By refusing to clean up their mess, researchers found, polluters are pushing untold costs and risk onto the public. And Michigan law allows it.
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.
Water’s True Cost
As the nation prepares to pour hundreds of billions of federal dollars into rescuing water systems, the Great Lakes News Collaborative investigates the true cost of water in Michigan. Read the series.
Ready or Not
The Great Lakes region is frequently touted as one of the most climate-resilient places in the U.S., in part because of its enviable water resources. But climate change also threatens our water. The Great Lakes News Collaborative explores what it will take to prepare. Read the series.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
As Consumers mulls selling 13 dams, some in Michigan fear another disaster
As it looks to exit the unprofitable hydropower business, Consumers is mulling offers from a handful of potential buyers. But hydro watchdogs warn that cut-rate sales of aging dams often come with hidden public costs.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Nuclear waste from Manhattan Project headed to southeast Michigan landfill
The waste will be trucked to the Van Buren Township site along a route that avoids homes and businesses, the township supervisor says. State officials say radioactivity levels from the material are very low.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Michigan urgently needs better tests for beach contamination, report finds
Slow testing methods have hampered efforts to stay ahead of bacterial pollution in the Great Lakes. Beaches in Oakland County and Detroit’s Belle Isle are among those working on quicker, more accurate tests.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Coast Guard throws cold water on annual Port Huron river float
The Coast Guard offered a warning about the Blue Water tradition, warning of ‘significant risk to public safety and property’ for participants.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Michigan electronics manufacturers are failing to meet recycling goals
In 2008, Michigan created a law to keep electronic waste out of landfills by requiring manufacturers to ‘take back’ consumers’ old electronics. But the law never set binding goals to keep manufacturers accountable, so more than a decade later, Michigan’s e-waste problem hasn’t improved.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
MSU has audacious goal: Cattle production that actually helps water quality
Michigan State’s Jason Rowntree is out to prove that ranching is an ecological asset.
Posted inQuality of Life
Disability rights advocates ask Mackinac Island to allow Class 2 e-bikes
Mackinac Island bans throttle-assisted e-bikes, but attorneys say this denies people with disabilities the right to enjoy the island’s iconic vehicle-free interstate.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
The last coal-fired steamship in the US is in Lake Michigan. Look inside.
In this photo essay, take a tour of the SS Badger ferry, which has carried people and freight across Lake Michigan for seven decades.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Court sides with Michigan regulators in poop dispute with big farms
Michigan Supreme Court sides with state regulators who sought to tamp down on manure pollution from big livestock operations. Farm interests said the rules are too onerous.
