There’s no question that this is a tough time to be an environmental lawyer. Just Google “roll back of environmental regulations” and you’ll get hits like “67 Environmental Rules on the Way Out Under Trump” or “A Running List of How Trump is Changing the Environment.” And that’s just a tiny snapshot of what’s happening… 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 »
The production of plastic was first viewed as a miracle, the birth of a surprisingly durable material. But used as a disposable material, that durability is part of its downfall. Plastic degrades very slowly, and it often ends up in the environment and in the food chain. In 1950, the global market generated 1.7 million… Read more »
Our public water systems are in crisis. Every person and business in every city and town in the U.S. will face increasing competition for water, more and more repairs, improvements, and replacement of crumbling infrastructure or preventing illness or pollution. They will also face the wild card of increased frequency and intensity of rainfall and… Read more »
“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 »
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 »
“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 »
At the core of its plain meaning, public trust means that future generations depend on us – trust us – to protect the water, air, and land upon which their wellbeing will depend. Public trust principles are enshrined in law. The people who serve in positions of leadership and authority are legally responsible to all… Read more »
A big lake requires a big book. Lake Superior, the largest lake by surface area in the world, now has one. Nancy Langston’s Sustaining Lake Superior: An Extraordinary Lake in a Changing World offers a sweeping panorama of the lake’s environmental history, its present challenges and a glimpse of the future. A professor at Michigan… Read more »
I live near Lake Michigan. I am among the lucky ones, as is my neighbor, Tom Shaver, who has said more than once that he pinches himself as a reminder not to take living next to Lake Michigan for granted. Like most of my neighbors, Tom has a deep appreciation for the awesome grandeur and… Read more »
