Reading this PR piece reminded me to re-up my post on the Detroit River's toxic sediment. When Great Lakes funding became available in 2010, the Det Riv contained 3.5M cubic yards. Now, 2026, 3.5 million cubic yards of toxic sediment remain. It's not a priority. www.healthylakes.org/latest-news/...

Canada too coping with data centers and their massive water requirements. Demand for transparency. Remember, the Great Lakes are a shared responsibility. bluedotliving.com/is-ai-coming...

The incoming UMich 2023 class experiences a rare if ever event. Football NCAA champs in '23 and basketball NCAA champs in '26.

ICYMI: We can't innovate our way to water sustainability in the Great Lakes region. Conservation is a pillar and innovation, used smartly, is a valuable tool. garyglx5.substack.com/p/can-innova...

Can innovation lead to sustainability for Great Lakes region water? Self-proclaimed Chicago innovation engine has water plans. My thoughts here. open.substack.com/pub/garyglx5...

Ontario, Canada's conservative government on the cusp of privatizing water. Citizen comments against. thepointer.com/article/2026...

Half of where Artemis is headed.

The photo speaks volumes. It's a radioactive waste storage facility in SE Michigan 1.5 miles from a major river and lake. And citizens are fighting an attempt for it to accept more nuke waste. Props @brianallnutt.bsky.social for the pic. planetdetroit.org/2026/04/haza...

That additional radioactive waste is even being considered for this site speaks volumes. Belleville Lake, Huron Riv and the Great Lakes. planetdetroit.org/2026/04/haza...

1969: Moon launch and the U.S. at war with N. Vietnam. 2026: Moon launch and the U.S. at war with Iran.

Michigan again seeks wildfire smoke exemption from EPA for ozone compliance, @planetdetroit.org reports. This is one of a number of air quality issues in SE Michigan. Props to @brianallnutt.bsky.social for tracking. @ninaignaczak.bsky.social planetdetroit.org/2026/03/mich...

Michigan's gov and others in the Great Lakes region are all in on securing water guzzling data centers. They're also responsible for regulating water use. Water exec says that's ok. I have doubts. garyglx5.substack.com/p/data-cente...

Great Lakes exec puts a lot of trust in the region's governors, who are conflicted, when it comes to data centers and water. Like inviting an elephant into your backyard and it misbehaves, then what? garyglx5.substack.com/p/data-cente...

Pay back for Laettner. garyglx5.substack.com/p/data-cente...

Data centers: Can a landmark Great Lakes agreement preserve the region's water? Water exec says yes. Expert casts doubt citing the conflicted roles of governors. My thoughts here. open.substack.com/pub/garyglx5...

My new book, "The Fix: Saving America from the Corruption of a Mob-Style Government," offers solutions to get us past these dark times in our nation's history. Available now for pre-order. More here. barbaramcquade.com drive.google.com/file/d/1sKHu...

Dave Dempsey's latest chronicles the career of a "Watergate baby" member of Congress who went from being a "rebel to a realist" in his 18 year tenure. Can the lessons learned then apply now? Few better than Dempsey to explain. www.amazon.com/dp/B0GT2DCKDM

Data centers. Map (link) shows DC's that are planned and operational. Kinda like the "Why do you rob banks? It's where the money is." For DC's, it's where the water is. Anyone looking at cumulative impacts on groundwater withdrawals? @planetdetroit reports. planetdetroit.org/issues/data-...

NCAA men's BB. Six Big 10 teams in the round of 16. IA, NB, IL, MI, Pur and the team from East Lansing, commonly known in Ann Arbor as "little brother."

As World Water Day is here, a good read on its value and stewardship of it from Attorney Jim Olson in Traverse City. #PublicTrust jim901.substack.com/p/world-wate...

A quick add. @bridgemi.com canvassed MI's candidates for gov on data centers. As you may expect, a lot of nuanced statements like, I'm for them but on our terms. But that's not how it works. Absent from the comments, the impact on Michigan's water reserves. DCs require a lot of water.

Data center mania: 3 years ago Joliet cut a deal w/ Chicago for L. Mich water. Its aquifer can't supply past 2030. Joliet is outside the Great Lakes basin. Now Joliet approved a data center over citizen objections. It's water will come from L. Michigan. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/20/j...

A thoughtful narrative on energy security, energy independence, war and our current state. Lotsa historical context.

Disaster funding at the state level. Do states have it? Cuz east and gulf coast areas will have hurricanes. Michigan will have ice storms and tornadoes. Calif and the west coast will have fires and earthquakes and on it goes. Yes, fed funds may be available but they are not guaranteed. Just asking.

Props to @wbez.org's on air Patrick Smith for calling out the Sec of Defense for the inappropriate criticism of media coverage in a war briefing where thousands are dying.

The bridge was basically a Rick Snyder, Justin Trudeau deal. Snyder, a moderate Conservative and Trudeau, a progressive Liberal. It'll be interesting to see who shows up for the opening event. Protocol would be Trump and Carney and maybe Snyder and Trudeau.

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is “one of the largest and most successful resource conservation programs in the world...” Basis for this claim? According to who? www.circleofblue.org/2026/fresh-g...

The slowest of slow walks on protecting the Great Lakes. It was the early 2000's when Invasive (Asian) Carp were I'd as a major threat to the lakes. Ecological and bureaucratic inertia were and are barriers. A billion dollar fix is five years away, maybe. www.woodtv.com/news/michiga...

Half Moon, blue sky Chicago morning.

Film judging season. Pleased to again support the One Earth Film Fest’s Young Filmmakers contest. It‘s U.S. and international. www.oneearthfilmfest.org/contest-deta...

Rousseau’s The Social Contract. The Right of the Strongest. “Surely it must be admitted that might does not make right, and that the duty of obedience is owed only to legitimate power.”

Who pays for keeping a coal plant running in West Michigan? @carol-thompson.bsky.social reports.

Michiganders had high hopes for the environment when Gretchen Whitmer was elected. She ran on a strong environmental agenda. But she's mostly disappointed except for a few issues. Here, two veteran environmental advocates share priorities for the new governor in 2027. www.google.com/search?q=ski...

Since its launch in 2004, support for Great Lakes restoration in Washington has been bipartisan. By that measure, the neglect of remediating the millions of cubic yards of toxic sediment that remains in the Detroit River has been bi-partisan too. More here. garyglx5.substack.com/p/uncertaint...

Uncertainty looms for Great Lakes restoration and protection. Some success on restoration to date but purported bi-partisan support will now be tested. The easy part has been done. garyglx5.substack.com/p/uncertaint...

Friday quiz. What does Canada have an abundance of that the U.S. can't live without? And it's not abundantly available elsewhere. h/t @greatlakesscribe.bsky.social thewalrus.ca/trump-is-spo...

A recurring story: Arid western state (Utah) desperate for water talks tapping far away sources. Previously the Great Lakes now Canada. Gov. makes a pitch to Trump for help. utahnewsdispatch.com/2026/02/25/h...

SOTU. Didn't watch it and haven't read it. Read two commentaries, presumably Liberal Moira Donegan in The Guardian & Conservative Nolan Finley in the Det News. Both said last night should be the last SOTU. Donegan noting that it isn't in the Constitution, which only requires a periodic prez update.

Inside journalistic baseball. Post Covid when online press events became the norm, I put a question in the chat and the moderator read a diluted version of it. The response didn't come close to an answer and no follow ups. Never again online, I said. Ystrdy I made an exception, same result. Damn!

In Trump's first budget in 2017 he threatened funding for the Great Lakes. Now he has turned the EPA's mission up side down. Here, a 2017 report I filed for Great Lakes Now with a tease on more to come. Note, Great Lakes advocates head to D.C. next week to lobby. open.substack.com/pub/garyglx5...

The puck drops soon.

Not a fan of books about sports but, an exception. The backdrop is the U.S. and Canada play for Olympic Gold this a.m.

ICYMI: There's not a lot of independent thinking these days. Group think dominates on Great Lakes issues, witness the Ann Arbor/Chicago bubble. So here, three who are willing to break the mold even if alienating like-minded colleagues. garyglx5.substack.com/p/three-who-...

Bsky friends. Can I just stipulate that I've seen every possible photo of your sunrises, sunsets, Full Moons and cloud formations possible. From both coasts and oceans and the Great Lakes.

The power of avalanches. The tragic avalanche in California reminded me of the 1910 avalanche in the Washington Cascades that enveloped two trains taking 96 lives. 2008 book chronicled the event. www.amazon.com/White-Cascad...

Three who resist group think and don't always believe their own press releases. "“We have to stop talking about EVs as if they are environmentally friendly. They are not..." open.substack.com/pub/garyglx5...

A long, sobering read on our addiction to plastics. "Lies about recycling." Quick take: Confirms what I always thought about recycling, it's a crutch. A distraction from the main issue, gross consumption. No paywall. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Reading about missing off trail skiers in massive Lake Tahoe snow storms reminded me of this 2011 NYT doc on a similar tragedy in Washington's Cascades. Three experienced skiers died. Includes body cam footage inside the avalanche. That skier survived. www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjzT...

Jesse Jackson, part 2. My 2019 report for @greatlakesnow.bsky.social where federal EPA workers protest government shutdown in Chicago. Scroll down for a brief video of Jackson chanting with furloughed EPA staff. www.greatlakesnow.org/2019/01/15/f...

Jesse Jackson, 1941-2026. My 2019 photo as he joined a rally in Chicago in support of government workers.