Great Lakes News Collaborative

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.

Michigan State’s Jason Rowntree is out to prove that ranching is an ecological asset.

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.

In this photo essay, take a tour of the SS Badger ferry, which has carried people and freight across Lake Michigan for seven decades.

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.

Koi in private ponds are mesmerizing to watch, but when released into the wild, they compete against native fish for food and damage native plantlife. Glen Lake preservation experts partnered with bowfishers to remove invasive koi and keep the lake’s ecosystem safe.

The inaugural Clean Cruise, an all-electric car cruise and event, will be hitting Woodward Avenue in suburban Detroit on Saturday. With the push to transition to EVs by midcentury, organizers say the event celebrates the future of the automotive industry.

Over a dozen beaches across Michigan have closed or been placed under contamination advisories due to high levels of E. coli after heavy rainfall.

Earlier this year, Flint residents reached a $25 million settlement with an engineering firm involved in the city’s water crisis. The co-lead class counsel for the settlement is hosting town halls to assist residents with their claims after many of them have been told they are missing paperwork.

Half a decade ago, peregrine falcons were eradicated from Michigan because of DDT, a toxic pesticide. Recovery efforts, including the DNR’s banding program, helped these birds of prey make one of the most successful comebacks in history.

Valuable critical materials are sitting in junk drawers of Michigan residents: old, unwanted electronics. Michigan is working with electronics manufacturers and researchers to recirculate these products back into the state’s economy.

Do bears have competition for being renowned picnic-crashers in Michigan? Wolves on Lake Superior’s Isle Royale are getting into campground trash, so park rangers up food and trash regulations.

Fish are important to the culture and heritage of Michigan’s Native Americans. One tribe is investing to restore species that have declined in recent decades.

To prepare local communities for climate change, Michigan and other states are borrowing from a long American tradition of civilian service programs. Meet the inaugural members of the MI Healthy Climate Corps.

Before heading to Michigan beaches this summer, check for blue-green algae that poses a risk to human and animal health.

Some homeowners associations ban residents from installing solar panels, electric vehicle charging stations and other green upgrades. A new bill would change that.

Michigan is getting $33 million to spend on urban forestry, which can help mitigate heat waves fueled by climate change. The question is whether government can do a better job engaging with communities in the process.

The water near Monroe has already begun to turn green with cyanobacteria, a product of farm runoff and other pollution that overloads Lake Erie with nutrients.

Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Milwaukee, Windsor and Toronto, though close to the Great Lakes, are all urban 'heat islands.' Experts say these cities have unique opportunities to create more green spaces to cool things down.

Doctors need to understand how climate change plays a role in health, so Michigan medical students are pushing for climate health education in their programs.