The latest Lunch Break event featured the Bridge Michigan team discussing the findings of the recent industrial legacy reporting project.
Pollution in Michigan
While Michigan is known for its beautiful scenery, we look into the industrial pollution that once bolstered our economy but is now depleting our natural resources and poisoning our residents.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
As automakers win incentives for EV plants, Michigan pays for polluted past
The auto industry is getting billions to build battery plants on rural land, while taxpayers pay for contaminated plants left behind. Will history repeat itself? Or will Michigan forge a new path?
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
With thousands of tainted sites, Michigan Dems eye return to ‘polluter pay’
Michigan went from strict cleanup laws to among the most lenient. Three decades and 26,000 contaminated sites later, will the state reverse course? Democrats, GOP and business leaders see areas to agree on.
Posted inBusiness Watch
‘They destroyed our little town.’ What Michigan’s auto industry left behind
Milan, Romeo and Wyoming are Michigan towns with something in common: All are sitting on shuttered auto plants where legacy pollution may complicate their path to recovery.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Key findings in Bridge Michigan auto project
Bridge Michigan set out to quantify the financial and environmental toll factory contamination has exacted on Michigan, and what the state can do to avoid repeating history in the shift to EVs. Here’s what we found.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
How Bridge tallied $259M in public costs for auto industry pollution
Our first-of-its-kind analysis identified at least $259 million in publicly subsidized cleanups at more than 100 sites linked to Michigan’s automotive industry. Here’s why the tab is almost certainly far higher.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Small supplier, big mess: Jackson pays the price of auto industry pollution
Michner Plating, a former automotive metal plater in Jackson, left contaminated soil and groundwater when it went bankrupt and closed shop. Auto suppliers are responsible for some of Michigan’s costliest cleanups.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
5 fixes for Michigan's polluted industrial legacy, and a cleaner future
Experts say Michigan can do a better job clearing contaminants that linger from the state’s industrial past and avoid leaving blighted properties in the future. They offer five suggestions.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Gov. Whitmer’s SOAR incentive fund, once a triumph, now faces headwinds
There is growing concern among Democrats and Republicans about what they view as one-sided corporate giveaways in the rush to attract EV investment to Michigan. Lawmakers from both sides say they are now pushing for change.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Michigan developers find new uses for contaminated industrial sites
Older, abandoned factories are often located near what businesses seek today: highways, rail, full utilities and access to workers. Investing in tainted sites carries financial risk and higher costs, but there are also rewards.