We live in the Great Lakes State, surrounded by four of the largest lakes in the world. As we gaze out at the blue horizon, it’s tempting to think that there’s no way humans could significantly diminish them. On World Water Day, it’s important to recognize that seeming inexhaustibility is a myth.
FLOW and our allies, including Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation (MCWC) and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, continue to call on the state of Michigan to withdraw the permit for Nestlé’s groundwater extraction in Mecosta County.
The creation of a government agency rarely creates fanfare. Names and organization chart blocks come and go. But this year’s 100th anniversary of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is a little different. Signed into law in February 1921 by Governor Alexander Groesbeck, what was then called the Department of Conservation was the consensus answer to the state’s need to heal the environment after decades of catastrophic mismanagement.
FLOW’s work is supported through partnering with local, regional, and virtual businesses, including Premo Fitness that share our “Love of Water.” Anna Premo is a Traverse City health and fitness professional who took Premo Fitness virtual during the COVID-19 pandemic. She recently reached out to FLOW to offer a charitable promotion for the month of February. During February 2021, she will donate a percentage of her online sales to FLOW. This is a great opportunity for you to support Great Lakes protection, as well as a business that loves water, and try something new for your personal health. FLOW is thrilled to have Anna Premo as a new business partner.
It’s natural to stand on the shoreline of one of the Great Lakes and admire their vastness and majesty. But another abundant water resource in the basin is out of sight and rarely commands such appreciation. That’s groundwater. Between 20-40 percent of the water budget of the lakes (the total water flowing in and out of the system) originates as groundwater. Without this unseen water, the Great Lakes would be dramatically different from those we know. Strengthening public appreciation of and public policy protecting groundwater is a fundamental part of Great Lakes stewardship.
Protect the Great Lakes Now. Protect Them for Generations to Come. We believe the Great Lakes belong to us all. With your gift, we’re empowering communities and leaders to protect the Great Lakes Basin through public trust solutions. Sustain our mission to safeguard 20% of the world’s surface freshwater and donate today. To honor the… Read more »
Photo courtesy of SpeedontheWater.com. The author, Nikki Hayes, who grew up in Elk Rapids, Michigan, is a FLOW intern. Currently a junior at Loyola University Chicago (LUC), she has spent her life close to the Great Lakes. While organizers are optimistic that an August powerboat race that would be hosted by Edward C. Grace Memorial Harbor… Read more »
Just as water does not stop at the international boundary in the middle of the Great Lakes, climate change is having dramatic effects on both the U.S. and Canadian sides of the shared waters. In its triennial report issued last week on Great Lakes water quality progress, the International Joint Commission (IJC) called for the two nations to begin coordinating the response to wide fluctuations in water levels, warming lake waters, shrinking ice cover, threats to biological diversity, and storms of increasing intensity that release large pollution flows to the Great Lakes and their tributaries.
Growing up in Elk Rapids, FLOW intern Nikki Hayes was fortunate to have a summer job throughout high school working as a dock attendant at the Edward C. Grace Memorial Harbor. She got to see both the good and the bad of human behavior in environmental stewardship.
By Janet Meissner Pritchard COVID-19 has already taken the lives of more than 8,100 Michiganders, and the pandemic is surging in Michigan, with more than 7,000 new cases per day diagnosed in Michigan over recent days. Given this grim context, it is essential for public health to secure access to safe, affordable drinking water for… Read more »
