Since the start, water activists have been fighting a narrative that assigns blame primarily to those impacted by the shutoffs. On a gray, chilly February morning, Reverend Roslyn Bouier opens the doors to the Brightmoor Connection Food Pantry in northwest Detroit. The pantry entrance is tucked into the back of a church building, just across […]
Posted inAccountability
Detroit to turn the water back on during coronavirus threat
Prompted by concern over coronavirus, City of Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced Monday that the city will end water shutoffs and restore service to customers. The decision comes just two weeks after the Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s attorney announced the state would not declare an emergency over the water shutoffs, citing “insufficient evidence” that the shutoffs […]
Posted inAccountability, Deep Dives, Lead poisoning
Is Michigan breaking its own lead rule?
Last week, Michigan’s Department of Great Lakes Environment and Energy (EGLE) was celebrating one of the heroes of the Flint Water Crisis, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, who appeared on Capitol Hill before the House Energy and Commerce. Hanna-Attisha was endorsing Michigan’s revised Lead and Copper Rule, which has been called the most protective in the nation. At the same time, Governor […]
Posted inCommunity
Activists brave the cold for ‘Tri-County Environmental Justice Solidarity Rally’
Residents from Macomb, Wayne, and Oakland counties came together on a chilly evening Thursday, January 23 for a “Tri-County Environmental Justice Solidarity Rally” at the intersection of the three counties. About 60 people met on Dad Butler playground in Detroit to voice their concerns about environmental justice issues. Lauren Schandevel of We The People of […]
Posted inAccountability
Deteriorating conditions and soil tests raise concerns about dock collapse on Detroit River
The situation at the collapsed dock at the Detroit Bulk Storage facility in late November has continued to worsen, and experts are concerned that the risk of pollutants moving from soil or sediments into the river—and potentially into water intakes downstream—has increased. When Detroiters first learned of the collapse of a dock at the Detroit Bulk Storage facility on […]
Posted inCommunity
Planet Detroit’s top 5 Michigan environmental stories for 2019
Planet Detroit had such a great response to our top 10 local environmental stories of 2019, we thought we ought to do the same for stories across Michigan . So, without further ado… 1. The Michigan DNR, lawmakers made up stories about killer wolves (so they could have them shot) Perhaps the most shocking statewide reporting […]
Posted inCommunity
Planet Detroit’s top 10 local environmental stories for 2019
1. Water shutoffs in Detroit continue With activists sometimes alleging a “media blackout” on the subject, water was still being turned off for some of Detroit’s most vulnerable residents. This topic did receive some attention, although often it was strangely upbeat. Towards the beginning of the year, The Detroit News wrote that there was a “dramatic decline” […]
Posted inVoices
ESSAY: Parenting in an era of climate change
Metro Detroit writer Jenn McKee explores the landscape at the intersection of climate change, parenting, and the truth. Nobody can hold your feet to the fire quite like an eight-year-old. Seriously. My youngest daughter’s been pushing me on some pretty hard questions lately. And I’m not talking about death (we covered that ground pretty thoroughly […]
Posted inCommunity
Short Film: MOTHER
By Lauren Santucci Many people are aware that Southwest Detroit is Michigan’s most air-polluted neighborhood. The statistics are bleak—with high rates of asthma, emphysema, and poor birth outcomes. It’s also a place where residents find themselves in a position of having to choose between their community and their health. The video centers on Thomasenia Weston, […]
Posted inCommunity
Why climate activists and U-M administrators clashed over plans for carbon neutrality
Photo via Climate Action Movement at the University of Michigan By Miriam Francisco In 2011, the University of Michigan announced its intention to cut carbon emissions by 25 percent by 2025. But seven years later, carbon emission reduction had stalled at just 5 percent. So after U-M President Mark Schlissel announced a new planning committee […]