Permits that Harm Water and Natural Resources Michigan officials have been busy this spring — busy handing out permits to take or destroy Michigan’s water and natural resources in violation of clear constitutional and legal mandates: A mandatory duty to protect the public’s paramount interest in our air, water, and natural resources; a duty to… Read more »
Nelson Mandela said that education is the most powerful weapon to change the world. In honor of Earth Day, I gave a presentation on Reducing, Reusing and Recycling to approximately 700 students at three different schools in Traverse City. We talked about issues including natural ecosystems, sustainability, population growth, and urban planning. Most students were shocked… Read more »
Photo: Nancy May – work available at numerous shops on Mackinac Island FLOW reminds state leaders they have the power to defend the Great Lakes from Enbridge. Governor Snyder and Attorney General Schuette have the legal authority to protect the Great Lakes from the major risk posed by the antiquated and poorly maintained Line 5… Read more »
Saving the Straits of Mackinac Yesterday, May 22, 2018, marks the day that our state’s citizens, threatened with the terrible harm of an oil spill from a failed Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac, took matters into their own hands. The Straits of Mackinac Alliance (SMA) filed a contested-case petition with the Administrative Law… Read more »
Liz Kirkwood, Executive Director As an environmental lawyer with over 20 years of experience working on water, sanitation, energy, and environmental governance issues both nationally and internationally, Liz Kirkwood serves as the organization’s lead on numerous Great Lakes issues and education initiatives. Often testifying or speaking before public bodies, she has made frequent presentations to… Read more »
In comments submitted to state officials Friday, FLOW is urging state regulators to deny a bid by Enbridge Energy to install 48 new anchor supports on dangerous Line 5 at the Straits of Mackinac while evading scrutiny of alternatives that would protect the environment. Enbridge’s latest request, if approved, would bring the number of anchor… Read more »
For almost eight years, Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality has sided with resource exploitation over resource protection. MDEQ’s recent decisions to grant Nestle a 60% increase in the volume of water it can extract from springs near Evart for bottling and sale, and to authorize Enbridge Energy to bypass full environmental alternatives review and install… Read more »
“This couldn’t be just a lake. No real water was ever blue like that. A light breeze stirred the pin-cherry tree beside the window, ruffled the feathers of a fat sea gull promenading on the pink rocks below. The breeze was full of evergreen spice.” — Dorothy Maywood Bird, “Mystery at Laughing Water” 2018 should… Read more »
Five years ago this spring, when I first learned about Line 5, I could only imagine what a catastrophic oil spill would look like here in the heart of the Great Lakes. Two weeks ago, we dodged a bullet as we watched a hazardous liquid spill from two neighboring transmission cables unfold. What we witnessed… Read more »
Hope is in the air, and the water. On a recent trip to Chicago to attend the Patagonia Action Works conference, FLOW Executive Director Liz Kirkwood met an extraordinary young advocate, Marcella Carter. Spurred into action by her concern about the oil and gas pipelines threatening the Straits of Mackinac, Marcella organized friends and classmates… Read more »
