Great Lakes Law

Realistic expectations for economic stimulus through alternative energy

I love alternative energy (who doesn’t?). I live in the state that has been perhaps the hardest hit by the economic recession and needs relief and new strategies. And like most people, I’m pretty damn happy with our new President. So when President Obama and Congressional leaders put out an economic stimulus plan that includes investments in renewable energy projects, it seemed like a match made in environmental-economic policy heaven. And while it would be... Read more →

Turning bottled water into cell phones

One of the environmental concerns with bottled water is all of the wasted plastic from the bottles that are often landfilled. Well, someone finally found a good use for those plastic water bottles. The smart folks at Motorola have just released a new mobile phone – the MOTO W233 Renew – with a plastic housing made entirely from recycled water bottles. This is great, but don’t feel like you need to rush out and buy... Read more →

President Obama and new EPA Administrator send a message on government openness and accountability

In the first week of the new Obama administration, I saw several excellent indicators of a new approach to governing, policy making, and accountability that will have direct and long-term benefits for environmental protection efforts. First, President Obama issued a Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies to more vigorously implement the letter and the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act. I could go on and on about the importance of open... Read more →

The inside scoop on Great Lakes restoration politics and funding

For several years, the Great lakes region has been coming together to plan and secure funding for Great Lakes restoration. With the new administration, changes in Congress, and widespread support for economic stimulus spending, 2009 could be a breakthrough year for Great Lakes restoration efforts. I asked my good friend and former colleague Chris Grubb, who is the field director for the Healing Our Waters® Great Lakes Coalition, to provide the inside scoop on the... Read more →

Legislature approves privately-funded light rail for Detroit

Note: this post is the first in a new subject for Great Lakes Law – Detroit. Of course my adopted city has its share of challenges, but they’re neither as severe nor as unique as the national media suggests. Detroit is on the frontline of a very difficult transformation within the Midwest and urban America from the twentieth century to the twenty-first. Detroit leaders and citizens are beginning to embrace the vague concepts of “green”... Read more →

Stimulating the economy with transbasin water diversions?

Nothing gets a water wonk excited like a hot debate over transferring water from one part of the country to another (well, a few things get us more excited, but that’s for another blog). While piping massive quantities of Great Lakes water to the south or west would violate the recently-enacted Great Lakes Compact, water supplies in other relatively wet eastern states are not similarly protected. So it’s big news when Pat Mulroy, General Manager... Read more →

Boundary Waters Treaty Centennial Symposium

Yesterday, January 11, marked the 100-year anniversary of the signing of the Boundary Waters Treaty between the United States and Canada. To commemorate this historic and precedent setting development in international water law and explore the successes under the treaty and future challenges, the Wayne Law Review is hosting a Boundary Waters Treaty Centennial Symposium on February 5 in Detroit. The symposium brochure, with details on location, speakers, and schedule, is available online. The Boundary... Read more →

Federal court strikes down Bush EPA rule exempting pesticides sprayed on water from Clean Water Act regulation

Another attempt by the Bush administration’s political and ideological EPA to rollback Clean Water Act protections for our nation’s waters has once again been rejected by a federal court. In late 2007, the EPA issued a final rule (71 Fed. Reg. 68,483) exempting pesticides applied in accordance with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act from the Clean Water Act’s permitting requirements. In issuing this rule, the Bush EPA attempted to reverse thirty years of... Read more →

It’s time for Michigan to say ‘no’ to new coal-fired power plants

The state of Michigan has before it the opportunity to make a tremendously important decision with huge implications for the future of energy, public health, and climate change. The state Department of Environmental Quality has just closed the public comment period on a terribly flawed draft permit for a large new coal-fired power plant proposed by Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative, Inc. As detailed in a 178-page comment letter submitted on behalf of a coalition of... Read more →

Cold, Clear, and Deadly – Unraveling a Toxic Legacy

Why are the Great Lakes, especially Lake Superior, still contaminated with toxic persistent organic pollutants (POPs) decades after these pollutants were banned in the United States and Canada? That question is explored and answered by scientist Mel Visser in the book Cold, Clear, and Deadly – Unraveling a Toxic Legacy. Visser, a chemical engineer, worked for decades for the Upjohn Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan, including a senior position directing the company’s environmental efforts. The first... Read more →