WNIT Public Television

Program Title: Great Lakes Now One-Minute Updates

Content Description: These one-minute vignettes about a variety of topics within the Great Lakes are available for on-air or digital platforms. Curated into a playlist, they can be broadcast, shared as standalone posts on websites, shared through social media, or embedded online in other digital content.

Here are descriptions of each video, hyperlinked from the title. They are also available on Dropbox.

ELIZABETH KOLBERT: The future of climate change depends on what we do today. Listen to Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Kolbert discuss the threats to the Great Lakes: shoreline development, waste dumping and greenhouse gasses.

JERRY DENNIS: A summer on Lake Michigan during his childhood shaped Jerry Dennis and his writing. His rule for himself as an author? To write about “things he cares about,” and that’s why so much of his work is about the Great Lakes.

SECRET GARDENS: Heavy rainfall that runs into sewage systems causes floods and ends up in your basement. But landscape architecture professor Joan Nassauer designed bio-retention gardens. Able to hold up to 300,000 gallons of stormwater, these gardens benefit plants and prevent floods with a charmingappeal.

DISCOVERY CRUISE: The youngest generation of Great Lakes protectors is taking a cruise. Hop aboard The Clifton for the Summer Discovery Cruise where kids learn science about the Great Lakes. On their exploration mission, students realize the importance of water and what types of plants and animals live in the Lakes.

POKAGON WATER WALK: It’s not a race or a walk of endurance. The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians maintains their connection with the Great Lakes through the Water Walk: a method of prayer and respect.

HISTORY OF THE GREAT LAKES: The Great Lakes has built new industries, but not without sacrifice. Pollution and invasive species prompted stricter protections over this essential resource.

WATER SCHOOL: Elected officials and their staff members may not fully understand the Great Lakes and how it operates. That’s where Michigan State University comes in. They offer a two-day workshop for your local officials to educate them on how water cycles, how past decisions negatively impacted the Lakes, and the impact of water quality in communities.

PFAS EXPLAINER: PFAS has been linked to kidney, testicular, and colon cancer, and once these chemicals are in your system, they never leave. Watch an explanation of what PFAS is and where it comes from.

ANNA CLARK: It’s been five years since the Flint Water Crisis, and the city still doesn’t have clean water. Watch author Anna Clark talk about her book “The Poisoned City” and the complexity of the lead contamination in the city’s water supply.

FLINT UPDATE WITH DR. MONA: Without Dr. Mona Hannah-Attisha in 2014,the high lead levels in Flint’s drinking water may never have been discovered. Dr. Hannah-Attisha talks about her book and some of the struggles she faced uncovering what's considered the worst drinking water crisis in U.S. history.

S.S. BADGER: There was once a time when the 65-year-old S.S. Badger ship dumped its coal ashes into Lake Michigan while transporting cargo. It’s now been outfitted with a storage hydroelectric powered collection system to transport passengers instead of railroad cars. Come aboard!

PUMPED HYDROELECTRIC STORAGE: If you’re wondering about where the electricity in your house comes from, here is one answer. During periods of high electrical demand, water from the Great Lakes is pumped into a reservoir through turbines to produce power. See how that’s done.