Two former-Echo-reporters-turned-river-nerds were featured last week on the Greening of the Great Lakes radio show talking about their new website, Michigan River News.
Jeff Brooks Gillies and Andy McGlashen launched Michigan River News this summer because, well, they love Michigan and its rivers. They report original news stories and also collect river stories from across the state.
But that’s not the whole story.
On their website, the founders note that rivers “sustain and enrich human life … provide food and drinking water …  irrigate crops and generate electric power.”
And they’re right – rivers …

Significant constituencies in the Great Lakes region refuse to let go of the old technology and ways of commerce.

And it’s causing serious environmental backsliding.

Indiana’s most polluted rivers and lakes suffer from toxins, pathogens and too much algae.
Add public shame to that list.
The Environmental Law and Policy Center calls out Indiana’s dirtiest rivers and lakes on their new website, INourwater. The site highlights four areas with polluted water and two areas where conservation efforts fostered cleaner water.
The Environmental Law & Policy Center is an environmental legal advocacy organization based in Chicago.
Individual stories put a human spin on water issues; highlighting the economic and personal benefits of clean water, and the hardships stemming from polluted …

Despite attracting $14.4 billion in investments for developing contaminated properties the past 11 years, Michigan’s brownfield redevelopment program faces a cut.

It’s not easy to talk about your own death, but for landowners it’s a conversation that could save both vulnerable wildlife and a family legacy.

Michigan residents are paying less for yearly passes to state parks but the program has generated more funds than in prior years.

Michigan Recreation Passports, available at the Secretary of State for the past year, now allow almost 2 million vehicles access to all Michigan state parks.

This time-lapse video by NASA’s Earth Observatory was made from a series of photographs to make a cool flight simulation over the Great Lakes.
See if you can spot the big cities, aurora borealis and lightning bolts (and if you get stuck, look here at a labeled NASA photograph).

Cottage food laws in Great Lakes states give home bakers the chance to earn extra income, test out new business plans and sell delicious local food from their own kitchens.

One dam removed while a nearby dam with a sketchy safety record remains in southwest Michigan.