Cities around the Great Lakes region are trying to make transportation cheaper for riders and more environmentally friendly by expanding their public transit networks. Two modes that are often pitted against each other are light rail and bus rapid transit (BRT). While not every BRT line meets the same standards, in general, they have been upgraded for higher capacity and speed, although they have fewer stations.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit PBS.

There is always room to improve program effectiveness and efficiency in government, as well as business, nongovernmental organizations and other institutions.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Toward the end of 2023, I was newly unemployed and living by myself for the first time. 

In between jobs, searching for employment and a means of fulfillment and community, I began to reflect on how my mom got into gardening. In the dead of winter, memories of childhood summers spent pulling weeds, tilling soil and fleeing the occasional garter snake alongside her began to color my mind. 

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit PBS.

Common terns are known for their aerial acrobatics, performing rapid turns and swoops to the delight of those watching.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

By Isabelle Tavares, Planet Detroit

This article was republished with permission from Planet Detroit. Sign up for Planet Detroit’s weekly newsletter here.

Manuel Nolasco stood in frigid air outside his flooded Southwest Detroit home early Tuesday, chipping away at thick ice chunks that had frozen his car wheels in place.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

By Adam Yahya Rayes and Sarah Cwiek, Michigan Public

The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan, Circle of Blue, Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS, Michigan Public and The Narwhal who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

In the Great Lakes region alone, Ducks Unlimited (DU) has been involved in hundreds of projects in the past decade that involve either the conservation of wetlands through acquisition, or the restoration and management of wetlands. These projects — always in concert with public and private partners, universities and other organizations — seek to establish or conserve the maximum amount of acreage possible with available funds.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

By Brian Allnutt, Planet Detroit

This article was republished with permission from Planet Detroit. Sign up for Planet Detroit’s weekly newsletter here.

Michigan regulators will hold an online public hearing on Jan. 28 to discuss redesignating parts of southwest Detroit and Downriver as meeting federal sulfur dioxide (SO2) air quality standards.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

A recent Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan report documents substantial progress in creating The Great Lakes Way — an interconnected set of greenways and water trails stretching from Port Huron, Michigan on southern Lake Huron to Toledo, Ohio on western Lake Erie.

In 2000, the Community Foundation polled metropolitan Detroit communities about obstacles to building greenways.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit PBS.

In the era of climate change, many Detroit homes and churches face challenging stormwater fees.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.