Patrick Shea
Environmental ReporterPatrick Shea is an environmental reporter at Interlochen Public Radio. Before joining IPR, he worked a variety of jobs in conservation, forestry, prescribed fire and trail work. He earned a degree in natural resources from Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin, and his interest in reporting grew as he studied environmental journalism at the University of Montana's graduate school.
During graduate school, Patrick worked as a freelance reporter. He's published stories with Energy News Network, Earth Island Journal, The Progressive, Native News Online and more.
Since returning to the Great Lakes, Patrick has been working IPR's environmental beat, with a special focus on the Points North podcast. His science background helps inform the questions he asks as a reporter, and he's grateful to the IPR news staff for their guidance and expertise as audio storytellers.
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Dick Mallery is tired of quick fixes to his 50-year-flooding problem; he wants a nearby culvert replaced. But even that will only keep floodwaters away if it’s designed to withstand the new normal. As climate change brings heavier rainfall and more frequent floods to the Upper Great Lakes, our infrastructure needs an overhaul. -
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The Constitution refers to treaties with other sovereign nations as “the supreme law of the land.” But what happens when promises have been made that are potentially in conflict? Two different treaties with the U.S. could lead to very different outcomes for Line 5 – a controversial pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac.
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In 2013, a train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. The dangers of oil trains are part of the controversy around Enbridge Line 5 – a pipeline running through the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan. In part two of this series, we look at the risks of transporting crude oil by pipe and by rail.
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There’s no safe way to move crude oil across an entire continent. So what risks are we willing to take? And who bears the brunt of that risk? Over the next couple episodes, we'll be looking at two times when transporting oil went horribly wrong. Today, we’ll hear about a pipeline that ruptured. Next time, we’ll consider the alternative.
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Most of the freshwater in the U.S. is in the Great Lakes. That’s why some in the region worry western states will come after it. But others say the real danger is commodifying water. Next time on Points North, the ethics and economics of trading water futures.
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Most of the freshwater in the U.S. is in the Great Lakes. That’s why some in the region worry western states will come after it. But others say the real danger is commodifying water. Next time on Points North, the ethics and economics of trading water futures.
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Among other things, the plan sets a statewide goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.
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On Lake Charlevoix, a landowner is seeking permits to build a controversial boathouse. But conflicts arise where public waters meet private property.
