On Monday, Feb. 3, a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, a town of about 5,000 northwest of Pittsburgh. On Feb. 6, authorities decided to release the contents of several cars, including those containing highly toxic vinyl chloride, to avoid “the risk of uncontrollable shrapnel from an explosion.” The release […]
Posted inAccountability
Can a stormwater study help Metro Detroit communities get along?
A new study is looking for ways to promote regional stormwater cooperation in southeast Michigan, where floods in 2014 and 2021 caused more than a billion dollars in damage in each instance. There’s a “clear consensus the stormwater issue is getting worse,” said Carol Miller, director of Wayne State’s Healthy Urban Waters program. According to […]
Posted inSolutions
New ‘Get the Lead Out Detroit Coalition’ holds first outreach event in Southwest Detroit
Mareesha Walker has a message for Detroit’s parents: lead poisoning is a big risk for city kids, and knowledge is power. Walker, a health educator with Detroit’s Health Department, was in attendance at the Lead Safe Kids Resource Fair on Sat., Feb. 11, at the Ford Resource and Engagement Center in Southwest Detroit. She is […]
Posted inSolutions
Four electric buses will hit University of Michigan’s campus next summer
By ELAINE MALLONCapital News Service LANSING – With plans for an all-electric bus fleet by 2035, the University of Michigan will introduce its first four electric buses in June. The $3.64 million purchase of the buses falls in line with goals set by the President’s Commission on Carbon Neutrality at the university. Currently, there are […]
Posted inAccountability
Advocates say affordable green housing budget proposal falls short
By ANDREW ROTHCapital News Service LANSING – While Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called for the state to invest $437 million in affordable housing in her budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year, environmental advocates say she didn’t go far enough. Whitmer’s proposal falls far short of the $1.6 billion investment environmental groups hoped for after some […]
Posted inSolutions
Why Detroit will likely need a statewide fix for water affordability
“It feels like this is the year where we should make it happen,” said State Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit) The official end of Detroit’s water shutoff moratorium on Dec. 31, 2022 has increased a sense of urgency among water rights advocates to prevent the city from returning to the practice, which disconnected service to 140,000 […]
Posted inSolutions
Justice40 Accelerator program boosts Detroit nonprofits, but advocates say more help is needed
The program supports President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which promises to direct 40% of certain federal investments toward underresourced communities overburdened by pollution. Seven non-profit environmental justice organizations in Detroit are receiving support from the Justice40 Accelerator program, which provides technical assistance to over 100 environment and climate organizations led by Black, Brown, and Indigenous people […]
Posted inSolutions
Midwest coalition pins hopes on federal funding for regional hydrogen hub
Midwest coalition pins hopes on federal funding for regional hydrogen hub by Kari Lydersen, Energy News Network February 7, 2023 Illinois business leaders and researchers are hoping to leverage hundreds of millions of federal dollars to develop a thriving “hydrogen economy.” The vision involves using the state’s plentiful nuclear power and renewable energy to separate […]
Posted inAccountability
Polluter-pay laws could return under Democratic majority
By ANDREW ROTHCapital News Service LANSING – Michigan could restore laws requiring polluters to pay for cleanup of contaminated land and water amid a flurry of efforts by the Legislature’s new Democratic majority to roll back decades of Republican policies. “I would very much expect that,” said Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, the majority whip. […]
Posted inUncategorized
What you need to know this week – 2/3/23
Shutoff leader: A watchdog group called DTE Energy one of the country’s “most aggressively anti-consumer utility companies” after it cut off power to more than 128,800 customers in the first ten months of 2022, a 16% increase over the same period in 2021. During the same period, Michigan’s largest utility spent $2.1 billion paying dividends to shareholders, […]