Reader response the past couple of months to our first two issues of LAKE magazine has been most encouraging, especially when we consider that one of the goals or the mission of our publishing group is to “provide a solid news and advertising product that local residents look forward to reading.” I have personally received a number of congratulatory emails, including some with suggestions of stories to pursue over the coming months.
As we openly state on our masthead page in each issue, “our goal is to build a community of informed citizens through the efforts of our passionate team” which diligently works to explore issues – sometimes quite complicated – that could or, better yet, should be important to those living in Oakland County.
It is this commitment to explore topics sometimes off the beaten track for a local news organization that, on the environmental front, prompted us to take a recent look in our companion publication, Downtown Newsmagazine, at methane gas emissions from local landfills; cell tower radiation concerns; the impact on residents of leaded-fuel smaller airplanes (think the lakes surrounding the Oakland International Airport); the possible burying of nuclear waste near the Great Lakes by Canada; the impact of warming waters of the Great Lakes; or the toxic coal ash legacy of state power plants as Michigan moves to a carbon neutral future.
Our pursuit of environmental issues continues with this issue of LAKE magazine as we explore the topic of invasive species that challenge the inland lakes of Oakland County and the state of Michigan. Millions upon millions of dollars are spent each year to combat invasive species, as outlined in the longform story by Mark Stowers in this issue. It is a never-ending battle to attempt to prevent the introduction of invasive species or control those already present that have the ability to upset the ecological balance of our local waterways.
Our topics may not be everyone’s cup of tea, so to speak. But what we present is important so that whenever possible you, as a lakefront resident in Oakland, can help insure that the quality of your lake is being protected.
The focus on the quality of local lakes is part of the larger concern about the environment in general as the nation addresses the issue of global warming, a task that must be embraced by this generation if we are to leave our planet in better shape for those who follow us here.
Yes, we will be broadening in coming months some of the topics we cover in LAKE magazine, such as home design, for example. But we will always keep environmental issues as the mainstay of the magazine. Out of the 83 counties in the state of Michigan, Oakland County has the largest number of inland lakes. These waterways contribute so much to the quality of life here and how we concern ourselves with the health of the lakes says a lot about our attitude in general about the environment.
The environment and global warming remain among the highest ranking issues in repeated polls in recent years. In late June of this year the United Nations (UN) released a world-wide poll involving 75,000 respondents who were interviewed in 77 countries in 87 different languages.
Of those interviewed, 80 percent wanted their government to increase efforts to address climate change.
Aside from the recent world-wide poll, just how well are the various nations performing on reaching agreed upon goals to control climate change? A ranking of the 193 UN member states showed that no nation is ranked as having achieved 100 percent of the climate action goals and the United States was ranked as 46th in overall performance.
Whether on the world stage or closer to home with the lakes upon which we live, we have our work cut out for us.
David Hohendorf
Publisher
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