At the former Dan E. Karn coal plant, a vision has emerged to replace smokestacks with solar panels and parks. Some hope to replicate the model amid a rush of coal plant closures.
Michigan Environment Watch
Michigan Environment Watch examines how public policy, industry, and other factors interact with the state’s trove of natural resources.
Great Lakes News Collaborative
Bridge Michigan, Circle of Blue, Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television, The Narwhal and Michigan Public work together to report on the most pressing threats to the Great Lakes region’s water. This independent journalism is supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. You can find all of the collaborative’s stories here.
Shockwave
The Great Lakes region is in the midst of a seismic energy shakeup, from skyrocketing data center demand and a nuclear energy boom, to expanding renewables and electrification. In 2026, the Great Lakes News Collaborative will explore how shifting supply and demand affect the region and its waters. Read the series here.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
U-Pick? Go soon. Michigan apples, peaches ahead of schedule
Unseasonably warm weather meant fruit crops like apples and peaches were ready earlier than usual. Farmers are encouraging Michiganders to plan annual pilgrimages accordingly.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Michigan’s fall salmon migration run has begun. Anglers are salivating
Salmon have to move into rivers from the Great Lakes for autumn, a stunning show that gives anglers one last shot at their prize.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Consumers Energy may get $770M from feds to fix century-old Michigan dams
The dam wars may intensify, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wants the Michigan utility to apply for loans to upgrade old, unprofitable dams it is looking to unload. Conservationists cry foul.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Fed up with geese, Michigan abandons relocation efforts. Next up: killing them
Geese are a conservation success and huge pain in many communities. So next year, Michigan officials will begin allowing some cities and lake associations to apply for permits to kill them.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Palisades nuclear relaunch gets more subsidies in Michigan — and more backlash
The federal government will provide more than $600 million to help two rural electricity cooperatives buy money from the nuclear plant. While proponents celebrate, anti-nuclear activists say the money could be better spent elsewhere.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Restoring Michigan rivers by cleaning up, removing crumbling dams
Michigan has been removing more of its obsolete dams in recent years to bring rivers back to their natural state. The process isn’t easy.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Activists hail settlement of complaint about Detroit hazardous waste facility
The state settled a civil rights complaint filed by environmental groups, who said the plan would have an ‘unlawful impact on human health’ in a predominately Black and Latino community.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Report: Michigan's weak pollution cleanups are costing future generations
By refusing to clean up their mess, researchers found, polluters are pushing untold costs and risk onto the public. And Michigan law allows it.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Michigan clean energy transition gets tricky in the U.P.
New natural gas plants make clean energy goals complicated for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.