Meet the blogger
Jeff Alexander
My life, in 60 seconds
I grew up in suburban Los Angeles. Moved to Michigan to play college hockey. What? Seriously. Hockey didn't work out. Settled on journalism. Met girl of my dreams (now wife) while in college. Encountered the wondrous Great Lakes. Never returned to California. Blessed with three wonderful children. Worked as a reporter and editor for 25 years at several Michigan newspapers. Wrote two books. Left the newspaper industry in 2009. Started my own writing and media consulting business (J. Alexander Communications). Now a contract writer for hire. I enjoy kayaking, hiking, reading, watching pro hockey and college football, traveling, exploring the Great Lakes and occasionally trying to rise above the rank of world's worst angler. And I blog about the Great Lakes because these freshwater seas are, in a word, incredible. Thanks for visiting!
Tag Archives: Great Lakes
Growing concern about Great Lakes nuclear hot spots
Two recent news items should give pause to anyone who loves the Great Lakes and the 30 million people who rely on the lakes for drinking water. Great Lakes United and the International Institute of Concern for Public Health released … Continue reading
Taking stock of the Great Lakes on Earth Day 2013
In honor of Earth Day, I thought it appropriate to explore the current state of the Great Lakes — the good, bad and ugly. The lakes today are far healthier than in 1972, when Congress passed the federal Clean Water Act. … Continue reading
Nonprofit wins Pulitzer for Kalamazoo River oil spill coverage
The nonprofit news organization Inside Climate News won journalism’s top prize, the Pulitzer Prize, on April 15 for its coverage of the 2010 Kalamazoo River oil spill and subsequent articles that exposed serious problems in the nation’s oil pipelines. The online … Continue reading
BBC produces amazing video of flying Asian carp
Leave it to the BBC, one of the world’s great news organizations, to produce an incredible video of Asian carp leaping in the air. The secret: High speed video coupled with ominous sounding music. The result is a video that … Continue reading
Good news: Bald eaglets return to north shore of Lake Ontario
Here’s a bit of good news that will brighten a gray spring day in the Great Lakes region: Baby bald eagles recently hatched for the first time in decades along the north shore of Lake Ontario. The bald eagle population … Continue reading
Is your representative in Congress a friend of the environment?
The League of Conservation voters recently released its National Environmental Scorecard, which rates members of Congress based on how often their votes supported environmental protection measures. Personally, I’m a sucker for credible reports that hold members of Congress accountable for their … Continue reading
NBC News produces interesting view of climate change
It’s no secret that the planet is warming. Recent data show that 2012 was the hottest year on record in the U.S. The warming trend doesn’t bode well for the Great Lakes. Ice cover on the lakes has dropped dramatically … Continue reading
Controversial mine releases its “Community Scorecard”
Mining giant Rio Tinto recently released what the company calls a “Community Scorecard” of its work at the controversial Eagle mine near Big Bay, Michigan. The scorecard is based on a company-controlled survey that asked local residents and community leaders … Continue reading
New book tells the tale of a Great Lakes shipwreck that killed more than the famous Edmund Fitzgerald disaster
The Edmund Fitzgerald may be the most famous of all Great Lakes shipwrecks but other shipping tragedies on the lakes actually claimed more lives. One of those was the November 1958 sinking of the Carl D. Bradley. The 638-foot long … Continue reading
How are the Great Lakes? Ask a beach
Beaches are an important indicator of the health of Great Lakes ecosystems. Many of the most serious problems facing the lakes — such as bacterial pollution and algae blooms that are fueled by sewer overflows, polluted runoff and invasive species … Continue reading
