The writer is a contributing columnist, based in Chicago
One of the best things about summer in the American Midwest is Great Lakes boating. I grew up with the noise, fumes and fuel spills inevitable with gasoline-powered motors. But that was back in the 1960s when Midwestern rivers were so polluted that they regularly caught fire. Today, many are looking for ways to clean up boating on the Great Lakes, which hold 21 per cent of the world’s fresh water.
Sleek, silent electric boats have captured the public imagination. Marinas across the midwest are electrifying to prepare for them, Great Lakes ferries are converting to electric power and giant freighters are testing biofuels to reduce emissions. It’s slow going: only a tiny percentage of leisure boats in the Great Lakes states are electric, according to industry experts. They compare the present moment to the earliest days of Tesla.