Tales from the BOOK TOUR...part 9

The book tour took me to NW Michigan and then across the lake to Wisconsin in July.

I had the great pleasure of being hosted by the 'Book & a Dinner' book club on the shores of Hess Lake. What a great group of women, and the food was all Lake Michigan-themed!!

Thank you to Cindy and her great group of friends for the fantastic discussion, many laughs, and delicious, Michigan-themed dinner!!

Using water from the Great Lakes

Who can take water from the Great Lakes? What laws regulate that usage? Can our Great Lakes water be diverted to water-starved Southwestern states?

There is an agreement in place called THE GREAT LAKES COMPACT which was hammered out over many years between the eight Great Lakes states (MI, WI, OH, IN, IL, NY, PA, MN) and Canada. It was signed into law in 2008.

[A great book explaining this compact is Peter Annin's The Great Lakes Water Wars.]

To read the language of the compact, click HERE.

A recent threat to this agreement was a move to let businesses extract water from Lake Erie without seeking permits. The Plain Dealer reported:

The bill would have required businesses to seek permits if they use more than 5 million gallons of water a day from Lake Erie, 2 million gallons a day from groundwater or 300,000 gallons a day from rivers considered "high quality." Opponents said those levels were much too high -- so high that few companies would need a permit, which could lure more businesses to use the waters.

Governor John Kasich wisely (and surprisingly) vetoed this bill. He said:

"Lake Erie is an incredible resource that demands our vigilant stewardship to maximize its environmental, recreational and commercial potential for Ohioans. Ohio's legislation lacks clear standards for conservation and withdrawals and does not allow for sufficient evaluation and monitoring of withdrawals or usage."

Lake Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes. Siphoning off large quantities from this lake would have stranded boats in their docks, exposed mud flats, and stunted their tourism and recreation on the lake. And it's just bad policy to deregulate industry when it comes to our lakes. How many times will we have to learn that lesson the hard way?

Read the full article in The Plain Dealer HERE.

Tales from the BOOK TOUR...part 8

The book tour continues in NW Michigan this month. A big thanks to all the venues and organizations who hosted me for an event, and especially to the indie bookstores who have been so supportive of my adventure and book and book tour.

Sleeping Bear Beaches

I just returned from a portion of my book tour that took me to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore area in NW Michigan.


This is my favorite stretch of Lake Michigan's shoreline.

And it's finally getting the attention it deserves. Click HERE to read a recent article in The Washington Post about these gorgeous beaches.

Tales from the BOOK TOUR...part 7

Here's a short video from my book tour travels in the Metro Detroit area.

I hope to see you along the way!

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) is now in its second (of five) year of funding. Initially planned as a $2.1 billion plan over five years, the funding has been scaled back to only $350 million dollars this year and will probably be scaled back to $300 million next year.


Some people may question the wisdom of funding this program at a time when the country has an economic slump. Well, consider this:

A 2007 Brookings Institution report predicts $50 billion in long-term economic benefits from rehabilitating
the Great Lakes.

I firmly believe that our Great Lakes should be restored and protected even if there is no economic benefit.

We are the caretakers of our environment. The Great Lakes are a natural treasure that should be enjoyed and respected and protected so that future generations can walk these beaches and dunes and enjoy these vast inland seas.

A recent article on the GLRI can be found in the Christian Science Monitor HERE.

Interview on WXYZ-TV today!

A big thanks to Anu Prakash at WXYZ for the lovely interview this morning!

The Greening of the Great Lakes

My
Greening of the Great Lakes
conversation with Kirk Heinze is scheduled to air on our program this weekend. That means flagship WJR AM 760 Sunday at 9 p.m. And it means Sunday at 11 a.m. on 1340 AM WJRW in Grand Rapids. And it airs Saturday at 11 a.m. on stations in Lansing, Mt. Pleasant, Muskegon and Saginaw.

Kirk Heinze

Greening of the Great Lakes host Kirk Heinze has served in MSU's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources for three decades as a faculty member, a department chairperson and, most recently, as director of Agriculture and Natural Resources Communications.

Blog: bit.ly/GOTGL

Tweet: twitter.com/greenmichigan

The interview is now live HERE.

Detroit Free Press Series on the Great Lakes

Michigan is a state comprised of two almost-touching peninsulas. We are surrounded on three sides by water.

Vast water: our Great Lakes.

Michigan is the only state that touches 4 of the 5 Great Lakes. Our edges are mostly defined by water.

We Michiganders are peninsular people.

And we Michiganders are going through a tough time economically, as is most of the country. The Free Press is doing a series of articles titled:

"Water shaped Michigan's past:
Now it's a key to state's future"

From the first article in the series:

"Michigan grew up on the Great Lakes. It can grow anew from their cool, abundant waters -- if they are used wisely and protected.

The greatest natural resource in all of North America and perhaps on our planet, the sweet water seas brought people to Michigan's peninsulas and moved Michigan ore, timber and manufactured goods to markets around the world.

The lake waters nourish our crops, slake our thirst, cool our machinery and change our weather -- sometimes rather abruptly. They provide fun, fish and spectacular vistas for millions of people.

In a world where 1 in every 6 people lacks daily access to fresh water, the Great Lakes are a treasure of immeasurable value.

And yet they have been exploited, depleted and polluted. They are threatened by invaders, foreign and domestic, some already in the waters or on the way, others on dry lands."

This is an important look at our lakes and how vital they are to Michigan, our nation, North America, and, possibly, the world.

Read the entire first article HERE.