APRIL SHOWERS BRING …: Torrential rains across Michigan overwhelmed sewer systems, leading to the release of more than 1 billion gallons of tainted water into lakes and streams. (courtesy photo) Billions of gallons of raw and partially treated sewage are still fouling the state’s rivers, lakes and streams, despite years of work by state and […]
Michigan Environmental Council
Posted inMichigan Politics Watch
Pro-Proposal 3 ads earn foul from Michigan Truth Squad
MICHIGAN TRUTH SQUAD ANALYSIS: Pro-Proposal 3 ads “Choice” and “Afford” Who: Michigan Energy, Michigan Jobs What: TV/Web ads Truth Squad call: Foul Proposal 3 would create an amendment to the Michigan Constitution a requirement that 25 percent of the state’s electrical power come from renewable sources by 2025, with certain caveats. The primary proponent group […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
Where will Michigan get its energy in 2030?
Michigan citizens may be hearing a great deal of power-plant technology, carbon emissions and renewable energy standards this fall if a ballot proposal to require a larger share of state electricity come from renewable sources makes the statewide ballot. Prior to that determination being made, Bridge Magazine asked representatives of a large Michigan utility and […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Michigan's air cleaner, but watch out for carp and friends
Michigan may be best known as the home of the domestic auto industry, but state officials are focusing more on creating a wider public image, focusing on the spectacular natural world found so near the auto assembly lines. The state’s highly successful Pure Michigan tourism advertising campaign showcases many of them, including the Great Lakes, […]
Posted inGuest Commentary
State waits for Legislature to do its job on transit
By Timothy R. Fischer/Michigan Environmental Council and Michele Hodges/Troy Chamber of Commerce Our state’s leaders must stop dithering and approve the regional transit authority bills (Senate Bills 909, 911-912) before the Michigan Legislature. An RTA matters for the entire state. It would control transit tax expenditures in Southeast Michigan, cut duplicative service, force efficiencies and […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Snyder administration cleaning up state rulebook
The state has too many regulations and it costs too much to comply with them. That has long been a mantra of business groups. Now Gov. Rick Snyder has adopted the approach for state government as well. His Office of Regulatory Reinvention has been given the daunting task of sifting through all of the several […]
Posted inMichigan Politics Watch
Quiet settles over environmental debate at Capitol
Gov. Rick Snyder and the Legislature have gone big on many issues so far this year — taxes, public employee benefits and education, to name a few — but one area that has drawn less attention has been their work on bills affecting the environment. That’s about to change. So far, the push for changes […]
Posted inMichigan Politics Watch
Veteran regulator prefers to say 'yes'
Getting to “yes” is a mission for Jim Sygo, the deputy director of the Department of Environmental Quality. It’s an answer, he believes can help Michigan’s environment and its economy. And it is a fundamental reason why Sygo is still on the job after nearly 30 years of state service that has taken him from […]