Great Lakes Law

New edition of Michigan Environmental Law Deskbook available free online

The Michigan Environmental Law Deskbook has been significantly revised for its second edition, and is now available for free online through the Environmental Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan. The new edition is edited by Jeff Haynes and Gene Smary, two prominent environmental attorneys in the state, and features chapters authored by a long list of the leading practitioners in every subfield of environmental law. This is an exceptionally useful resource, written by... Read more →

New edition of “Environmental Law and Policy: Nature, Law, and Society” now in bookstores

Just in time for the start of the new school year, the new edition of our casebook Environmental Law and Policy: Nature, Law, and Society has been sent to bookstores. I was honored to join Zygmunt J.B. Plater, Robert H. Abrams, Robert L. Graham, Lisa Heinzerling, and David A. Wirth in co-authoring the 4th edition of this leading environmental law book, published by Aspen. Environmental Law and Policy: Nature, Law, and Society offers a unique... Read more →

Beyond bottled water - review of the movie TAPPED

I was given the opportunity to review the new movie Tapped just before its release by Bullfrog Films. The movie is now out on DVD and available for screening, and I highly recommend it. For starters, I really enjoyed watching this film (and I watch a lot of movies). The production was fantastic – not surprising since it’s the same folks that made Who Killed the Electric Car? I especially loved the soundtrack (being from... Read more →

The Evolution of the Law and Politics of Water

Apologies for the shameless shilling of a product, but if you are looking for a last-minute holiday gift for the water wonk in your life, consider the new book, The Evolution of the Law and Politics of Water. (I contributed a chapter on the Great Lakes but don’t get any royalties, although I did get one free copy of the book to put on my shelf.) Here’s the description from the publisher (Springer): The Evolution... 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 →

FLOW the movie and the fear of water privatization

The documentary movie FLOW (“For Love of Water”) has finally come to Michigan after showing in some other select locations around the country for the past few months. I was very excited to see the film, not just because of its subject matter, but also because of the numerous awards and prizes it has received. While the film presents some important issues, I found that it contains several factual errors and is generally off-target in... Read more →

Presidential leadership for a hot, flat, and crowded world

Over the past few weeks, when I’ve wanted a break from water law and election politics, I’ve read Thomas Friedman’s newest book, “Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution – and How It Can Renew America.” My only disappointment with the book is that it didn’t give me a mental break from either water issues or presidential politics. On the contrary, the book offers a compelling thesis and lens through which I’ve... Read more →

Are the Great Lakes for sale?

“Great Lakes for Sale: From Whitecaps to Bottlecaps” is the provocative title of a new book by environmental activist and author Dave Dempsey. I’ve worked with Dave on several issues over the years and enjoyed his previous books, especially “Ruin and Recovery: Michigan’s Rise as a Conservation Leader,” the definitive Michigan environmental history reference. I was a bit skeptical of his latest book, perhaps doubting that its thin spine (it has less than a hundred... Read more →

Two perspectives on bottled water

With bottled water back in the news after Nestlé announced that it’s pulling out of its contentious project in McCloud, California, I figured it’s a good time to briefly review two recent books on bottled water. “Wellsprings: A Natural History Of Bottled Spring Waters” by Francis H. Chapelle provides a comprehensive history of bottled water and a technical overview of the hydrology that creates spring water. Dr. Chapelle is a widely respected hydrologist with the... Read more →

Will the Midwest Survive Globalization?

Will the Midwest Survive Globalization? That question is the subject of a new book by Richard Longworth, “Caught in the Middle – America’s Heartland in the Age of Globalization.” I got to know Dick Longworth last summer when he invited me to Chicago to speak with reporters about the Great Lakes and globalization for a Chicago Council on Global Affairs program. I was excited to read his book, and it did not disappoint. Longworth uses... Read more →