Peter Annin

Peter Annin is an environmental journalist whose reporting concentrates on freshwater policy, regional cooperation, and the people behind institutional decisions. The Great Lakes Water Wars traces proposals to divert water from the lakes, the ecological warning offered by the Aral Sea, and the political negotiations that produced the Great Lakes Compact. Island Press introduced the work during 2006, then issued a substantially revised edition covering Waukesha, New Berlin, invasive carp, climate pressures, and newer diversion disputes. Annin spent years reporting for Newsweek and later led freshwater initiatives at Northland College, experience that supports the book's combination of interviews, history, law, and accessible narrative. Rather than reducing the issue to a single argument, he follows municipalities, businesses, environmental advocates, state governments, and Canadian interests through competing claims. The book has become a widely cited introduction to Great Lakes water governance. Its lasting strength is Annin's skill at making complex agreements understandable without losing sight of communities affected by the decisions.