Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI)

"The city’s nearly 400,000 pipes wouldn’t have to be fully removed for nearly 30 years after the rest of the nation."

"Ohio lawmakers have failed, at least for now, to pass a bill that would exert control over discussion of “controversial beliefs” about climate policies in college classrooms."

"Mining the critical minerals needed for electric vehicle batteries could threaten local water supply and Indigenous culture."

"Firefighting foam contaminated groundwater beneath O’Hare and Midway airports with PFAS chemicals, military investigators have found. It’s unclear how far it has spread."

"Minnesota state agencies aren’t doing enough to prevent nitrates — a toxic byproduct of fertilizers and livestock manure — from entering drinking water in the southeast part of the state, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency."

"Michigan is set to become the third state in the Midwest and twelfth in the country to require a shift to clean electricity." "A comparison with laws in Illinois and Minnesota shows the scope of the state’s ambition."

"This is what happens when an apex predator collides with an ecosystem engineer."

"Beavers are influential. By cutting trees and damming streams, these rodents change the world around them, raising water levels and creating habitats for diverse plants, insects, fish and more. They are some of the world’s best-known ecosystem engineers, a term for species that produce outsize effects on their environments.

"Lured by billions of dollars in federal funding for carbon capture, developers are proposing huge pipelines to carry the CO2 across the Midwest. In Illinois, one retired academic united her neighbors to fight a key project."