Proposal 3 was soundly defeated last November, with 62 percent of voters rejecting a constitutional amendment to set higher renewable energy standards. But its supporters are not demoralized. Proposal 3 would have required 25 percent of the state’s electrical generation come from renewable resources by 2025. Today, several members of the Michigan Energy/Michigan Jobs coalition are continuing […]
Quality of Life
Michigan is a great place to live. Bridge will report that fact often — and on potential threats to the assets that make it so.
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When your parents tell you the weather wasn't like this when they were kids, they're right
Remember Michigan weather a little differently? You’re not crazy. But the weather sure can be these days. Here are ten recent examples of weather-related mayhem in Michigan… CLICK the map to enlarge CLICK TO ENLARGE
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Climate Change Report: As Michigan warms, cotton instead of cherry and grape crops? Bass instead of trout? Big rains and less snow?
If scientists are right, summer in Michigan by the end of this century will feel like that of a distant state. Think northern Arkansas. A report on climate change by the Union of Concerned Scientists foresees 30 to 50 days a year in Detroit with temperatures above 90 degrees. Days of extreme heat – over […]
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Climate Calamities: 10 recent Michigan mishaps
As climate change angst and debate grows, so too do weather-induced mishaps in locales across Michigan. Here are ten Great Lakes State examples of how “talk about the weather” often has a sharp edge these days. BAY COUNTY – After days of temperatures near or over 100 degrees, Bangor Township resident Marti Murphy looks out […]
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Metal pirates strip too much of what’s left from Michigan cities, lawmakers grope for answers
TRASHED: The pastor of a Detroit church hoped to convert the closed Vetal Elementary School in Detroit into a career training center. However, once scrappers gained entrance to the building, they quickly made it unusable. This bathroom’s damage is typical. (Bridge photos by Nancy Derringer) When it comes to scrap-metal theft in Detroit and other […]
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Canadian firm plans fracking campaign that could require 4 billion gallons of Michigan water
THIRSTY WORK: The Encana Corp.’s Westerman well in Kalkaska County recently used 8.5 million gallons of water to complete a hydraulic fracturing process. (courtesy photo) KALKASKA — A Canadian firm has laid out plans to drill 500 new natural gas wells in Northern Michigan, using a technique that could consume more than 4 billion gallons […]
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New century brings change to Michigan’s gender competition
CLICK TO ENLARGE On gender, the statistics always have been clear. More male babies are born than female babies – about 104 or 105 males per 100 females, in fact. Women, though have their own advantage: longer lifespans. At age 65, there are 108 females per 100 males; by age 80, the ratio is 143 […]
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Bridge’s Top 9 totally unscientific great places to go that you might not have heard of
Michigan has about 15,000 places on its official tourism website. Chances are, you’ve heard a lot about Mackinac Island and Sleeping Bear Dunes, but the Cheeseburger in Caseville Festival, not so much. As the summer tourism season opens, Bridge went looking for a few places off the beaten path. In no particular order, you might […]
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Mammoth Belle Isle Park poses huge challenge for citizen-saviors (with video)
Michele Hodges, 45, became the first full-time president of the Belle Isle Conservancy in January 2013. A Grosse Pointe Park resident, she will guide the year-old organization, with a budget of approximately $1.3 million, as it seeks to improve Detroit’s singular, but neglected, park, designed by Frederick Law Olmstead in the late 19th century. PARK ADVOCATE: […]
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A photographic tour of Belle Isle
Belle Isle Park is Detroit’s signature green space. According to the city of Detroit’s records: “Detroit’s city fathers purchased the 983-acre island in 1879 for $200,000, against the opposition of those who thought the price was too high. They elected to retain the name Belle Isle (beautiful island) by which the property was popularly known. […]