As Michigan economic development officials fret over population loss that threatens the state’s future, some see a potential solution in so-called “climigrants” fleeing drought, wildfires, hurricanes, rising seas and heat.
Michigan climate refuge
Posted inBusiness Watch
Can Michigan defuse its population time bomb? See how far we fall short
Almost every state in the nation is growing faster, causing economic hardship for Michigan residents and businesses. State leaders are looking to reverse the trend. If we can’t be Florida, can we at least be Indiana?
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Michigan’s climate-ready future: wetland parks, less cement, roomy shores
What does Michigan’s future look like if we adequately prepare the state’s water resources for climate change? Goodbye to septics and shore-hugging homes. Hello to more diversified crops on Michigan farms.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Water wars: Should Michigan worry about water diverted from Great Lakes?
Only a few small communities in the Great Lakes Basin have sought water diversions. But with climate change, some fear that increasingly parched swaths of the U.S. will seek access to the fresh water that surrounds us.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
In Michigan, flooding from climate change reveals economic inequity
Experts say disasters reveal “two different stories,” as poor communities struggle to rebuild, while richer neighbors can afford to fix damages.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Is the Line 5 tunnel a bridge to Michigan’s energy future or a bad deal?
With climate action on the state and national agenda, critics of Enbridge Line 5 warn that investing in new pipeline infrastructure undermines Michigan’s pathway to carbon neutrality. Experts say it’s not so simple.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
In flooded Michigan neighborhoods, who should pay for sea walls?
For two straight summers, residents of Detroit’s Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood watched water pour into basements and pool in streets, a result of coastal flooding that will become increasingly common throughout the Great Lakes as climate change progresses.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Small towns like Ishpeming put off water upgrades. The bill is now due.
Rural Michigan is trying to balance the urgent need for updated sewer and water infrastructure with the financial constraints faced by towns with aging and shrinking populations.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Michigan communities turn to wetlands to prevent damage during floods
Devastating Midland floods would have been worse were it not for the sponge-like properties of a newly-restored wetland along the Shiawassee River. As climate change brings more intense rainstorms to Michigan, the incident is an example of how wetlands could help mitigate flood threats.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
As Michigan climate changes, Grand Rapids uses green space to mitigate floods
Changing climate threatens to bring more intense storms and worse floods to the Great Lakes region. In Grand Rapids, one park takes neighborhood stormwater runoff and stores it until it returns to the earth.