Energy

Energy transition requires fight against disinformation, expert says

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By Clara Lincolnhol

“Be curious, not judgmental.” This quote from the popular comedy-drama “Ted Lasso” is how a professor of energy law recommends we approach conversations about energy policy and politics. “We can be a force that fights against demonization and the nastiness online and instead ask questions to people who introduce an idea that’s different or contradicts what we believe,” said David Spence, a professor of energy law at the University of Texas Austin and author of the recent book “Climate of Contempt.”

He was speaking at the Michigan State University’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism. “Climate of Contempt” (Columbia University Press, $28) covers the complex political nature of the energy transition in two major parts, with three chapters in each part. The energy transition, or reaching “‘net zero,” is the process of cutting carbon emissions until the carbon released is canceled out by the carbon absorbed. The first part of the book focuses on the history of the energy industry, regulation and policy in the United States.

Manoomin Stewardship Plan workshop participants in wild rice beds. Image: Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy
Land

A New Paradigm: How climate change is shaping mental landscapes in the Great Lakes

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By Mia Litzenberg

In a weekly Good Grief Network session held on July 25, time and space were created for participants to reflect on their feelings of uncertainty in an unstable environment over Zoom. Trained facilitators kept time for each participant to speak while the other participants bore witness as listeners. The overarching rule was no cross-talk, which means not directly responding or referring to what a person shared. The session began with a grounding exercise, where participants closed their eyes and imagined themselves in a safe space in nature. They were encouraged to embody any sensory details associated with this place.

A white-tailed deer on a snowy November day in Marquette County. Image: Michigan DNR
Wildlife

Michigan is part of multi-state effort to track chronic wasting disease

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By Elinor Epperson

Researchers at Cornell University are studying whether machine learning can help states and tribes predict the spread of a dangerous disease plaguing North American deer. A recent study done in partnership with Michigan State University showed that machine learning could calculate where chronic wasting disease will spread at the county level. That information will help state and tribal agencies address a problem much larger than their individual jurisdictions, said Mitch Marcus, the wildlife health supervisor at the state Department of Natural Resources. “Wildlife and associated disease and or wildlife pathogens don’t understand or know jurisdictional boundaries,” he said. Chronic wasting disease is a neurological, degenerative disease caused by prions.

Land

Illegal dumping nets probation sentence in Ohio fish kill

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By Eric Freedman

 

A federal judge has sentenced an Ohio business owner to one year on probation and a $5,000 fine for illegally dumping a hazardous ammonia-containing substance into the Scioto River near Kenton. The crime killed more than 40,000 fish. U.S. Magistrate Judge Darrell Clay also ordered Mark Shepherd, 72, to perform 150 hours of community service and pay $22,509 to the Ohio Division of Wildlife for violating the Clean Water Act. Shepherd, who co-owns a chemical and fertilizer transportation business, had pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge after an investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency and state agencies. Here’s what happened, according to court documents: In April 2021, Shepherd commingled water from a tanker trailer used to transport anhydrous ammonia – a nitrogen fertilizer — with 7,000 gallons of clean water, then disposed of it into a catch basin.

Paddle boarders cross Platte Lake, Michigan, where a decades-long campaign reduced algal blooms caused by runoff from a fish hatchery. Image: J. Carl Ganter/ Circle of Blue
Nearshore

Great Lakes beach closings are no protection from harmful pollutants

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By Amalia Medina

A green flag flying on a Great Lakes beach does not necessarily mean it’s safe to swim. Checking beach monitoring websites like BeachGuard is not a surefire solution either. These two findings are central to a public health research project, the Great Lakes Microbial Water Quality Assessment, that set out to measure microbial and chemical threats in Great Lakes waters, and how to reduce the number of illnesses they cause each year. A report from the project, sponsored by the International Joint Commission said decades-old testing methods are inadequate and “advances in newer methods are critically needed.” The commission is bi-national agency that advises the U.S. and Canada on managing water along the border. The need for such research is considered urgent.

Michigan Materials Management Facilities. Image: EGLE
Energy

State expanding e-waste recycling in the Upper Peninsula

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By Elinor Epperson

Residents of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula have more options for recycling their old electronics. That’s because of Michigan’s Electronic Waste Take-Back Program. The state program has opened nine more permanent drop-off locations for electronic waste since 2021, more than doubling the number of facilities in the U.P. The program makes sure Michigan residents have access to e-waste recycling that meets state regulations. E-waste recycling facilities have been in the Lower Peninsula for years, but the majority are in the southern part of the state. No e-waste is recycled in the U.P.

Contractors pick it up from drop-off stations or events and transport it to recycling facilities in Wisconsin or the Lower Peninsula.

ENVIRO JUSTICE DATA MAP: MiEJScreen is an online tool that maps how health and socioeconomic factors intersect with environmental contamination. Source: Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy
Climate

Michigan updates data sharing tool on environmental justice

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By Elinor Epperson

Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy has updated an online tool that maps which communities may be most susceptible to adverse effects from pollution. The department first released MiEJScreen as a draft in 2022, but released an updated version in early August after seeking public comment. It says it hopes the tool will make it easier for advocates, residents and government officials to understand how environmental contamination affects different populations in their community. The tool combines data about health, socioeconomic and environmental factors to determine which communities are at higher risk of adverse effects from pollution. The data reflect what residents have known for a while, Regina Strong said.

Mussels native to Michigan’s fresh water. Image: Daelyn Woolnough
Water

Harnessing mussels to filter fresh water: A biological cure for contaminants is being studied

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By Amalia Medina

Water tanks line a room in Philadelphia’s Water Works on the bank of the Schuylkill River. Inside are small fish that are hosts to tiny organisms that researchers say can help solve polluted waterways. Tucked under the fish gills are microscopic mussels that will mature and become capable of filtering 10 to 15 gallons of water per day. Those data points make Lance Butler, who leads the research, hopeful. In essence, mussels are “our canaries in the coal mine for our water,” he said.

Art

Arts & Scraps: Reusing materials to combat climate change

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By Jada Vasser

Reusing materials in creative ways is a lifelong obsession for Ang Adamiak – one that led her to launch a nonprofit. Even though these days she says she’s mostly “in an office writing grants” while her staff is out doing “interesting work,” building partnerships around the sustainable reuse of materials still fuels her. “We’re always looking for ways that we can be in relationship with other organizations, whether they’re bigger or smaller than us,” she told Planet Detroit. Peg Upmeyer launched Arts & Scraps in 1989, and Adamiak has served as its executive director since 2018. The organization aims to bring the people of Detroit together by “providing reused materials and educational resources to promote sustainability and creativity.”

The nonprofit serves the community through its Creative Reuse Community Store and educational STEM programs.

And now, Arts & Scrap’s model for reusing materials and reducing waste is part of the city’s effort to combat climate change as part of the Detroit Climate Strategy. 

The city awarded Arts & Scraps a $5,000 climate action project grant to reach more families through the nonprofit organization Brilliant Detroit.

Land

Commentary: Michigan joins federal program that collects native flora and champions restoration

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By Elinor Epperson

Of all the things I could step in while wandering the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge in Northeast Michigan, vulture vomit was not on my list. My hosts, a team of scientists looking for native plant seeds, warned me to avoid it. Elizabeth Haber is a lead botanist with Seeds of Success, a federal program that conserves and restores native flora. She and her team are combing through Michigan prairies, wetlands and forests looking for native plant seeds. “A lot of our days are just wandering around, using our intuition of where we think cool things might be,” she said.