues at any time during the last 50 years have known exactly who the pioneering legal advocate for Michigan’s precious air, water, and land is: FLOW founder Jim Olson. As Jim’s February 26 birthday approaches, it’s time to take stock of all that he’s accomplished in the service of current and future generations.

Michigan Lawmakers Must Step Up on Behalf of Our Water

January 19, 2022

In Michigan, water in its natural state, including groundwater, is held by the state as sovereign for the benefit of the people. Michigan’s 2008 groundwater withdrawal law declares that lakes, streams, and groundwater–indeed springs, seeps, and wetlands–are a singularly connected part of the water cycle. The removal of water from one arc of the water cycle affects the other, often substantially.

A Remembrance: Terry Swier, A Michigan Water Warrior

December 16, 2021

As anyone who knows Terry Swier could attest, it was her clear-sighted commitment to principle and her conviction, grounded like the roots of an oak tree deep in the soil with branches wide in the sky, that stood behind Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation’s victory over Nestlé. “Who owns the water?” Terry asked, something she would keep asking for the next 20 years. Not Perrier or Nestlé. It belonged to the public.

Jim Olson Passes the Torch to Zach Welcker, FLOW’s First Full-Time Legal Director

December 9, 2021

“I’m thrilled to be surrounded by all of this water and humbled by the opportunity to keep it public and protected for all,” says Zach Welcker, FLOW’s first full-time legal director, who is responsible for building on FLOW’s legal power, policy acumen, and partnerships—especially among tribes, conservation groups, frontline communities, justice organizations, and scientists—to ensure the waters of the Great Lakes Basin are healthy, public, and protected for all.

2021 Reflection: FLOW Sees Successes and Celebrates Our First Decade Together Keeping Water Public and Protected

December 9, 2021

FLOW’s 10th anniversary in 2021 was more than an opportunity for celebration and reflection. It was also a year of significant progress in our work to strengthen protection of the waters of Michigan and the Great Lakes, using the public trust doctrine as a powerful tool. In July, we hit an organizational milestone when we hired Zach Welcker, FLOW’s first-ever full-time legal director — an achievement many years in the making.

Water Connects Us to Everything That’s Alive: FLOW Inspires Us to Protect It

December 6, 2021

“Our bodies are mostly water. Water connects us to everything around us that is alive,” says award-winning poet Alison Swan. “The water and the land are inseparable from one another. Stop and think to yourself: How does what’s happening to the land around this water impact the water supply of essentially the world? Because water flows all over the surface and below the surface of earth.”