Michigan Environment Watch

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has made climate action a priority for the coming legislative session. From renewable energy standards to EV regulations, here are several items that could be on the table.

Snyder’s is the latest of eight dismissals in the Flint criminal case, after the Michigan Supreme Court rejected the legal path Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office used to secure indictments.

A major recycling reform package is changed at the last minute to allow for a ‘chemical process’ that heats trash into ‘post-use polymers.’ Environmentalists hate the changes.

The proposal would allow big increases in military aircraft presence over some areas, including training maneuvers as low as 300-500 feet above the ground, drawing the ire of homeowners and environmental groups.

The tediously-negotiated package aims to boost Michigan’s recycling rate. But ahead of a possible Wednesday Senate vote, industry groups are pushing last-minute changes that have environmental groups crying foul.

This year, for the first time, hunters were required to promptly report their deer kills, a move state wildlife managers say will help the state better manage Michigan’s growing herds.

Changes to how the state identifies children with elevated blood lead levels have made more families eligible for assistance to prevent further lead exposure. Advocates say testing and education will need to improve if the state is to eradicate the problem.

Rock climbing might be a new tool for conserving the public land that bolsters Michigan’s annual $20 billion tourism industry. The sport is gaining traction as outdoor enthusiasts look to experience nature differently, especially after indoor climbing gyms closed during the pandemic.

Don’t expect big new efforts to shut down Line 5 when Democrats take control. Those on both sides of the issue say the pipeline’s fate is now in the hands of a federal judge and President Joe Biden.

As millions of pounds of microplastics enter the Great Lakes each year, microplastics are turning up in human bodies. Researchers are scrambling to understand the health effects while efforts to curb waste fall short.

The denial permanently eliminates 800 megawatts of emissions-free power from Michigan’s grid, hindering the state’s efforts to go carbon neutral. But nuclear detractors cheered the move, citing safety fears at the aging plant.

A new study finds that Michigan’s outdoor recreation economy grew by 15.4 percent last year, more than double the growth of the state’s overall economy.

The century-old dams are expensive to maintain, generate little energy and are generally harmful to rivers and native fish. But their reservoirs bring boaters, visitors and lake houses that help support small communities.

A $34.9 million cleanup of heavily contaminated Muskegon Lake and White Lake in West Michigan is estimated to have recovered $16.4 million in lost housing value for nearby homeowners.

A new research program in Detroit will assess the impacts of air pollution and preterm birth.

Montcalm County voters rejected five renewable energy referendums and recalled several local officials who supported the plans. There is growing opposition to wind and solar farms as Michigan attempts to chart a green energy path.

Though wolf hunting is banned at the federal level, hunting advocates want Michigan to lay the groundwork for a hunt should federal protections end. Wolf advocates say there’s no justification for doing so.

The energy utility plans to lean into natural gas after shutting down coal plants, a move that has irked some clean energy advocates.

Resistance to wind and solar farms is growing across the farmlands of Michigan, where locals, not the state, control site approval. Nowhere is that fight more intense than Montcalm County.

Four years from the onset of the city’s lead-in-water crisis, crews have removed 99 percent of lead service lines from the city’s water delivery system.