Energy
WalletHub Energy Map

Four Great Lakes states rank among top in energy efficiency

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Four of the top 10 states in energy efficiency are from the Great Lakes region, according to WalletHub, a personal finance advice website that measured the energy use of cars and homes in each of the lower 48 states. Of the Great Lake states, New York (2), Wisconsin (3), Minnesota (6) and Michigan (10) are in the top 10. Other Great Lakes states ranked as follows: Indiana (19), Ohio (23), Illinois (26) and Pennsylvania (39). WalletHub determined efficiency in homes by “calculating the ratio between total residential energy consumption per capita and annual degree days.” Car-related efficiency was measured as a ratio between annual vehicle miles driven and gallons of gasoline used. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the National Climatic Data Center, the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the Federal Highway Administration suggests that home energy use was proportionally larger than car-related energy use, according to WalletHub.

Recreation

Bill that bans drone hunting likely to pass in November

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LANSING — Bills that would prohibit people from using drones to shoot wildlife and harass legal hunters likely won’t be taken up until November. But little opposition has arisen and proponents expect them to pass. Two Michigan senators on the Natural Resources, Environment and Great Lakes Committee sponsored the bills — SBs 926 & 927 — which the Senate approved 38-0 on Sept. 24. The bills, sponsored by Sens.

Water

Great Lakes restoration picks up another $12 million in grants

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A public-private partnership focused on Great Lakes habitat restoration recently announced $12 million in grants to 31 projects, including 10 in Michigan. The recipients will add another $11 million to this year’s Sustain Our Great Lakes funding, according to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The Sustain Our Great Lakes program is funded and operated by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ArcelorMittal, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S.D.A. Forest Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Support for the program also comes from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which supplements the program’s goal to improve the ecological health of natural areas in the region. The program targets 1,700 acres of wetland and 300 miles of stream for habitat restoration and the improvement of fish passage, according to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.