Worth noting legal proceeding in process in Michigan concerning shipping radioactive waste from New York to Michigan for storage. If there's no public health risk the judge asks, why ship it to Michigan? @brianallnutt.bsky.social reports for @planetdetroit.org. planetdetroit.org/2026/02/manh...

Note the contrast in this photo. The future, the Gordie Howe Bridge. Lower left, Zug Island and aged steel mill remnants from the peak industrial era. Some long time ago I worked there. bridgemi.com/business-wat...

Veteran Great Lakes policy expert and scribe chronicles the inertia related to environmental issues that surface, are paid lip service and fade away only to resurface a decade or two later. Then repeat. open.substack.com/pub/dempseyd...

Olympics, women's Super G skiing. Crazy good in the fog. Italy, Gold. France, Silver. Austria, Bronze. www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_rt...

Heads up on two books due for a May release. Earth for Sale: The Fight to Stop the Last Plunder of the Planet, by Canada's Maude Barlow. And The Environmental Republic: Why Citizens Will Save the World by Oxford scholar Giulio Boccaletti. High hopes for both based on previous works.

Illinois advocates, legislators tee up bill to protect Great Lakes and groundwater from massive data center water consumption. Industry exec says the state's regulatory environment is "challenging" and the state is a "declining data center market." www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/11/i...

'Are electric cars really an environmental success story?' Leading Canada and international environmental and justice advocate Maude Barlow says, "we have to stop talking about EVs as if they are environmentally friendly. They are not..." www.nationalobserver.com/2026/02/11/o...

Staying on the Canadian theme. I’d title this, understanding Canada. youtube.com/shorts/Vy2UG...

Data center watchers. Pub radio (WBEZ Chicago) chat with an expert on data centers today. When it came to environmental issues expert cites heavy electricity demand as an issue. No mention of water consumption. That seems to be the norm. Heads up water conservation advocates. @doncarr.bsky.social

Out on a limb here if someone wants to hand me a saw. "U.S. wins Bronze..." the headline at an Olympic skiing event. Still can't accept that you "win" when you come in 2nd or 3rd. The Patriots didn't "win" second in the Super Bowl, they lost. Feeds the "everyone is entitled to win" mentality.

A good @nytimes.com explainer on Trump's mention that he would block opening of the new bridge between Detroit and Canada unless Canada pays some money and shows respect. Prob a paywall. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/u...

Will petulant president spoil a Detroit River success story? Gordie Howe Bridge opening now a bargaining chip? open.substack.com/pub/garyglx5...

And now, Trump threatens to prevent the opening of the bridge until Canada pays the U.S. some money he thinks the U.S. is owed. That was essentially a Snyder, Trudeau deal.

Sunday morning whimsy. I focus on enunciating, T’s. ie in baseball. Batter v. Badder. At grocery store. Me: Where’s the butter? Stock clerk: Blank stare. Me: Budder. Stock clerk: Aisle 9.

Woke up to Lindsey Vonn crashing out. Damn…. but I’m not a fan of elite athletes not knowing when time’s up.

Is this the "soft" approach the regime is referencing? Detaining 7 yo's and denying access.

As the current regime continues its use of tariffs that are fueling economic upset in Michigan and Ontario, re-upping my occasional reminder that Canada financed the $4.7B Gordie Howe Bridge that will open this year.

I've never written with "clicks" or stats in mind and pay little attention to them. But was asked about my most read topics on Substack, so I checked. #1 by far, the importance of journalism in these times. #2, MI Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's water legacy - everything else. FWIW

ICYMI: A valued safe drinking water adviser to USEPA is summarily dismissed, "no reason given." Media coverage? Minimal. Response from Great Lakes intelligentsia? Muted. More here. garyglx5.substack.com/p/dismissed-...

1968 WS. 3 complete game wins and Game 7 on 2 days rest

Dismissed US EPA adviser laments agency's action on "bread and butter" issue, safe drinking water. Curious muted response. garyglx5.substack.com/p/dismissed-...

Someone asked about my Super Bowl "plans." As if, of course I'd have plans, like a party. I responded, no plans... I'll skip the spectacle and I'll check the score after the 3rd quarter. If close, I'll watch Q4. "But you'll miss the ads." That's the plan, I said.

Benton Harbor continues legal fight for drinking water justice in Michigan. There's still time for Gov. Whitmer to do the right thing. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Benton Harbor continues legal fight for drinking water justice in Michigan. Will lame duck Gov. Whitmer do right by Benton Harbor residents? garyglx5.substack.com/p/benton-har...

Michigan drinking water expert ousted from EPA council: A warning to whistleblowers? Betanzo was instrumental along with Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha in exposing the Flint water crisis. 2/2 www.npr.org/2024/04/26/1...

Michigan drinking water expert ousted from EPA council: A warning to whistleblowers? @planetdetroit.org 1/2 planetdetroit.org/2026/01/beta...

Another out of the Great Lakes basin town putting a pipe in Lake Michigan. Aquifer is current source but will not be able to provide water in the not too distant future. Great Lakes Compact to protect against diversions can’t stop it. www.dailyherald.com/20260127/new...

Is the Detroit River frozen over? Growing up my dad said some years it would and you could walk to Canada. I was and remain skeptical. I do remember prob age 10 skating and playing pond hockey on an inlet in the river in Wyandotte. But it was sheltered from the current.

Chris Hayes comparing Minnesota v. ICE to the Pettus Bridge event where civil rights workers were attacked. “Refusing to give an inch to the regime, exposing its malevolence.”6:06 - 6:40 youtu.be/sUkIiEZ1AF8

'Neil Young’s gift to Greenland: Free access to his entire music catalog.' Rock on Neil. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/27/n...

'This is the news we should be paying attention to. At least for the moment, everything else is a distraction,' writes Francine Prose in The Guardian. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Sworn witness affidavit in a federal court following the latest Minneapolis ICE shooting counters that of Noem, et al. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Northwest Indiana - yes, Indiana - announces major cleanup project for the toxic Grand Calumet River. Action follows Milwaukee. Detroit River cleanup continues to lag. open.substack.com/pub/garyglx5...

Prominent Michigan environmental attorney explains why data centers bear the burden of proof that massive water withdrawals will do no harm. #Commons #PublicTrust open.substack.com/pub/jim901/p...

ICYMI: The battle to stop the advance of Invasive carp to the Great Lakes is in its 3rd decade and is now on a federal funding "pause." Here's a timeline explainer and dare I say... maybe we've already done enough. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Chgo Jan 10 1982. temp -26. Wind chill -77. We went out. @sashaannsimons.bsky.social

The battle to stop the advance of Invasive carp to the Great Lakes is in its 3rd decade and is now on a federal funding "pause." Here's a timeline explainer and dare I say... maybe we've already done enough. garyglx5.substack.com/p/how-not-to...

Data center followers: IL town 45 miles from Chicago voted no on a new data center. Residents turned out en masse in opposition. Objection was siting near neighborhoods. Water use not mentioned. Source would have been Lake Michigan via Chicago. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/21/n...

Fed judge denies USEPA's request for dismissal in Flint citizens v. EPA. Orders trial to start Jan 26. It'll be interesting to see if Miguel Del Toral (EPA whistle blower) and administrators Susan Hedman and Gina McCarthy testify. Snyder is on the witness list www.mlive.com/news/flint/2...

Fed review puts hold on project to stop Invasive (Asian) carp in Illinois. The need for an infrastructure fix was ID'd in 2010. Original cost $270M. Cost now $1.1B. To date, commercial fishing has kept the carp a bay. www.union-bulletin.com/news/nationa...

Since appointed by Trump to run the court in DC, ex-Fox TV's Jeanine Pirro has been on a losing streak. For levity, here's Cecily Strong playing Pirro. www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEbt...

Conservation of resources is passe. But former California Gov. Jerry Brown mandated water conservation which led to the end of California's 25 years of drought. A quick take here. garyglx5.substack.com/p/how-gov-je...

Quick take: How Gov. Jerry Brown Launched California to zero drought. What can we learn from Brown in the era of get more? open.substack.com/pub/garyglx5...

Spotify playlists, really?

A good read here: 'Widely loathed data centers see little political opposition,' via @theguardian.com. "In Michigan, Oracle and OpenAI are proposing a datacenter backed by the Trump administration and the Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

ICYMI: The erosion of societal order continues apace in the U.S. There comes a time to set aside self-interest and professional priorities for the greater good of a rapidly declining society. Environmentalists should play a role even if it's outside their lane. garyglx5.substack.com/p/the-enviro...

Wyandotte, Michigan. Canada beyond the spit of land in the Detroit River.

The environment can wait as societal order erodes. What to do as Chicago, Minneapolis and Portland are under siege from federal actors. My thoughts. garyglx5.substack.com/p/the-enviro...

A must read here if you care about the Great Lakes. A look back at the success and failures. And a comment on the perilous place we're at today. Props Jane Elder, et al. substack.com/home/post/p-...

NYT analysis of video. Note the ICE response to a physician who wanted to attend to the victim. www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...