Lisa John Rogers

As renewables eat into the energy market + EVs reduce demand for petrol, fossil fuel firms aim to step up production of plastics + chemicals made from oil + gas. By mid-century, half of growth in demand for oil is predicted to come from making more plastic + chemicals. A must read 👇🏾

In national news, the Trump administration is set to approve a pesticide known as TFA, a known PFAS. The EPA plans to narrow the largest federal data collection on PFAS, and manufacturing groups reported to the DOJ and NEC on how state chemical laws are "harming" the economy.

"Michiganders report disabilities at a higher rate than most Americans — 9.5% of Michiganders aged 18-34 compared to the 8.6% among the same age group of Americans, and 14.4% of Michiganders 35 to 64 years compared to 12.6% of the same age group Americans."

Stanton Yards development merges art, nature on Detroit River, envisions ‘thriving new community destination’ | Great Lakes Now A waterfront extension of Detroit’s Little Village cultural development is planned as a 13-acre public gathering place.

Stanton Yards, a Detroit riverfront development, aims to be a gathering place where people find inspiration in art and reconnect with nature 🌲

www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/11/detr...

Roads in the Great Lakes region get riskier after daylight saving ends | Great Lakes Now Darker commutes and seasonal animal patterns make late fall one of the most dangerous times on regional roads.

Drivers around the Great Lakes region beware! In the weeks following “fall back,” collisions between wildlife and vehicles rises by 16%.

www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/11/road...

Roads in the Great Lakes region get riskier after daylight saving ends | Great Lakes Now Darker commutes and seasonal animal patterns make late fall one of the most dangerous times on regional roads.

Darker commutes and seasonal animal patterns make late fall one of the most dangerous times of the year, especially in the Great Lakes region.

Here's what to know:

www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/11/road...

Fifty years later: The little-known story of the families the Fitz left behind | Great Lakes Now After the Edmund Fitzgerald sank, grieving families faced another storm: unequal insurance payouts, corporate pressure and a legal system stacked against them.

50 years ago today, the Edmund Fitzgerald sank and 29 lives were lost.

A new excerpt from “Wrecked: The Edmund Fitzgerald and the Sinking of the American Economy” looks at the legal battles families faced in the aftermath.

www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/11/fift...

YouTube video by Great Lakes Now Why Gars Deserve a Week of Their Own | Great Lakes Now

It's #GarWeek! Celebrate these living fossils by learning all about what makes this freshwater species known as "trash fish" so special in our latest conversation with @solomonrdavid.bsky.social.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw84...

Loved getting this pitch.

We loved this story so much that we turned it into a segment for the November episode of @greatlakesnow.bsky.social. Which means some of our team (including me) ended up eating here. The whole experience was so memorable. Absolutely worth the drive.

For #GarWeek, here is a juvenile gar from southern Green Bay that we encountered this summer. Look that those pectoral fins go! After length measurement, this fish was released on site. #GreatLakes

Ontario is subsidizing an energy project in Georgian Bay despite expert advice | Great Lakes Now An internal memo from Ontario’s electricity system operator outlines concerns with TC Energy’s large pumped storage proposal in Meaford, including cost overruns and an inability to meet short-term ene...

An internal memo from Ontario’s electricity system operator outlines concerns with TC Energy’s large pumped storage proposal in Meaford, including cost overruns and an inability to meet short-term energy needs.

Story by @thenarwhal.ca:
www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/11/onta...

‘Everything goes up except income’: Older women are struggling to keep up with rising electricity costs As rates spike across the nation, penny-pinching isn’t feeling like enough for people on fixed incomes.

Electricity prices are rising everywhere, with some experts referring to them as the "new eggs" in the cost of living crisis.

For older people on fixed incomes, it's yet another strain on their finances. Women in particular are worried.

19thnews.org/2025/11/olde...

YouTube video by Great Lakes Now Why Gars Deserve a Week of Their Own | Great Lakes Now

It's #GarWeek! @solomonrdavid.bsky.social sat down with Great Lakes Now to discuss this misunderstood & ancient freshwater fish.

Learn all about my new favorite fish & why researchers are exploring how gar genetics could help us understand human disease evolution.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw84...

I recently got the chance to speak with @talkecontome.bsky.social about a new study that looked at suicide rates in metropolitan areas around the U.S. and how this could help expand public health protocols to better support people in vulnerable mental health situations.

Now at Climate Central: U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters | Climate Central Climate Central is restarting this publicly accessible database that shines a light on the rising toll of weather and climate disasters.

The US Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters database, formerly maintained by NOAA, has a new home at @climatecentral.org, with the latest available data through June 2025. Explore the data:

A Michigan town hopes to stop a data center with a 2026 ballot initiative | Great Lakes Now Local officials see millions of dollars in tax revenue, but more than 950 residents who signed ballot petitions fear endless noise, pollution and higher electric rates.

Local officials see millions of dollars in tax revenue, but more than 950 residents who signed ballot petitions fear endless noise, pollution and higher electric rates.

Story by @insideclimatenews.org: www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/10/mich...

UPDATE: The St. Clair health board voted to endorse the proposal to take steps to prohibit the addition of fluoride to public water supplies.

The medical director's recommended restrictions could potentially apply to the Great Lakes Water Authority, which provides water to nearly 40% of Michigan.

YouTube video by Great Lakes Now Exploring Thunder Bay's Sunken Wrecks | Great Lakes Now

Hundreds of shipwrecks lie beneath the waves of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. 🚢🌊

Ian Solomon set out to explore this underwater museum, from exhibits at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center, to a glass-bottom boat tour, and even snorkeling above a sunken ship.

youtu.be/Ptovlkw2zmk

How Buffalo, New York has adapted to and embraced an influx of climate migrants | Great Lakes Now For the first time in 70 years, Buffalo’s population is rising, partly due to Puerto Ricans relocating after the devastation of hurricanes Irma and Maria.

How Buffalo, New York has adapted to and embraced an influx of climate migrants.

This is the final installment in @greatlakesnow.bsky.social's 3-part series on climate migration in the region:

www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/10/how-...

Yes, keep submitting to SeeClickFix, but you'll need to up the ante a bit via wording. Feel free to PM me.

I would also reach out to your city councilmember. First, via phone. Then, via email, and provide examples of barriers in other cities that are multipurpose (ie, flood gardens/medians).

Boom or burden? Climate migration’s impact on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula | Great Lakes Now Could climate migration bring new life to shrinking towns in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, or will rising costs and lagging infrastructure get in the way of population growth?

From @greatlakesnow.bsky.social, the 2nd in our 3-part series about climate migration:

Could climate migration bring new life to shrinking towns in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, or will rising costs & lagging infrastructure get in the way of population growth?

www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/09/clim...

Time running out for Great Lakes whitefish. Can ponds become their Noah’s Ark? | Great Lakes Now On the brink of collapse in Lakes Michigan and Huron, whitefish need a miracle. Now, some want to relocate fish en masse to inland waters to preserve dying bloodlines.

On the brink of collapse in Lakes Michigan and Huron, whitefish need a miracle. Now, some want to relocate fish en masse to inland waters to preserve dying bloodlines.

Story by @bridgemi.com:
www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/09/time...

Do those wasps that lay eggs in living caterpillars count?

How Great Lakes cities are preparing for climate migration | Great Lakes Now Cleveland hopes to thrive as a climate refuge, but some fear gentrification and extractive development will leave longtime residents behind.

From @greatlakesnow.bsky.social, the 1st in our 3-part series about climate migration:

“Ann Arbor, Buffalo & Cleveland — it tends to be the biggest cities [discussing climate migration] because they have established planning departments & the officers.”

www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/09/how-...

Amid rise of RFK Jr., officials waver on drinking water fluoridation — even in the state where it started | Great Lakes Now As federal agencies review their guidance on fluoridation and the nation’s top health official calls fluoride “industrial waste,” state and local governments are pulling back on the practice, upending...

As federal agencies review their guidance on fluoridation and the nation’s top health official calls fluoride "industrial waste," state and local governments are pulling back — upending a decades-long public health success story.

Story by @propublica.org:
www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/09/fluo...

My first segment for Great Lakes Now. Grateful to be able to cover a topic like the rights of nature.

We looked into NY's "Great Lakes Bill of Rights," & the history of the short-lived "Lake Erie Bill of Rights" (spoiler...it was challenged in court by agricultural company, Drewes Farms).

Illinois Gov. Pritzker signs PFAS Reduction Act | Great Lakes Now More PFAS news with millions of Americans drinking contaminated water, and concerns in Wisconsin over a drilling operation.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed the PFAS Reduction Act into law on August 15. More regional PFAS news:

www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/08/illi...

After working at the Grand Portage National Monument, Sofia Vanderlan built a birch bark canoe in honor of her ancestors’ Great Lakes tradition and heritage.

www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/08/nibi...

EV maker Rivian sues Ohio, claims state unfairly favors Tesla | Great Lakes Now More energy news with Great Lakes states losing more than $1 billion for solar and an Illinois city quitting its power provider over coal.

Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian is suing Ohio for letting Tesla open car dealerships in the state but not letting other manufacturers do the same.

Catch the latest energy news from around the region: www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/08/ev-m...

Heat waves and cold snaps: Study finds the Great Lakes have entered an era of extremes | Great Lakes Now A new University of Michigan model shows that extreme temperature swings are reshaping the Great Lakes with big implications for ecosystems, industries and climate resilience.

A new @umich.edu model shows that extreme temperature swings are reshaping the Great Lakes with big implications for ecosystems, industries and climate resilience.

www.greatlakesnow.org/2025/08/heat...