There is enormous power in the spoken word. I am both proud and humbled to be a part of WEMU's (89.1 FM) First Friday Issues of the Environment program where the spoken word is carried to public radio listeners throughout SE Michigan.
I am also grateful for the work of innovative reporters like Chris McCarus whose program Michigan Now does an excellent job covering real stories of real Michiganders making a real difference in Michigan's economic recovery while simultaneously taking care of the natural world around them.
McCarus' show paints brilliant pictures for us over the air waves, illustrating how environment and the natural world has everything to do with Michigan and how we define ourselves as Michiganders, especially as we recreate ourselves economically and create a sustainable vision for Michigan--THE Great Lakes state--moving into the future.
On January 6, 2010, for example, McCarus produced an amazing story about a father/son team that invested $1 million and 4 months of digging holes as a way to create a career and help fight global warming.
Such real, in the trenches, true-to-life story telling is exceptionally important in this day and age as the power of the written word, in terms of quality print media, is rapidly disappearing.
