Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.

For over 100 years the Detroit River was perceived as a working waterway that supported industry and commerce.

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The EPA’s Chris Korleski gets excited when speaking about cleaning up the Great Lakes region’s decades-old, contaminated sediment sites like the Detroit River.

He talks about the “tremendous effort” that’s been rekindled in the past two years under the Biden administration. And how “motivated” the people who work to advance the cleanup are and the value of the partnerships that facilitate restoration.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

This article was republished here with permission from Planet Detroit.

By Jenny Sherman, Planet Detroit

Detroit resident Andrew “Birch” Kemp has planted trees in Detroit’s Poletown East neighborhood for over 20 years.

By expanding the city’s tree canopy, the former Detroit high school teacher hopes to promote the growth of healthy, resilient and equitable green spaces in his community that would both enrich his and his neighbors’ quality of life and deepen their connection to nature.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

By Brian Allnutt, Planet Detroit

This piece is part of a collaboration that includes the Institute for Nonprofit News, Borderless, Ensia, Planet Detroit, Sahan Journal, and Wisconsin Watch, as well as the Guardian and Inside Climate News. The project was supported by the Joyce Foundation. 

DETROIT — In 2019, Blake Grannum experienced a catastrophic flood in her home in Detroit’s Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Love staring at a map and discovering something interesting? Then “Mapping the Great Lakes” is for you. It’s a monthly Great Lakes Now feature created by Alex B. Hill, a self-described “data nerd and anthropologist” who combines cartography, data, and analytics with storytelling and human experience.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

By Kari Lydersen, Ensia 

This piece is part of a collaboration that includes the Institute for Nonprofit News, Borderless, Ensia, Planet Detroit, Sahan Journal, and Wisconsin Watch, as well as the Guardian and Inside Climate News. The project was supported by the Joyce Foundation. 

This summer’s Independence Day weekend was meant to be a historic moment for Chicago, featuring the first-ever NASCAR street race with cars speeding through the city’s downtown.

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Making a film about water came naturally for award-winning documentary filmmaker dream hampton, though water and the environment has not traditionally been her emphasis.

hampton made Freshwater after coming off a hectic schedule in 2018 and 2019 during which she made three films. It was, she decided, a time to shift her focus, a time to be still and reflect.

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By Ashley Zhou, Bridge Michigan

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; and Michigan Radio, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

This article was republished here with permission from Planet Detroit.

By Tom Perkins, Planet Detroit

For 43 years, state regulators and the Environmental Protection Agency have ordered chemical manufacturer BASF to stop discharging up to 72,000 gallons of toxic waste-contaminated groundwater daily from its Wyandotte plant into the Detroit River.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Ford Motor Company is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2050, as reiterated by Cynthia Williams last week.

Williams took to the stage to expand on how Ford is accomplishing this, highlighting their latest releases in electric vehicles (EV). Williams is the global director of sustainability at Ford.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.