Book Review in Women 2 Women Magazine

A big thank you to Leslie Charles who wrote this book review for the upcoming issue of
Women 2 Women Michigan Magazine.
[Reprinted with permission.]

Michigan’s Write Stuff

She might be described as an ordinary middle-class, middle-aged woman but Loreen Niewenhuis is anything but. She’s a woman who had an extraordinary vision, dream, or passionate goal (call it what you will) and unlike most of her counterparts or peers, she fulfilled it.

In her book, “A 1000-Mile Walk on the Beach” (Crickhollow Books) Niewenhuis chronicles her journey around Lake Michigan. Think of journey as in “walk.” Yes, step-by-step, she walked around her favorite place in all the world, Lake Michigan.

In a counter clockwise trajectory, she hoofed it, starting and ending at the Navy Pier in Chicago. I must admit my eyes teared up at the end of her trek where, accompanied by her family she was welcomed by admirers and followers of her journey.

Overcoming personal fears, physical challenges (including bleeding blisters and a rogue gall bladder and pancreas attack) this plucky woman stayed true to her passion of getting to know the lakeshore at an intimate level and studying its history so that each reader may emerge enlightened and invigorated.

On all levels, the author delivers, with honesty, gentle authority, and a restrained excitement for what she accomplished. Feeling a little stale, restless, or vaguely unfulfilled? Follow her advice and “live your life as an adventure.”

What is your secret dream, passion, or vision, and will you ever fulfill it? Read this book and take on the challenge Niewenhuis leaves her readers with: “I urge you to find those things and take them on, to launch out on an adventure to find yourself, be it on a weekend or weeks, be it a few miles or a thousand.”

Review her adventures on:

http://Youtube.com/LNiewenhuis

http://LakeTrek.Blogspot.com

C. Leslie Charles, author and speaker, one who pursues everyday life with a passion. http://LeslieCharles.com

http://www.w2wmichigan.com/

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.