First cold (34) snap and snow flurries and this tree is done. Chicago.

ICYMI: "These are times that try men's souls," Founding Father Thomas Paine said in 1776. Similarly in Chicago in 2025. My thoughts on ICE raids and environmental protection. substack.com/home/post/p-...

No shortage red flags in this @planetdetroit.org report on a new data center in rural Michigan. Among them fast-tracking approval, climate off ramp and carbon capture. @brianallnutt.bsky.social reports. planetdetroit.org/2025/11/dte-...

A minor memo on the environment and trying times: A draconian immigration policy, non-functioning federal government and the environment. open.substack.com/pub/garyglx5...

Photos from the road: My 2019 pic of the Michigan congressional delegation in Illinois for an Army Corps briefing on the effort to stop the advance of Invasive (Asian) Carp. open.substack.com/pub/garyglx5...

Photos from the road. Budding scientists in 2017 on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan. substack.com/home/post/p-...

If you're an Everest climb watcher, here's an alt quest that may be of interest. @ashrouten.com reports.

I interviewed 60 or so people in the last 6 years. Elected officials, authors, agency staff and ngo execs. Most worked but not all. The reasons for the interview-fails here. garyglx5.substack.com/p/why-interv...

'US Army Corps of Engineers approves Enbridge plan to encase aging Great Lakes oil pipeline.' No one should be surprised. abcnews.go.com/Business/wir...

Props @wbez.org @maryldixon.bsky.social for the Gary, IN immigration detainment fact check on U.S citizens.

Why interviews fail: Desire for control, unrealistic expectations. A look back at the 10% of my interviews that didn't work. open.substack.com/pub/garyglx5...

Some trees are slow starters.

Detroit is back from the depths, its river is mired in the 1950s. A strong leader marshaled resources to clean up Milwaukee's toxic rivers. That leadership is lacking in Detroit and Michigan. garyglx5.substack.com/p/detroit-is...

CBS was once the paragon of network news reporting. No longer. www.theguardian.com/media/2025/o...

Detroit's renaissance following the 2013 bankruptcy continues. But its "vital and iconic" river remains mired in 1950s pollution. open.substack.com/pub/garyglx5...

Daily reminders

Data center, rural township resolve siting issues in "lesser of two evils" agreement @brianallnutt.bsky.social reports. Curious about compliance and enforcement. Can be tough once a facility exists and the power has shifted. planetdetroit.org/2025/10/sali...

ICYMI... Book reviews: A California governor, a biography of water and the intersection of people, dogs and environmental policy. open.substack.com/pub/garyglx5...

Looking for a reason to support @wbez.org? Look no further than @sashaannsimons.bsky.social coverage of the immigration issue in Chicago. Reports and convo with reporters on the streets and in the court rooms. Plus features with activists in the neighborhoods.

Book reviews: A California governor, a biography of water and the intersection of people, dogs and environmental policy. 'Book reviews weren't on my journalistic to do list.' open.substack.com/pub/garyglx5...

Great Lakes followers, a good read here. Check out the map to see how daunting the trek was. h/t @ashrouten.com for sharing.

This may seem like trivia but elected officials, agencies and advocates at times get this statistic wrong saying 20% of Earth's freshwater. Props @greatlakesscribe.bsky.social for the reminder.

ICYMI: A look back to my 2022 interview with Pulitzer winner Elizabeth Kolbert. Tax breaks for EV's don't address a fundamental problem, she said. Our, "car culture, a country built around everyone owning basically a car per adult." #Detroit substack.com/home/post/p-...

A good read here from Michigan's Dave Dempsey, the Public Trust Doctrine and why it's important. When asked, here's my shorthand definition. The PTD is codified in law and protects resources (like water) held in trust for the people by the state. dempseyd.substack.com/p/the-powerf...

Interview Series: Author, scholar and Pulitzer winner, Elizabeth Kolbert. Our penchant to "dominate" nature, car culture and bucking the trend to be optimistic on our climate future. garyglx5.substack.com/p/interview-...

ICYMI: A look back interview with Canadian water rights advocate Maude Barlow when she summoned the U.N. to Detroit to document the harm from water shut offs. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Interview Series: Canada's Maude Barlow learned to be hopeful at a young age even when the odds are against you. "Take a deep breath and do the work you have to do." She explains in a 2022 interview. garyglx5.substack.com?utm_campaign...

Interview Series: Canadian water rights activist, author Maude Barlow. Hope, activism and how she would not stand idly by in the face of Detroit water shut offs. garyglx5.substack.com/p/interview-...

Someone asked me where I work. 41N 87W.

ICYMI: A landmark 2008 agreement of the Great Lakes states blocks shipments of water to arid areas like Arizona. But is it sufficient for 2025 threats? Noted policy expert Dave Dempsey says the biggest threat may come from the Great Lakes region. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Just across this bridge from Detroit it’s Thanksgiving Day in Canada, still free. Just sayin‘.

Happy Thanksgiving Day to Canadian friends and colleagues.

"The Great Lakes are in grave danger in an era of globalization and commercialization," said policy expert and author Dave Dempsey in 2008. And the threat hasn't abated. More here in my look back interview. garyglx5.substack.com/p/interview-...

Continuing my Interview Series with policy expert and author, Dave Dempsey. A look back at my 2021 interview where Dempsey continued to sound the alarm on diversions and consumption of the Great Lakes. open.substack.com/pub/garyglx5...

When writing, what I do when I’m stuck on a sentence.

ICYMI: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is now known nationally. In 2019 she was a first term governor with a laundry list of an environmental agenda when I interviewed her. It's here. garyglx5.substack.com?utm_campaign...

Interview Series: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2019. Great Lakes leadership, Line 5 and a letter from a 7th grader. "They don't care about our partisan politics." substack.com/home/post/p-...

@theguardian.com columnist chronicles the decline of CBS News from paragon of network reporting to "one more step on the shameful path that CBS has trod since Donald Trump was elected to a second term." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Interview Series: Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder weeks before his term ended. Bottled water, wetland protection, leadership and why I didn't ask him about the Flint water crisis. garyglx5.substack.com?utm_campaign...

First in a series of notable interviews conducted over 10+ years. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder in 2019 just before exiting after his 2nd term. Bottled water, wetlands, invasive carp and Great Lakes leadership. garyglx5.substack.com

Coming soon: A Series on Interviews. Notable interviews I've done with Great Lakes and environmental luminaries. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Rust Belt, Third Coast or Fresh Coast? The Great Lakes Region's struggle for an identity. open.substack.com/pub/garyglx5...

Rust Belt, Third Coast or Fresh Coast? As the Great Lakes region struggles for an identity, what's in a name? Maybe nothing. open.substack.com/pub/garyglx5...

Milwaukee figured out the toxic waste disposal conundrum years ago and has advice for Detroit. “Every project needs a champion, someone who will step out and garner the troops together. You need that type of person to lead the way.” 2/2 www.greatlakesnow.org/2023/11/wisc...

Lack of disposal space hampers dredging of toxic sediment in Detroit, Rouge rivers @detroitnews.com reports. 1/2 www.detroitnews.com/story/news/l...

Flint: Toddlers at the beginning of the Flint water crisis are now teens and teens are adults. Both still await compensation for the harm suffered. My thoughts on the injustice here. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Can coal make a comeback as an energy source? Trump is trying but it’s not that easy @hmnorthey.bsky.social reports.

Compensation, justice remain elusive for Flint residents harmed during the drinking water crisis from over a decade ago. open.substack.com/pub/garyglx5...

For the curious, links to the testimony before Congress by Gov. Snyder and EPA Admin. McCarthy. Lotsa partisan political posturing but that aside, interesting. www.youtube.com/results?sear...