Justin Schott was always a little unsettled about his position as executive director for Detroit environmental nonprofit EcoWorks. Being the latest in an unbroken chain of white male executive directors of a nonprofit dedicated to serving the energy and sustainability needs of mostly poor people of color in Detroit never sat right with him. At […]
Posted inAccountability
How safe are Metro Detroit’s dams? We broke down the data
It shouldn’t have been a surprise when two dams in mid-Michigan dams failed on May 19th—they are two of hundreds of dams across Michigan that have “high” hazard potential ratings from the National Dam Inventory, meaning that “failure or misoperation… will probably cause loss of human life.” Dam safety—like the safety of much of our […]
Posted inCommunity
Do you have a question? Ask Planet Detroit!
Do you have questions about your air, water, soil, food, energy, and health? We’re here to help answer your questions and information needs about your local environment and health. You can ask your questions by clicking the blue button below OR you can TEXT Planet313 to 73224. Ask Planet Detroit OUR GOALS ARE TO: 1. Understand […]
Posted inAccountability
Join ‘Detroiters Do Science’ in June for a BioBlitz with iNaturalist
Are you a Detroiter who wants to do science? Send us your email and we’ll send you more info! * indicates required Email Address * Programs Detroiters Do Science Climate Storytellers Are you a Detroiter who likes science? Are you curious about what’s growing in your backyard, what’s in your water, and how climate change […]
Posted inAccountability
‘Tiger Dams’ provide Jefferson Chalmers with flooding solution — for now
“A little bit unattractive, but it’s better.. than the sandbags.” That’s how Detroit General Services Department Project Manager Crystal Perkins described the water-filled ‘Tiger Dams’ that are now being installed throughout Jefferson Chalmers in an attempt to control floodwaters. At a Wednesday press conference, Perkins said the city was about 85% percent finished with the […]
Posted inAccountability
Sierra Club, DTE agree to retire 3 coal plants by 2022
The Sierra Club filed a settlement agreement in federal court Friday committing DTE Energy to retire three of its five coal-fired plants by 2022. The agreement also secured $2 million for community investment in addition to the $5.5 million in mitigation funds announced in the settlement last week between DTE and the Environmental Protection Agency. […]
Posted inAccountability
Metro Detroit has its share of old, hazardous dams
The news of massive flooding and evacuation in Midland this week after the breaching of two dams is shocking…. sort of. It was also entirely predictable. That’s because Michigan has a dam problem. The state had 1,059 regulated dams in 2018, according to data from the National Inventory of Dams. Most of those (996) are […]
Posted inAccountability
DTE gets a rate increase, along with more accountability
The Michigan Public Service Commission approved a 4.7% rate increase for DTE customers last week — less than the 9% increase DTE had requested in their June 2019 filing. The decision also requires the utility to propose a system to link its performance with profits and to engage with community stakeholders in its next rate case. Increased […]
Posted inGuides
QUESTION: I’ve heard that COVID-19 is caused by 5G. What’s up with that?
Planet Detroit is pleased to participate in a collaborative journalism effort organized by Outlier Media to help answer your questions about COVID-19. You can use it for free by texting “Detroit” to 73224. QUESTION: I’ve heard that COVID-19 is caused by 5G. What’s up with that? What is 5G? 5G is the newest (fifth-generation) cellular network that […]
Posted inAccountability
Detroit’s Eastside faces ‘two nightmares’ of flooding and COVID-19
Scripps Street on April 3. Photo by Brian Allnutt. On Scripps street in Detroit’s Jefferson Chalmers Neighborhood, Blake Grannum, 36, has been nervously watching the canal that links her backyard to the Detroit River. She has lived in this house her entire life and has experienced floods before, but this doesn’t make her any less […]