Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI)

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s top Midwest official said her department knew as early as April about the lack of corrosion controls in Flint’s water supply — a situation that likely put residents at risk for lead contamination — but said her hands were tied in bringing the information to the public."

"Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder late Tuesday activated the National Guard to help distribute bottled water and filters in Flint as it deals with a drinking water crisis that began months ago."

"FLINT, MI – Federal prosecutors are investigating Flint's water crisis, an official said."

"California governor’s state-of-emergency declaration includes requirement that gas utility pay to fully mitigate the leak's emissions of methane."

"For months, worried parents in Flint, Mich., arrived at their pediatricians’ offices in droves. Holding a toddler by the hand or an infant in their arms, they all have the same question: Are their children being poisoned?"

In a complex legal settlement with the Sierra Club, Ohio's American Electric Power Company would eventually convert three coal-burning plants totalling 1,500 megawatts to natural gas and bring online 900 megawatts of wind and solar.

"As in the oceans, carbon dioxide from the atmosphere could throw off water chemistry in large freshwater bodies like the Great Lakes, putting the food web at risk."

"Imagine an oil slick quickly growing through the Straits of Mackinac from a rupture of the 62-year-old, twin pipelines known as Line 5 traversing the bottom of where Lakes Michigan and Huron connect."

"A concerted 30-year effort has seen substantial improvement in the health of the largest freshwater habitat on Earth, but persistent and emerging problems exist prompting calls for further investment, legislation and long-term planning".