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Michigan Environment Watch examines how public policy, industry, and other factors interact with the state’s trove of natural resources.
Articles
Think it’s hot now? Michigan’s 90° days could quadruple in 20 years
Climate change could bring sweltering, dangerous summers to the Midwest, a new report warns, with 34 days per year above 90° if nothing is done. Kalamazoo, Benton Harbor and Monroe would be the hottest.
Climate change could bring woe to Michigan’s lakes, farms, forests
More than heat, unchecked climate change could worsen crop yields, infrastructure and air pollution. Here’s what researchers say could happen in Michigan in coming decades.
Michigan environment roundup: Expect severe algae blooms on Lake Erie
The latest can’t-miss journalism about natural resources in Michigan and the Great Lakes.
Invasive plants choke Michigan waters. So why can anyone order them online?
Residents can order invasive plants through specialty websites, even though they are illegal in Michigan. Is there a better way to protect the state’s fish, waters and tourism industry?
Enbridge begins geological work for Line 5 tunnel, despite Nessel lawsuit
The energy giant will begin geological sampling this week in the Straits of Mackinac, two weeks after Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a lawsuit to shut down the dual Line 5 pipelines while separately blocking a $500 million tunnel plan to protect them.
Michigan AG Dana Nessel files lawsuit to shut down Line 5 in Mackinac Straits
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is seeking court order to decommission Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac, citing a “continual threat of grave harm” to the Great Lakes. Separately, she’s seeking to dismiss an Enbridge lawsuit to uphold an agreement to bury the pipelines in a bedrock tunnel.
Michigan congresswoman pushes national plan to fix recycling woes
U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, a Michigan Democrat, co-sponsored a budget amendment that would direct the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to draw up a plan to boost recycling nationwide. The legislation has cleared the House.
Commercial fishing is sinking fast in Michigan. Time for more regulations?
Sportfishing is booming in Michigan, while fewer than two dozen commercial businesses tie their livelihoods to the Great Lakes. The industry has a rich heritage, but some say it’s time to ‘pull the plug on the horse and carriage industry.’
Invasive mussels challenge commercial whitefish fishing in the Great Lakes
The spread of invasive quagga and zebra mussels in the Great Lakes has wreaked havoc on Great Lakes food chains. They may be behind a startling decline in whitefish, the most valuable stock for fishermen.
Surging Great Lakes threaten Michigan’s beloved Fishtown
Heavy rains are taking a toll on the collection of fishing shanties in the Leelanau Peninsula, eroding some buildings and flooding others. That’s accelerating a fundraising effort to preserve the buildings.
Michigan environment roundup: Asian carp move closer to the Great Lakes
The latest can’t-miss journalism about Michigan’s natural resources.
Report: Tug dragged 6-ton anchor for days after denting Line 5 pipeline
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says new federal report detailing anchor strike shows ‘all of the enforcement mechanisms in the world won’t prevent a tragedy.’
Surging Great Lakes water levels shrink beaches, flood docks in Michigan
A few years after record lows, Lakes Erie, St. Clair and Superior broke records for average water heights in May
Opinion | Climate change drives shifts between high, low Great Lakes water levels
Great Lakes are in ‘unchartered territory,’ as climate change prompts sudden lurches in water levels, two University of Michigan professors write.
The debate is on: Will wolves move to Michigan’s Lower Peninsula?
More than 500 wolves live in the Upper Peninsula, but some scientists are split about whether they will return to the Northern Lower Peninsula
Wolves face genetic challenge in Michigan’s Isle Royale, study says
Scientists are scrambling to learn why the wolf population has plummeted on Isle Royale. Blame genes, one study suggests.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer opens up more Michigan farmland to solar power
The Democratic governor reverses a rule by her Republican predecessor and allows solar energy development on as much as 3.4 million acres of farmland.
Michigan lobbyist for polluter wrote law easing toxic cleanups, emails show
Emails uncovered by FOIA show a Lansing lobbyist for Wolverine Worldwide wrote a law to weaken pollution cleanup standards, months after negotiating a lawsuit settlement with a company accused of contaminating West Michigan.
Michigan leads nation in PFAS. It will lead cleanups, too, U.S. reps say
A bipartisan group from Michigan’s congressional delegation vows to protect waterways in Michigan, push for PFAS standards and explore ways to keep Asian carp out of Lake Michigan.
GOP donor’s plans to dredge Grand River meet rough waters in West Michigan
The husband of former Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land wants the state to dredge the river near Grand Rapids to allow power boats to reach Lake Michigan. Environmentalists are crying foul.