
Common Groundwater
Michigan is defined by the Great Lakes that surround it. But there's a so-called sixth lake that’s critical to our state, too: our groundwater. It flows deeply through every community and to every corner of our peninsulas. Yet, we have so much more to learn about this natural feature.
Like groundwater, this podcast shows environmental issues felt deeply, widely and personally across the state. It tells stories around those issues and the solutions to them. It goes beyond the headlines to bring listeners and viewers something grand yet personal to us all.
Episodes
19 episodes
Where Are We Now? - Gears in the Sand
Last year, dozens of folks came to Saugatuck to hear the plans of legislators to restore protections for dunes and their neighboring communities against destructive, risky development. Michigan's globally unique dunes are nearly un...
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Season 4
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Episode 5
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12:31

Where Are We Now? - Project Greenprint
At the confluence of ever-rising housing costs and an ever-changing climate comes a single opportunity: make Michigan's homes, old and new, cleaner, greener and cozier. In 2024, we spent time on the pod going over what these homes ...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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20:57

Where Are We Now? - A Better Bottle Bill
Michiganders have used their state's bottle deposit system to keep billions of beverages out of our communities, nature and landfills. Now, as the system nears its 50th birthday, a plan is forming to make the system even better. More recycling....
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Season 4
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Episode 3
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24:02

Where Are We Now? - The Polluter Rulebook
Last year, we brough you "The Polluter Rulebook," a miniseries on the ways in which politicking has frozen and muddied longstanding water protections Michiganders expect their Great Lakes State to have.Reese Dillard, Environmental Counci...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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17:50

SPECIAL FEATURE - "We Can't Be Lame Ducks"
It's a special, standalone episode of the Common Groundwater podcast, and it's packed with urgency, policy and opportunities for action.In 2025, Michigan and the nation will undergo power shifts, and if we take our new leaders ...
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38:38

Sights for Sore Eye - Gears in the Sand
Our Gears in the Sand miniseries has focused on dunes thus far, but the conversation we're really having is on the relationship between development and nature. Jake Parcell, executive director of Scenic Michigan, joins us to provide other persp...
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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36:58

How You Dune? - Gears in the Sand
UPDATE: The legislation discussed failed to pass the Michigan Legislature. For the latest updates on our efforts, click here.I...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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39:45

Lines in the Sand - Gears in the Sand
UPDATE: The bills discussed in this podcast episode did not pass the Michigan Legislature. For the latest update, click here.L...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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32:37

Cold One Cracked Open - A Better Bottle Bill
Buy a pop. Pay a little extra. Drink it. Rinse it. Return it, and then get that little extra back. Michigan’s bottle deposit system sounds simple, and yet it’s internationally known for keeping bottles and cans out of our landfills and landscap...
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Season 4
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Episode 2
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33:39

Turn of the Hourglass - Gears in the Sand
Michigan is home to the world's largest assemblage of freshwater dunes. They run up and down the west coast of the Lower Peninsula and dotted along the Upper Peninsula. They're beloved by just about anyone who visits (and many do), and they hel...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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38:22

Lightning in a Bottle - A Better Bottle Bill
Michigan’s bottle deposit system: Buy a beverage, pay a bit of upcharge, drink it, return it, get that upcharge back.It’s as routine an experience for us Michiganders as talking about the weather. Yet, it’s extremely powerful. It's a wa...
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Season 4
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Episode 1
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33:33

From in the Red To in the Black - The Polluter Rulebook
Ink from recycled paper, of all things, was what polluted the Kalamazoo River Watershed so much, it was placed in two federal cleanup programs. Paper mills, oil spills, dams, manure—the "Kazoo" has seen it all. And yet, this watershed a...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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46:27

Permission to Pollute - The Polluter Rulebook
UPDATE: The bills discussed in this episode did not pass the Michigan Legislature. For the latest updates, click here.Th...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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34:37

The Sentence - The Polluter Rulebook
UPDATE: The bills discussed in this episode did not pass the Michigan Legislature. For the latest update on our efforts, click here.<...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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31:09

The Stove War - Project Greenprint
"God. Guns. Gas Stoves." That's what a prominent legislator posted on social media early in 2023. Welcome to the Stove War, a cultural flashpoint that pitted gas stoves against their electric counterparts. As with most viral debates, misinforma...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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42:33

Homes of the Future - Project Greenprint
Eric Schertzing considers land banks like a Veg-O-Matic. These entities offer a plethora of innovative ways to hold and redevelop properties in our communities. Eric joins us in the third episode of our Project Greenprint podcast miniseries to ...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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27:10

Up to Code - Project Greenprint
Michigan homes have high pollution levels and high prices. How can we possibly change that for all 4.5 million of them and counting? For climate expert Carlee Knott, the answer is by cracking the code (literally) of home development and repair....
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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32:30

Have a Haven? - Project Greenprint
Michigan's in a bit of an odd place. It's considered a climate haven, a place that can protect people from the worst of climate change. But its literal havens—our homes—are causing problems. They're old, expensive, elusive and, in fact, cau...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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32:21
