Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/author/capital-news-service/page/24/)
Capital News Service is a wire service at Michigan State University covering state government - issues and personalities.
Bio-based industry would get a better chance to prosper under a proposal to expand throughout Michigan in ways that would grow agriculture and reduce dependence on oil, according to an industry group.
Colombia could be the next big market for Michigan agricultural products. Representatives are looking to capitalize on recent free trade agreements and to open new markets for state-grown products.
Insecticides used on corn and soybeans are linked to honeybee colony deaths. But there may be other factors to blame.
It’s hard to turn on the television or read a magazine without seeing pill ads that claim cures for everything from sleeplessness to restless legs. But a growing number of Michiganders are choosing plants over pills to improve their health.
Global, national and state-level demand for advanced energy storage and more biomass, solar and wind power will grow significantly by 2015, according to the Energy Innovation Business Council in Michigan.
It’s been a weird winter for Michiganders used to a lot of snow, ice and cold.
The mild winter has been a money-saver for some and business as usual for others.
The Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program is a voluntary program to make farms economically and environmentally sustainable. And may expand.
Michigan’s mild winter could mean more deer in the Upper Peninsula this year. Experts say unusually warm weather could make more food sources available.
Communities often struggle finding ways to dispose of household drugs. Michigan officials are funding community programs in an effort to keep the drugs out of water sources.
Coal-fired power plants in seven Michigan counties have been linked to hundreds of premature deaths in the state. But utilities warn that new federal regulations will lead to plant shutdowns and increased customer costs.