Bridge readers identified the environment as a top 2026 election concern, with data centers, Great Lakes health and energy policy topping the list. We break down the issues, the facts and possible solutions.
Great Lakes
Posted inMichigan Government
Bridge Listens: What Michigan’s next governor plans for data centers, clean energy
From data centers to dams and climate change, Michigan gubernatorial candidates tell Bridge what they would do to protect the Great Lakes and wider environment.
Posted inMichigan Government
In their words: Michigan governor candidates on key environmental issues
Michigan governor candidates tell Bridge Michigan how they’d address Great Lakes threats, data centers, aging dams, energy generation, climate change and more.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Great Lakes shipping lost third of season to ‘inadequate icebreaking’
The Lake Carriers Association said in a report that it lost 82 shipping days this year because the US Coast Guard failed to break enough ice. Despite repeated attempts, Congress hasn’t invested in a new icebreaker for the Great Lakes.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Whitefish waning. Should Michigan have commercial trout, walleye catches?
Bills under consideration in the House aim to expand commercial access to walleye and trout as whitefish catch rates plummet. Recreational fishing advocates and state fishing regulators object.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Michigan plans to reissue Line 5 permit amid federal review, court fight
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy preliminarily approved a water quality permit that will allow Enbridge Energy to discharge millions of gallons of wastewater per day into Lake Michigan during construction of a pipeline tunnel.
Posted inEvents, Michigan Environment Watch, The Center for Michigan
Bridge Listens Issues Watch continues with virtual discussion on the environment
Join Bridge reporters on May 27 as they discuss the issues impacting Michigan’s environment and where candidates stand on everything from data centers to invasive species to climate change.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | We can prevent an oil spill in the Straits of Mackinac
The pattern is brutally clear: when anchors and pipelines meet, the pipeline loses — and the water pays the price. The public health, economic and ecological consequences of a Line 5 failure would be profound.
Posted inOutdoors Life
Take a look inside a Great Lakes sanctuary that protects 200 shipwrecks
The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary off the northeast Michigan coast in Lake Huron contains 100 known wrecks and researchers think there’s at least 100 more.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Michigan lawmakers may fund last-ditch effort to save whitefish
Lawmakers move to restock the iconic fish that are disappearing from the lower Great Lakes.