The iconic Michigan steamship, the SS Badger, may lose its permit to dump spent coal into Lake Michigan.

A slate of environmental and energy policy initiatives was outlined by Gov. Rick Snyder during his Nov. 28 special address on energy and the environment, including stronger clean energy policies and Great Lakes protections, strategic planning for public lands and development of a trail network spanning the state.

The days are long and hot, amplifying our appreciation for our deep and (mostly) clear lakes. Let’s celebrate Michigan’s special place on the planet—in the cradle of the greatest freshwater system on Earth—by testing your knowledge of the Great Lakes and Michigan’s water resources.

Michigan’s public transportation and passenger railroad service both got good news in May. The public transportation budget recommended by Gov. Rick Snyder and passed by the legislature retained existing funding levels—good news in a budget that otherwise cut natural resource protection budgets.

Google “Asian carp,” and you’ll return 348,000 hits. Not as many as Lindsay Lohan (21.3 million) but still plenty of choices from which to glean information on the voracious fish knocking on the door of the Great Lakes.

The Great Lakes Health Banner—a powerful documentary of the work of Great Lakes and Michigan organizations concerned about the health effects of toxins and the lack of effective action by elected officials—is making a comeback.

New protection for Michigan’s water, including legislation authorizing Michigan’s entry into the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact (the Compact), was signed into law by Gov. Jennifer Granholm in July. The Compact is an agreement among the eight U.S. Great Lakes states and two Canadian provinces to prevent diversions and regulate withdrawals that would harm the waters of the Great Lakes.

A bipartisan agreement announced today establishes important and concrete protections for Michigan’s streams and makes water conservation an integral part of the state’s water stewardship efforts.

Michigan’s House and Senate approved the eight-state Great Lakes Compact in mid-May, but protection for the state’s majestic waterways was still uncertain at press time as key additional protections remained in limbo.

Flushing prescription medicine down the toilet puts it out of sight and out of mind—but doesn’t necessarily render it harmless.

Repulsive, potentially toxic clumps of algae are likely to reappear this summer to plague swimmers and beachcombers from the bays of Grand Traverse to the shores of Lake Erie. The troubling return of algae is a throwback to the days when rampant pollution of the Great Lakes led researchers to declare Lake Erie "dead" in the 1970s. And it is a warning that the state can not afford to ignore, concludes a report released by the Michigan Environmental Council. "Something's Amuck: Algae blooms return to Michigan shores" illustrates how invasive species, combined with legal loopholes that encourage phosphorus pollution, have opened the door for algae's comeback.