Thirteen-year-old Jeremiah Cannon was home alone two years ago in 2018 when he suffered an asthma attack. “I was watching TV and all of a sudden I couldn’t breathe,” Cannon, who lives in the Old Redford neighborhood, recalls. This was just one of many times Cannon has had to seek emergency services due to the […]
Posted inCommunity
Profiles in nature: Birding in place with Feral Detroit
Empty roads, canals and bridges are among Melissa McLeod’s favorite spots to look for birds. From the slow-moving canals of Belle Isle to a pop-up bird bath formed by a pothole, she travels in search of the habitats that offer her windows into Detroit’s urban/natural world and its inhabitants. These are the spots where she […]
Posted inVoices
Why biodiversity matters in urban areas like Detroit
A church garden in Detroit might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of biodiversity, but each individual plant, bird and insect that inhabits the space is doing its part. “I think one of the perceptions has been that wildlife and biodiversity can only exist in these national parks, preserved […]
Posted inGuides
Is this the summer of ticks in Metro Detroit? What you need to know
Breezy beach days wasting away in the sun, warm campfires with ooey gooey roasted marshmallows, road trips to the farthest reaches of Michigan—and ticks, of course. Spring and summer 2020 is predicted to be a really busy tick season for the Midwest, according to Pests.com. They say: “Warmer temperatures in the Midwest will prolong the […]
Posted inAccountability
Michigan seeks disaster declaration after dam failures
By ANNA LIZ NICHOLS Associated Press/Report for America LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Monday she is requesting a federal disaster declaration for the Midland area, where a failure of two dams destroyed 150 houses and caused more than $200 million in damage. Under a disaster declaration, Whitmer said she hopes to […]
Posted inSolutions
MSU researchers find rain plays a surprising role in making some restored prairies healthier than others
Republished from The Conversation Rain plays a surprising role in making some restored prairies healthier than others A restored prairie in southern Michigan. Lars Brudvig Lars Brudvig, Michigan State University Prairies once covered an enormous area of North America, but today have been reduced to a small fraction of this historical range. Imagine an area […]
Posted inCommunity
Profiles in the fight for environmental justice: Michelle Martinez
Part of an ongoing series profiling Detroiters of color leading environmental justice work in the city. In 2004, Detroiter Michelle Martinez was in Central America, riding a bus on the coastal route from Guatemala to Honduras. She had just graduated college. While traversing through small pueblos in the extreme heat and humidity of the tropics, […]
Posted inSolutions
How Detroiters contribute to local nature study through citizen science
Every year September through November, a small group of avid nature-lovers spend hundreds of hours near the southern edge of the Detroit River doing a remarkably straightforward task: counting hawks. Members of the Detroit River Hawk Watch sit for up to seven hours a day at the Lake Erie Metro Park counting as the birds […]
Posted inAccountability
Less coal, more natural gas coming for DTE Energy customers
In 2023, we can expect to see less coal and more natural gas powering Metro Detroit as DTE Energy is set to retire three of its coal plants as part of a settlement agreement with the Sierra Club and the EPA announced in May. The three plants represent 20% of DTE’s power capacity. Currently, DTE’s […]
Posted inAccountability
Will Detroit be returning to mass water shutoffs in the middle of a pandemic?
Updated June 9 With Governor Whitmer’s emergency order for the COVID-19 pandemic set to expire on June 19, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) could begin shutting off people’s water again, a practice that has affected over 140,000 Detroiters since 2014. Shutoffs had been banned and reconnections ordered for all water customers in the […]