Tag Archives: pollution

Flint’s man-made water crisis: where are the watchdogs?

By Joel Thurtell What a disaster the Flint water crisis has become. There was no need for tens of thousands of people to lose their publicly-provided source of clean drinking and bathing water. But government stupidity, folly, dishonesty made it … Continue reading

Posted in Adventures in history, Bad government, Joel's J School, Lakes and streams, Politics | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Did beaver ever leave Detroit?

By Joel Thurtell If you believe the Detroit Free Press, beaver were trapped to extinction in the Detroit area, and “then industrial pollution in the mid-20th Century made the Detroit River too toxic for beaver and many other species to … Continue reading

Posted in Adventures on the Rouge, Wildlife | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Beaver logic again

Once again, a federal agency is claiming the arrival of a lone beaver in Detroit signals less-polluted waterways. The claim was first made by a US Fish and Wildlife spokesman in 2009, when a beaver was seen at DTE’s Conner … Continue reading

Posted in Adventures on the Rouge, Wildlife | Tagged , | Leave a comment

UP THE ROUGE! and REI Paddlefest

By Joel Thurtell I’ll be talking about the adventure of canoeing an urban river Saturday, May 14 at 11 a.m. in the REI store in Northville Township. The stream I’ll be discussing, of course, is the Rouge River in metro … Continue reading

Posted in Adventures on the Rouge, Lakes and streams | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Crappy meeting

By Joel Thurtell If you’re concerned about pollution in the Rouge and Detroit Rivers, there’s an important meeting tonight. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment will be discussing changes in permits for pollution levels the government will allow at … Continue reading

Posted in Adventures on the Rouge | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Metro Times reviews ‘Up the Rouge!’

Somehow, we missed a very kind notice of Up the Rouge! Paddling Detroit’s Hidden River in Detroit’s Metro Times newspaper. The review of our book was the lead section of a roundup story by Michael Jackman in the November 25, 2009 issue of … Continue reading

Posted in Adventures on the Rouge, Lakes and streams | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

UTR named Michigan Notable Book

Up the Rouge! Paddling Detroit’s Hidden River by Joel Thurtell and Patricia Beck has won a Michigan Notable Book Award for 2010. A panel of judges picked 20 books about Michigan topics and Up the Rouge!, published by Wayne State University Press, … Continue reading

Posted in Adventures on the Rouge | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Cronies of the Rouge

By Joel Thurtell I was tromping alongside the Rouge River in Detroit last spring with Sally Petrella, public outreach coordinator for the nonprofit Friends of the Rouge. We were looking for junk cars that people have dumped in the river. … Continue reading

Posted in Adventures on the Rouge, Bad government | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Ann Arbor Library touts ‘Up the Rouge!’

[paypal-donation] Nice commentary by the Ann Arbor District Library on our Wayne State University Press book, Up the Rouge! Paddling Detroit’s Hidden River. The book is by me, Joel Thurtell, with photos by Patricia Beck. Too bad the A2 library doesn’t … Continue reading

Posted in Adventures on the Rouge | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

‘Up the Rouge!’ talk and photo exhibit

Redford District Library   A collection of Patricia Beck’s photos from our book, Up the Rouge!, Paddling Detroit’s Hidden River, is on display at the Redford Township District Library now through November 14. The book, written by Joel Thurtell, was … Continue reading

Posted in Book signings/book events | Tagged , , | Leave a comment