Devastating Midland floods would have been worse were it not for the sponge-like properties of a newly-restored wetland along the Shiawassee River. As climate change brings more intense rainstorms to Michigan, the incident is an example of how wetlands could help mitigate flood threats.
Michigan climate change
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
As Michigan climate changes, Grand Rapids uses green space to mitigate floods
Changing climate threatens to bring more intense storms and worse floods to the Great Lakes region. In Grand Rapids, one park takes neighborhood stormwater runoff and stores it until it returns to the earth.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Too few farmers are curbing pollution in Lake Erie. Should they be forced?
As climate change complicates Lake Erie’s algae problem, scientists say farmers must do far more to reduce phosphorus runoff. But will enough farmers change their ways without a government mandate?
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
On Michigan’s inland lakes, ice fishing with less ice, and fewer fish
Warming waters are hard on some fish, such as walleye, and more favorable to others, such as smallmouth bass. With so many environmental stresses, it’s difficult to gauge the future of individual lakes.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Intense storms from climate change harming Michigan streams and rivers
Severe storms can lead to intensive flooding, soil erosion and disruption to fish populations. Timing is everything in nature.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Lake Superior is warming faster than many of the world’s big lakes
With warming temperatures, fluctuating water levels and a series of extreme storms, Lake Superior is undergoing dramatic alterations amid climate change.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Water could make the Great Lakes a climate refuge. Are we prepared?
For all climate change has wrought, Michigan and the Great Lakes region — with an abundance of fresh water, warming winters and less fire-prone forests — stand to attract millions of new residents in future decades eager to escape flooded coastal areas and the parched land of the West.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Michigan is on thin ice. Get used to it, climate experts say.
The Great Lakes Ice cover is near record lows and expected to remain low through winter. Climatologists say unless society acts now, the warming trend will leave some bays ice-free by midcentury, threatening key ecosystems and the state’s $2.3 billion recreational fishing industry.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
How we know Michigan will lose lake ice if we don’t change our ways
Ice cover can change dramatically from one year to the next, but the historical record is clear on warming trends in the Great Lakes. Professor Sapna Sharma of York University in Toronto explains the scientific basis for the dire predictions.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | Whitmer's Healthy Climate Plan: a win for our air, water, health
Michigan joins nine other states with carbon-neutrality initiatives that will create new jobs, stimulate the economy and protect the health of our state.