Slash phosphorus flowing into Lake Erie, Great Lakes Commission says & Toxic algae near Toledo: a wake-up call

Boats going through an algae bloom on Lake Erie near Toledo, Ohio. The Great Lakes Commission wants to slash the amount of phosphorus flowing into Lake Erie, the source of toxic algae outbreaks and the reason the city of Toledo lost its drinking water for two days this past summer.

"We Are Water" celebrates Milwaukee's big drink

Most Milwaukeeans value living in close proximity to a large body of water, but what are we willing to do to celebrate it? Improve it? Protect it? The year-old Milwaukee Water Commons is a project committed to fostering connection, collaboration and leadership on behalf of the bodies of water in our community.

Grassroot Effort Grows to Create Milwaukee Water Commons

The idea is to get the entire community involved in Milwaukee's freshwater future. Alexa Bradley started the conversation almost three years ago. Bradley is a long time activist - and Milwaukee native, - who helped “incubate” the “Commons” idea in Minneapolis. Bradley went on to help create the Great Lakes Commons, that is taking shape in places like Toronto and Cleveland and especially in Milwaukee.

Great Lakes Research Conference Includes the Commons

In late May, a team of Great Lakes commoners presented at the International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) conference in Hamilton, Ontario. Our session was entitled: Exploring the Idea of the Great Lakes as 'Commons', an unusual topic at a conference largely focused on scientific inquiry. And although our session started at 8:10am, we filled the room to standing room only capacity with about 60 curious and concerned environmental scientists.

Water is a Human Right: Detroit Residents Seek U.N. Intervention as City Shuts Off Taps to Thousands

Activists in Detroit have appealed to the United Nations over the city’s move to shut off the water of thousands of residents. The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department says half of its 323,000 accounts are delinquent and has begun turning off the taps of those who do not pay bills that total above $150 or that are 60 days late.

Great Lakes Commons Charter sets new high bar for water governance

'Imagine the Great Lakes as shared waters cared for and protected by the entire region’s community. That’s the vision of a group called the Great Lakes Commons. Members are people from Indigenous Nations, Canada and the U.S. The organization is officially introducing its charter at a virtual meeting of nearly 100 people on Thursday.

53 Million Gallons Of Nuclear Waste May Soon Be Stored Right Next To The Great Lakes

It is astonishing that such a proposal - nuclear waste storage on Lake Huron - even stands a chance. In whose reality does nuclear waste belong near drinking water for millions of people? The kind of thinking that generated such an idea reflects not only a profound disconnection from our waters but also from all those who depend on them for life today and in generations to come. A commons approach would mean that we take responsibility for the impact of our actions into the future and prioritize sustaining life. So glad to see that people are standing up to stave off this insanity.

Can public trust doctrine address toxic algae blooms in Lake Erie?

On May 13, 2014, join Dr. Don Scavia (University of Michigan), Dave Dempsey (International Joint Commission), Codi Yeager-Kozacek (Circle of Blue Correspondent), and Jim Olson (Founder, FLOW) for an interactive webinar discussion on nutrient pollution and resulting harmful algal blooms (HABs) in the Great Lakes, and how the public and the states together can utilize the public trust doctrine framework as an added decision-making tool to address HABs in Lake Erie and beyond.

Ontario Shore Walkers Help Create Shoreline Walking Trail System

The Ontario Shorewalk Association joins the call for a “Right of Passage”, or public walking rights, on our Great Lakes Shoreline. This echoes similar efforts emerging elsewhere in the Lakes bio-region and is congruent with our understanding of these waters as a commons: owned by no one, cared for by all.

Public Water Systems Can Help War on Poverty

The current conversation this week about the War on Poverty is long overdue; especially welcome is a noisy clamor to raise the minimum wage. At the same time, families’ budgets are burdened by the increase in basic living expenses.. An important front in the war on poverty is shrinking those expenses. Let’s take a look at water.

The Fight for Wisconsin's Soul

WISCONSIN has been an environmental leader since 1910, when the state’s voters approved a constitutional amendment promoting forest and water conservation. Decades later, pioneering local environmentalists like Aldo Leopold and Senator Gaylord Nelson, who founded Earth Day in 1970, helped forge the nation’s ecological conscience. But now, after the recent passage of a bill that would allow for the construction of what could be the world’s largest open-pit iron ore mine, Wisconsin’s admirable history of environmental stewardship is under attack.

Meet the New Climate Heroes: Faces of the Frontline

From October 18 to 21, about seven thousand young people gathered in Pittsburgh for Power Shift, a four-day conference for young environmental and social activists. While most were members of campus environmental organizations, a few were activists working on social and environmental justice issues in the places they call home—fighting King Coal in Appalachia, growing gardens in Detroit, and lobbying for racial justice in Florida. For these youth, the fight is urgent and immediate.