Read more about steelheads and other Great Lakes fish in The Dynamic Great Lakes. Ask for it at Barnes and Noble stores or buy it online. In Canada, the book is available through Chapters.indigo.ca.

It is a good book for Earth Day since it shows how people have improved the lakes through the democratic process. It was inspired by Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring. The Dynamic Great Lakes is suitable for schools, 4-H, scouts, boaters, sports fishers and anyone who would like to learn more about this planet's greatest freshwater system.

Barnes & Noble carries the book as well as Chapters.indigo.ca in Canada

Amazon.com has a search inside feature for this book that allows you to sample a few pages.

It may also be purchased online at www.publishamerica.com (best price)

After May 1, the U.S. Postal Service will have 10 new stamps available featuring Great Lakes sand dunes. The stamps will show 27 different birds, insects and vegetation found in Great Lakes sand dunes.

Read more about how these dunes developed over millennia in The Dynamic Great Lakes and why it is important to preserve them.

Read about Great Lakes weather in my book, The Dynamic Great Lakes

You will find all sorts of information about Great Lakes phenomena in this guide to the ecology of the Great Lakes.

(February 20, 2008) — The biggest hurdle facing the Great Lakes Compact, at least from a New York perspective, once seemed to be the divisive atmosphere in Albany. But at the urging of Gov. Spitzer in his State of Upstate speech, both the Assembly and Senate passed the agreement.

Now a small group of legislators in Ohio and Wisconsin are attempting to change the agreement among the eight Great Lakes states, potentially undoing the hard work that has already been accomplished.

For one, Minnesota and Illinois have already approved the pact. And like New York, Indiana is simply waiting for a signature from the governor.

The pact matters because it would prevent water diversion from the lakes and rivers linking them, while calling on each state to regulate its own water use and create conservation plans.

This is especially important as drought-stricken parts of the country in the Southeast and Southwest are looking at the Great Lakes as a potential water source.

As Ohio Senate President Bill Harris and Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Michael Huebsch see it, the compact as written is a threat to property rights. But proponents of the agreement say no such threat exists. Also, the Ohio and Wisconsin lawmakers want to make it easier to divert water within the basin, eliminating the one-state veto that the agreement currently calls for.

Changing the agreement now would be a mistake. After five years of negotiations and the agreement of all eight governors, it's time to pass the legislation and move forward for ratification by the U.S. Congress.

The reality is that without the compact, more may be at stake — like maintaining the freshwater ecosystem that serves as both a drinking water source and economic driver for an entire region — than a few arguable details pertinent only to two states.

The Dynamic Great Lakes

a book about the democratic process; a green book

Read about the return of bald eagles to the Great Lakes in my book, The Dynamic Great Lakes. It is an environmental success story. The book is available at Amazon.com, B arnes & Nobel and many other bookstores.