By ARYA DARACapital News Service LANSING — The recent discovery of a dangerous family of chemicals in Michigan cattle has a statewide environmental group renewing its efforts to ban the controversial substance. The chemicals are called per- or polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS for short. You may have heard of the more common chemicals in this family, […]
Posted inSolutions
Experts weigh in on how to fix and pay for Detroit’s flooding problems
The Great Lakes Water Authority has said it could take anywhere $5 billion to $20 billion to upgrade the regional stormwater system enough to reduce basement flooding. In 1972, Milwaukee had the good fortune to be sued by the state of Illinois. At the time, Milwaukee and several nearby cities were sending an estimated 200 million gallons […]
Posted inAccountability
Lights Out: DTE Energy shut off electricity to homes hundreds of thousands of times
This story was originally published by ProPublica Lights Out: Profitable Utility Company Shut Off Electricity to Homes Hundreds of Thousands of Times by Sarah Alvarez, Outlier Media, with data analysis by Agnel Philip, ProPublica ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in […]
Posted inUncategorized
From the headlines – March 14-18, 2022
Structural discrimination: The Environmental Protect Agency (EPA) will investigate Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) after residents living near the Jeep plant on Detroit’s east side filed a discrimination complaint. When EGLE issued the permit for the plant in a highly polluted and predominantly Black part of Detroit, Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler) was required […]
Posted inCommunity
Planet Detroit welcomes journalism fellow Eleanore Catolico
Planet Detroit is thrilled to welcome Eleanore Catolico as our 2022 Detroit Energy and Environment Reporting Fellow. The fellowship, a partnership between Planet Detroit, Energy News Network’s (ENN), and the Detroit Equity Action Lab helps support critical journalism on climate change and clean energy in under-resourced communities in southeast Michigan. Having grown up in the suburbs of […]
Posted inAccountability
Pollen season is getting longer and more intense with climate change – here’s what allergy sufferers can expect in the future
The Conversation By Beth Daley Brace yourselves, allergy suffers – new research shows pollen season is going to get a lot longer and more intense with climate change. Our latest study finds that the U.S. will face up to a 200% increase in total pollen this century if the world continues producing carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles, […]
Posted inSolutions
Protecting climate with greenspace in Michigan
CO2 2022/2021 418.69 ppm / 416.70 ppm https://www.co2.earth/daily-co2 TAKE OUR READER SURVEY HERE! Protecting climate with greenspace: An opinion piece in the Free Press makes the case for protecting natural resources to meet state climate goals. Rebecca Esselman and Daniel Brown, who both work with the Huron River Watershed Council, wrote that the state’s “MI […]
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From the Headlines— March 7 – 11, 2022
Energy burdens: Late fees add to the utility burden for households already dealing with energy affordability, poor insulation, and damage from natural disasters. In 2017, African American families spent 43% more on energy bills than white households. Michigan’s two largest utilities, DTE and Consumers, have a 2% late fee, the highest charge allowed under state law. In […]
Posted inAccountability
Asthma makes more Detroiters sick than anywhere else in Michigan – and it’s getting worse
Public health officials say it’s ‘not clear’ why the disparity is growing Detroiters get asthma at higher rates than the rest of the state, a disparity that has risen sharply in recent years, according to a new report. In February, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) released its analysis of health and […]
Posted inSolutions
Manistee worm farmer aims to reduce greenhouse gasses with wrigglers
This is the first in an ongoing series about Michiganders working toward climate solutions. Know someone we should write about? Hit reply! SUBSCRIBE TO MICHIGAN CLIMATE NEWS! In Manistee, Michigan, hundreds of thousands of worms in large bins are feeding away at food scraps. The worms then poop, producing a compost that contains beneficial microbes, […]