Michigan Environment Watch
Michigan Environment Watch examines how public policy, industry, and other factors interact with the state’s trove of natural resources.
Articles
Michigan was once a leader at recycling. Today, it’s the pits.
Nearly 40 years after Michigan implemented its landmark 10-cent deposit law, the state’s recycling rate is among the nation’s worst. What happened? And what is Lansing doing about it?
In northern Michigan, Emmet County seen as model for rural recycling
At the tip of Michigan's Mitten, the rural county has become a model for keeping trash out of landfills.
Michigan environment roundup: Foxconn, Flint and Enbridge
This week’s can’t-miss journalism about Michigan’s natural resources.
Timing could be everything in Michigan fight over DTE natural gas plant
The outcome of a contentious dispute over a $1 billion natural gas plant planned for St. Clair County could hinge on whether DTE Energy must comply with new state guidelines for power plant proposals.
Greetings from Mackinaw City, where Line 5 fears threaten a way of life
Bridge Magazine embarks on a year-long tour of Michigan at the tip of the Mitten, and finds that jobs, tourism and schools aren’t the biggest worry. It’s fear of an Enbridge Line 5 leak in the Straits of Mackinac.
Flint’s recovery begins with a carrot: How a unique program is healing the city.
A Michigan-grown food incentives program has steered veggies to the water-poisoned city. It’s spread nationwide to thousands of families on public assistance.
Why aren’t Michiganders eating their fruits and vegetables?
A small fraction of Michigan adults are consuming recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables, increasing dietary disease risks.
Trump would ax funding for Michigan-grown healthy eating incentives
A $100 million grant program – championed by U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan —that funds programs like Michigan-created Double Up Food Bucks could soon end.
Michigan environment roundup: Fertilizer could fuel $65B economic boon
This week’s can’t-miss journalism about Michigan’s natural resources.
Two-in-five large Michigan industrial plants exceeded water pollution limits
Over a 21-month period, Michigan sites reported 196 excessive discharges of pollutants, including hydrogen sulfide, chlorine and mercury, a report shows.
No joke: Ann Arbor is removing deer ovaries. Lawmakers aren’t laughing.
Ann Arbor is spending big bucks sterilizing car collision-inducing, garden-destroying deer. Some unhappy hunters and lawmakers want to ban the practice.
Michigan environment roundup: Monsanto research eased EPA regulations
This week’s can’t-miss journalism about Michigan’s natural resources.
For Michigan farmers (and Nestlé) bill makes big water withdrawals easier, and info secret
Michigan House Republicans want to make it easier for farmers to withdraw large quantities of groundwater— and exempt water use data from public view. The bill, if passed, could also benefit Nestlé.
Effort afoot to keep Michigan lawmakers’ hands off cash for public lands
Lawmakers are eying big changes to the Natural Resources Trust Fund, which has invested more than $1 billion for protecting, expanding and developing public lands in every Michigan county.
See how drilling has funded land and parks in Michigan
Since 1976, more than $1 billion from gas and oil royalties have helped fund public lands projects throughout Michigan. Use this database to find projects near you.
Slideshow: Explore projects funded by Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund
From Detroit to the Upper Peninsula, the fund has paid to acquire land in every Michigan county.
Michigan environment roundup: Canadian trash, solar squabbles, nuclear history
This week’s can’t-miss journalism about Michigan’s natural resources.
Coal is dead. A Michigan town is at center of battle over what’s next.
Once a dominant fuel in Michigan, coal-fired power is fading fast, with major implications for air quality and the communities that rely on them for jobs. A squabble over a proposed $1 billion natural gas plant in St. Clair County illustrates a broader debate about what comes next.
Here’s where Michigan governor candidates stand on funding toxic cleanups
Bridge Magazine asked eight candidates — four Republicans and four Democrats — about how to pay to clean 7,300 toxic sites across Michigan
Michigan Environmental Roundup: Toxic vapors, Great Lakes sanctuary, Legionnaires’ outbreak.
This week’s can’t-miss journalism about Michigan’s natural resources.